Dylan Larkin opened Red Wings training camp Thursday with the biggest question hanging over him still unresolved: why he asked to leave Detroit.
He confirmed the trade request, but he wasn’t willing to unpack the personal reasons behind it.
“There’s a lot there, a lot of personal stuff in that,” Larkin said. “To be honest with you guys, I’m not ready to go there yet.”
Larkin made it clear he understands why people want more. At the same time, he said that doesn’t mean the explanation is coming anytime soon, if ever.
“I understand that there’s answers that fans… want to know,” Larkin said. “But I’m really not ready to go there. It’s maybe something that I may never be, you know?”
"I'm going to try to be honest with you guys today and I'm not ready to go there yet,"
Here is Dylan Larkin's full response to being asked why he requested a trade from the Red Wings pic.twitter.com/OHxppOX0sV
- Alex Crescenti (@alex_crescenti) September 17, 2026
He also said he does not regret making the request. What he would not say was whether that request has been taken back. That discussion, he said, will stay between interim general manager Shawn Horcoff and him.
The backdrop to all of this is a Detroit season that ended without a playoff berth for the 10th straight year. Months after Larkin’s request became public, the organization stripped him of the captaincy, and the Red Wings entered camp without a captain.
Larkin said the decision to ask out was not made lightly. He pushed back on any notion that it happened in the heat of the moment.
“It wasn’t easy to get to that decision,” Larkin said. “It was very hard.
It wasn’t a spur of the moment thing. I don’t take what I did lightly.”
He also said he had already talked with teammates before giving them space, trying to handle an uncomfortable situation as professionally as possible.
“I wish so badly I could be on the ice,” Larkin said. “Because that’s where the actions will follow the talking.”
That could matter a great deal for Detroit moving forward. Larkin is still under contract and carries a full no-trade clause for the next two seasons, which gives him major control over any possible move.
So the Red Wings have to navigate both Larkin’s position and their own roster needs. Moving a top-line center like Larkin would leave a significant void unless Horcoff gets back meaningful NHL-ready value.
For now, Larkin remains with Detroit and is preparing for the season. The private reasons behind his request are staying private, and the spotlight remains on what happens next between him and the Red Wings’ new front office.
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