Red Wings suspend Dylan Larkin after his decision to sit out while awaiting trade

Then The Athletic's Max Bultman reported that the Red Wings announced they have suspended their former captain without pay.

“Dylan Larkin has informed us that he will no longer play for the Detroit Red Wings,” interim GM Shawn Horcoff said in a statement. “We are disappointed by his decision, particularly given his obligations to the organization and his teammates. We have therefore suspended Dylan without pay.

“We will continue to explore trade opportunities involving Dylan. In addition to needing his approval, any trade must also be in the best interests of the Detroit Red Wings and support the organization’s long-term goals. I want to thank and commend our coaches and players for their continued focus, and being committed to competing every day.”

All of this began with Larkin's frustration over the team missing the playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons and its rebuild under former general manager Steve Yzerman obviously failing. Larkin and Yzerman seemed to have a contentious relationship in recent years, with Larkin publicly criticizing the team's lack of progress and the lack of help coming from Yzerman. 

Yzerman was reassigned to a different role in the front office in mid-July.

The team has yet to hire a permanent replacement. They did not officially announce Horcoff as the interim general manager until the regular season had already began, more than two months later. 

Larkin was eventually stripped of his captaincy, missed time in training camp and did not play in the first two games of the regular season due to an apparent injury. He was loudly booed during the team's home-opener, and in his first game back with the team after returning.

Larkin has remained quiet on whether or not he still had an active trade request, and he would not go into any details regarding the situation when he spoke publicly. 

There can be no doubt as to whether that demand still stands.

The problem the Red Wings have had in completing a deal is that they are trying to get what they deem to be fair value back in return. That has proved to be difficult because Larkin has full control over where he goes given the trade protections in his contract, and he has reportedly only given them a list of 10 teams he will approve a trade.

The number was reportedly significantly smaller when he first made the request.

Many of the teams on the list are teams that do not have a need for another center, or have tight salary-cap situations, or, worst of all, do not have the type of trade assets the Red Wings would want back in return. Their hands are kind of tied, and it's left them in a no-win situation. 

The reported list, via the Detroit Free Press:

• Vegas Golden Knights
• Florida Panthers
• Minnesota Wild
• Washington Capitals
• Utah Mammoth
• Dallas Stars
• Carolina Hurricanes
• New Jersey Devils
• Colorado Avalanche
• Tampa Bay Lightning

Vegas, Florida, Carolina and Colorado probably have little use for him given their depth charts. Vegas, Florida and Colorado also have almost no trade assets that would interest the Red Wings. 

The most logical landing spots might be Washington, Utah, Tampa Bay or Minnesota, but even then it comes down to a question of salary-cap space and attractive trade assets for the Red Wings to actually want or desire. 

Larkin's desire to play for a winning team is understandable. He has been a really good player for a decade and has not been in the playoffs since his rookie season. The Red Wings are an organization that seems to be in turmoil, not only given this situation, but also the lack of a general manager and the status of unsigned defenseman Simon Edvinsson (who would also reportedly prefer a trade). 

But he is not blameless in this situation.

"This situation" that he is fed up with is one that is almost entirely his own creation. 

He made the choice to sign an eight-year contract with the Red Wings in 2023 when it had already become clear their rebuild was not working.

He set the trade parameters that seriously limited the Red Wings' ability to make a deal. 

He is also not without blame for the lack of team success. He has been the captain of a team that has wilted down the stretch several years in a row, including a staggering meltdown just this past season. In his past 39 games, he has scored four even-strength goals. That is not good enough for his $8.7 million salary-cap number or for the headaches he is creating right now. 

The Red Wings have put themselves in a bad spot as an organization in a lot of different ways, and there is not a more dysfunctional franchise in the league right now. That is a problem. They also have nobody to blame for it but themselves. Larkin has also put himself into a frustrating spot, at least temporarily. He also has nobody to blame for it but himself.