Red Wings' Dylan Larkin breaks silence after trade request, but says little

Detroit Red Wings fans have been waiting to hear from forward Dylan Larkin all summer after he requested a trade away from the team at the start of the offseason. On Thursday, he finally stepped in front of a microphone and answered questions as the team opened its training camp.

The problem?

He didn't actually say anything of substance or offer any clarity into his situation. He refused to say why he wanted out, and he refused to say whether or not he actually still wants a trade now that the season is arriving.

Red wings' Dylan Larkin says nothing meaningful in first news conference after trade request

Larkin said his decision to ask for a trade was something that came after a lot of thought and was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but also added that he was not ready to get into the details behind it.

From NHL.com's Nicholas J. Cotsonika:

"I'm not ready to go there yet," Larkin said. "I understand that there's answers that fans and people that care about this organization around the world want to know. But I'm really not ready to go there, and it's maybe something that I may never be, you know?

"It wasn't easy to get to that decision. It was very hard. It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment thing. But I don't take what I did lightly, and I got to that point, and I'm not quite ready to talk about it."

Until a trade actually gets made, Larkin is the longest-tenured player on the Red Wings roster, and up until a week ago, he had been the team's captain. The Red Wings stripped him of that captaincy while also announcing that he would be at training camp despite the trade request. 

Even though he is at camp, he is not currently on the ice due to an apparent and unspecified injury that he is said to have suffered in his preparation for camp. The timing of that injury, especially given the circumstances around his situation, remains suspicious. 

His refusal to share any additional details about the trade request, including whether or not it is still active, have to be rubbing Red Wings fans the wrong way. 

He has not only been their captain and one of their best players, he is also a Michigan native and should be one of the team's cornerstone players. 

His refusal to go into detail also only increases speculation.

The most logical speculation is that he grew tired of the constant losing and a rebuild that has made almost no progress in close to a decade. Along with that, it became pretty clear in recent years that he did not really see eye to eye with former general manager Steve Yzerman and his management of the roster. 

The other theory is that several members of the American Olympic team (which included Larkin) spent the second half of the season communicating with one another about their desire to play together in the NHL. Larkin is one of three players on that team who requested trades after the season, including former Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk and Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

Tkachuk was already traded to the Florida Panthers (where he will now play alongside his brother, and Team USA teammate, Matthew Tkachuk), while Hellebuyck and Larkin are still waiting.

Hellebuyck was suspended by Winnipeg on Wednesday night for failing to report to camp. 

Larkin's reported list of approved teams for a trade included the Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights and Panthers. All three teams are not only contenders, but also feature American-born players who were on the Gold Medal winning team. 

Everything regarding the Red Wings and Larkin's request (assuming it still stands) remain in limbo as the team is still without a full-time general manager that has the freedom to make trades. 

Until they get somebody in charge that can make those decisions, and until Larkin offers more clarity into what is going on, speculation and waiting are going to continue to be all anybody can do.