Devils fans who are tracking Dylan Larkin probably don’t need to read his mindset as a warning sign.
The Red Wings center has become the biggest talking point in the NHL after choosing to sit out Detroit’s games following his trade request this summer. The list of teams connected to him includes the Minnesota Wild, Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals, and New Jersey Devils.
That sequence has led some Devils fans to wonder what Larkin’s loyalty looks like. It’s fair to ask, because the public trail has been messy: a trade request, a stripped captaincy, and now a decision to step away from his remaining duties in Detroit. But the reporting here points to a much simpler explanation - and one that shouldn’t alarm anyone outside of Detroit.
Larkin has spent 12 years in what the source describes as mediocrity, waiting through more hockey purgatory than he should have had to endure. Under Steve Yzerman, the Red Wings never really found their footing.
Detroit now carries the NHL’s longest active playoff drought at 10 years, and the draft-heavy approach didn’t produce the kind of sustained success the organization needed. The source notes that while Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider, and Alex DeBrincat stand out as exceptions, most of Yzerman’s moves as general manager ended up going nowhere.
At 30 years old, Larkin still hasn’t played in the postseason since his rookie year. So the desire to land with a winner is hardly surprising, especially when the ten teams he’d accept a trade to are all among the league’s strongest Stanley Cup bets.
The original criticism of his three-team list had some merit, since those clubs didn’t look like realistic bidders. But the full no-trade clause was part of the deal he signed, and Detroit wasn’t owed extra flexibility beyond that.
There’s also the larger backdrop in Detroit, where the organization still hasn’t replaced Yzerman and has not made meaningful progress with Simon Edvinsson, who also requested out. The source’s view is blunt: the Red Wings are a mess right now, and no worker would stick around that kind of situation for 12 years.
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The bigger issue is the one that still does not have a name attached to it. Friedman did not confirm who the other player was, even as Johnny Kovacevic and Jonas Siegenthaler remain possibilities, and that uncertainty matters for a team already working through plenty of defenseman trade chatter under GM Sunny Mehta. With the Devils continuing to adjust the roster, the distinction between rumor, leverage and actual contract protection is becoming harder to separate, and this is one of those stories that could still change depending on which side eventually clarifies it. [Read more 🡒]