Dylan Larkin’s trade request has been treated like the easiest kind of escape: a star trying to force his way out when the grass looked greener somewhere else. But that misses the bigger point. If anything, the Red Wings should be the ones catching the heat.
Larkin is back in the lineup now, and without the captain’s letter on his chest, he’s still producing. He has five points in eight games since returning, and Detroit has gone 4-1-3 in that stretch. Even so, the Red Wings are still sitting outside the playoff picture in the early part of the season.
The conversation around his request resurfaced on Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, where host Tyler Yaremchuk and The Sheet host Jeff Marek pushed back on the idea that Larkin was simply ducking responsibility in Detroit.
Yaremchuk pointed to the trade acceptance list Larkin submitted, saying it amounted to “basically the top 11 Stanley Cup contenders minus the Edmonton Oilers.” He said people mocked the list, but he saw it differently.
“Like he’s not going to waive to go to wherever… Also, he’s giving them the top 10 Stanley Cup contenders. I think there’s a bit of a difference between the way I view Larkin asking out in Detroit.
He gave them the bulk of the prime of his career, and he signed an extension and they didn’t deliver for him. I know you can talk about his numbers down the stretch this year and that year, but the team was clearly on the downturn… Kind of similar to Rick Nash in Columbus.
Where it’s like okay, how many chances do I have to give you guys? That’s where I respect the Larking thing a bit more.”
Marek agreed with the overall point and said the request should not be treated as if Detroit had no choice in the matter.
“Here’s the thing about Larkin. You raise a really good point, and I’m with you on that… Who’s taking Team 32?
Like, personalize it. Would you go to Team 32 or Team 30?
No, of course not. We’re treating like this is a forced trade.
This is not a forced trade. Detroit does not have to do this… There are plenty of players that have asked for trades that have never gotten them, and they’ve went out and they’ve played their entire contract.
Trust me, it has happened in the NHL… This is not a forced trade. I know we’re treating it like Larkin has a gun to the head of the Detroit Red Wings… But it’s not… They don’t have to do this.”
The debate leaves Larkin in an unusual spot: back on the ice, producing enough to help Detroit, while still carrying the baggage of a request that has been judged far more harshly than the organization that put him in that position.
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