The Red Wings Must Trade Larkin. Someone Do Something

Here’s where things stand with Dylan Larkin right now: absolutely nowhere. The whole situation is frozen, and it’s getting weirder the longer it drags on. Larkin’s reportedly wanted out for a while, a lot of it tied to his relationship with Steve Yzerman. But now Yzerman’s out of his active role entirely. And the guy filling in, Sean Hrkac, apparently doesn’t even have the authority to actually make trades. So Detroit’s just… stuck. Not moving forward, not moving back, just sitting there.

The Red Wings Are in a Strange Spot

That’s a genuinely strange spot for a franchise to be in. There’s real chaos brewing, and the team isn’t actually doing anything about it. Contracts need signing, decisions need to be made, and Detroit’s basically playing the role of a bubble team while dealing with a captain who wants out and a front office that can’t pull the trigger on anything.

One idea worth floating: Larkin reportedly limited his list of teams he’d approve a trade to just three. Widening that list, even to five, gives Detroit more leverage and more options, and a team like Dallas could realistically be in the mix if that list opens up.

There’s also a case for Larkin sticking around Detroit a little longer than expected, at least until the right deal shows up. Detroit’s already shown it’s willing to sit on its hands elsewhere, too. They reportedly wanted to bring back Anthony Mantha this summer but never gave Hrkac the green light. As a result, Mantha ended up signing elsewhere instead. That’s not a great pattern if you’re a Red Wings fan hoping this front office moves with any urgency.