Doug MacLean didn’t hold back when Dylan Larkin’s situation came up on Sportsnet.
The former Detroit Red Wings assistant GM, who was in the organization when Steve Yzerman was captain, said straight out that he doesn’t know Larkin personally. That didn’t stop him from unloading on the way the captain’s standoff with the team has unfolded.
Appearing on the Real Kyper and Bourne Show, MacLean joined co-host Nick Kypreos in reacting to what Kypreos described as Larkin quitting on the Red Wings twice since the end of last season, something he called unprecedented in hockey. MacLean didn’t push back.
“It’s beyond explanation for me what’s gone down since this whole debacle started,” MacLean said. “I’m serious, I’ve never seen anything like it.
“I don’t know Dylan Larkin. He’s a good player. He’s making $8.75 for five more years.
“This is your captain? This is your captain, and this is going on?
A Detroit kid? I’m really confused by this.”
Larkin submitted a formal trade request shortly after last season ended, and the Red Wings later stripped him of the captaincy on the eve of training camp. Then on Thursday, interim GM Shawn Horcoff said Larkin had told him he would not play for the team again and would remain out until the trade request is met.
MacLean said he understands that Larkin has the right to ask out, and he also acknowledged the no-movement clause that gives Larkin a say in where he ends up. But he still questioned why the situation has reached this point with a player from Detroit asking out of his hometown team.
“You fight for a no-movement clause, you get your no-movement clause, and yeah, you haven’t made the playoffs,” MacLean said. “They haven’t made the playoffs in 10 years. I get that.
“Yzerman is gone [as Red Wings GM], which everybody thought was the problem. He’s gone. And obviously, that wasn’t the whole problem.
“He keeps having to add to his trade list. I’m looking at these teams. Other than Minny, and I hear Minny’s really on the hunt for him, but good grief.”
MacLean’s message to Detroit was simple: don’t rush into a deal just to move on.
“I’ll tell you what, if Detroit doesn’t hold out and get the right deal … they should let him sit.”
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