Dylan Larkin is still on the Red Wings roster, and for now, that appears to be the end of it. More than two months after his trade request became public, the situation around Detroit’s captain has shifted again, with Steve Yzerman out as general manager since July and the franchise focused on its next top executive instead of moving Larkin.
That approach makes sense on the team’s side, especially with interim purported interim GM Shawn Horcoff said to have no trade authority. At this point, Larkin doesn’t seem likely to be anywhere else.
His $8.5 million salary is still on the books for the next year, and the cleanest path forward may be to show up at training camp, play well and try to rebuild his trade value from there. His list of preferred destinations has also thinned, with all but one of the teams on it now out of the race to negotiate for the center.
While Detroit’s hockey situation keeps grinding along, the Professional Women’s Hockey League is dealing with a different kind of uncertainty. Mark Walter, the sole owner of the league and all 12 franchises, is facing federal investigations into his life insurance companies and their investments.
That matters in a big way for PWHL Detroit and the league as a whole. Detroit only joined the league this past year, and the team held its inaugural draft in June under GM and former Canadian Olympic Silver Medal Winner Manon Rheaume. But the bigger issue is ownership: Walter controls the entire league, and what happens next is unclear.
Walter has already sold his ownership stake in the L.A. Lakers and is reportedly in talks to sell his interest in Chelsea FC abroad.
Even so, the PWHL recently received more than $100 million in outside investments in June, including money from Chris Ilitch and Ilitch Sports. Walter is also the owner of the L.A.
Dodgers.
In 1985, on this day, Petr Klima defected from Czechoslovakia of the USSR and came to America to play for the Detroit Red Wings. Klima, a forward, spent just under five seasons in Detroit and scored 129 goals for Hockeytown before a trade in 1990 sent him to the Edmonton Oilers. He later returned for his final season with the Red Wings and scored his 313th and final goal in a Detroit uniform.
In Other News...
Red Wings Prospect Max Plante Now Faces One Big NHL Question
Max Plantes rise has already put him on the Red Wings radar as one of their more intriguing prospects, and his sophomore season at Minnesota-Duluth only strengthened that case. Drafted 47th overall in 2024, he followed the usual prospect arc by staying in college, then broke through with the Hobey Baker Trophy as the top player in the college game, a sign that his skill set is translating at a high level against his age group.
Now the focus shifts to what comes next, and that is where the real test begins. Plante is expected to sign with Detroit after his junior season, and the likely path runs through Grand Rapids before he reaches Little Caesars Arena, with the bigger question being how quickly he adjusts to the size and pace of the pro game. His background and style give him a strong foundation, but the final step from standout prospect to NHL regular is still the one he has to clear. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Face A Costly Edvinsson Decision Amid Front Office Uncertainty
Simon Edvinsson has reached the stage where his next contract matters almost as much as his play on the ice, and the Red Wings are not moving through that process with the kind of front-office stability teams usually want. Edvinsson is part of a growing class of young defensemen with more than 100 NHL games on their resumes, which puts him in a different negotiating lane than a prospect still trying to establish himself. For Detroit, the timing is tricky because the club is still without a general manager, and that delay is already slowing the kind of extension talks that can shape a roster for years.
Around the league, similar decisions are starting to set the market, and Detroit will be watching closely because the numbers attached to rising defensemen are not getting any friendlier. The question for the Red Wings is where Edvinsson fits in that landscape once the front office is finally in place, especially with a clear sense that the club cannot afford to misread the cost of keeping a core piece in the fold. Until that process gets moving, his extension remains one of the more consequential unresolved items on the teams offseason board. [Read more 🡒]