So Larkin Made Some Interesting Comments.

[MarioBalotelli]

Your plan is to trade away the best player on the team (in your own opinion) and then just see what happens? We haven't found a better player than him in the 10 years he's been here, but just get rid of him with no follow up plan?

Bottom out. And some of our draft picks aren't even up yet. Not concerned about who will take the mantle after he leaves. Need a new identity. Not a soft one.

 

[JoesuffP]

If Larkin was drafted by Columbus he would have been traded 3 times already. The hometown shit is getting gross

 

[Snuggs]

At this moment in time, I just have a hard time seeing the Wings make it to a conference finals let alone a cup with the roster and prospect pool they have. Again, like Nashville 15 years ago.

I actually think they're a lot like Buffalo.

 

[USAHockey97]

Larkin has been a great soldier throughout the whole rebuild and carried some truly awful teams. He’s not getting any younger and has only ever played on bad teams. He went to the 4 nations and made a huge impact. I think he has every right to be frustrated and deserves to be able to vent. No clue why people are so mad about that.

Exactly, playing in the 4 Nations was probably the biggest highlight of his pro career. Those were some of the best games I’ve seen in a while. I don’t blame him.

 

[USAHockey97]

Again name the time or person that left that said a bad word about him.

This is another one, again people around the team knew Lalonde needed to be gone as early as the first week on November. They gave him through the rest of that month, then the beginning of December. Nothing happened until Kane, Copp, and Larkin started to make it clear publicly he was a problem.

I think that is a substantial part of the calculus going on here. We might have to say the nice conversations behind closed doors out loud if they are going to keep kicking the can down the road.

Nobody knows if this isn’t an 18 month long behind closed doors thing. Similar to Yzerman giving it back to HSJ during the press conference after the trade deadline. Honestly I am glad to see pressure building, I know there were substantially less teams, but anytime you pass the Dead Things in the record books there should be some upheaval.

Yzerman owns some blame here. Waiting until December to fire a terrible coach when players were frustrated. It’s like he didn’t have a pulse on the team.

 

[izlez]

If Larkin was drafted by Columbus he would have been traded 3 times already. The hometown shit is getting gross

Your goal is to be the Columbus Blue Jackets?

 

[USAHockey97]

This. Move on from Larkin. Not meant to be the best player on a good team.

To be fair, he’s not currently on a good team.

 

[USAHockey97]

In that scenario, nothing will be done to move things forward (moving picks/prospects) and nothing will be done to reset the timeline (moving Larkin/Debrincat).

So no playoffs for the foreseeable future, the lineup will still have holes even after all the kids are up, and if nothing changes by then, the assets that no longer fit the timeline will have little to no trade value. Lovely.

Rebuild the rebuild!

 

[USAHockey97]

I actually think they're a lot like Buffalo.

Ouch!

 

[SoupGuru]

On what f***ing planet is it the locker room's responsibility to weigh in on trades? I'm sure there's idle chatter but I hope everyone realizes they just need to focus on execution the game plan as best they can. If the room was distracted by the trade deadline, it's the captain's f***ing job to refocus them on the task at hand. Jesus.

 

[JoesuffP]

Yzerman a man who has drafted the best players our team has had in decades. 3 of his 1st round picks are poised to be the best defensmen since Lidstrom… should be fired in favor of Dylan Larkin. What a sad state we would be in if we continue to hitch our wagon to this man

 

[gn2007]

I live in michigan not a wings fan, but I understand his viewpoint and friends what they told me. It was astonishing you guys decided another goalie was needed during the trade deadline. You guys got rid of masta as your extra D men earlier in the year. Maybe he saw the walman trade and it triggered him more who knows. He did produce during 4 nations but yeah he probably is frustrated seeing how Montreal and Ottawa got in before you guys. Especially last year didn't make playoffs bc of the final game standings.

Your prospect pool is rich but you have to play them and not sign old michiganders to join the team.

 

[Shaman464]

To be fair, he’s not currently on a good team.

To be fair he’s not currently a good first line center.

 

[RedHawkDown]

I live in michigan not a wings fan, but I understand his viewpoint and friends what they told me. It was astonishing you guys decided another goalie was needed during the trade deadline. You guys got rid of masta as your extra D men earlier in the year. Maybe he saw the walman trade and it triggered him more who knows. He did produce during 4 nations but yeah he probably is frustrated seeing how Montreal and Ottawa got in before you guys. Especially last year didn't make playoffs bc of the final game standings.

Your prospect pool is rich but you have to play them and not sign old michiganders to join the team.

Montreal got in because their captain put the team on his back and was one of the highest scoring players in the NHL in 2025.

Not because they added at the trade deadline.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

That's fair. But it's only a big concern if you get fixated on adding a SPECIFIC player. ("Must trade for this guy.") Your options open up a whole lot more if you're looking at any of 7-8 candidates for a depth defensive defensemen who PK, rather than just the top 1-2 players for the role.

Even if half the league suddenly won't answer your calls, you're still looking at around a dozen players who fit the bill on paper. Then you can still get 11 rejections as long as you get one team who says yes.

A similar approach also applies to adding a forward, although the percentages obviously change based on scarcity. But if Yzerman is calling everybody about everybody, as if he wants to make TEN trades this summer, then he absolutely can afford to strike out 80-90 percent of the time and still come away successful. That's the level of determination and thorough use of available resources I want to see, instead of, "Well, we just aren't ready yet. We have to be patient." (As if one more draft pick in 2027 is the missing piece to turn it all around.)

I find it hard to believe that there are 7-8 genuinely solid depth defensemen available on the trade market each summer. That sounds like a lot of wishful thinking from where I am sitting. If it was that easy, we already would have done it.

 

[gn2007]

Montreal got in because their captain put the team on his back and was one of the highest scoring players in the NHL in 2025.

Not because they added at the trade deadline.

They also have a rookie d-men who decided to go absolutely insane this year.

 

[USAHockey97]

Debrincat was a great trade. Trades that actually matter. Trading Matta and Walman are moves nobody remembers in 3 years for a reason they move the needle absolutely nothing. Hopping on Larkin’s side here is absurd. He shit the bed 3 seasons in a row down the stretch when he could have proved he was worth a damn and is now cry about it. His character is on full display regardless of the narratives people have chosen to run with

I always thought Larkin was an elite 2C and ok 1C. They either needed a true 1C or someone equal to him for a one two punch. They’ve never had that though.

 

[Frk It]

Yzerman a man who has drafted the best players our team has had in decades. 3 of his 1st round picks are poised to be the best defensmen since Lidstrom… should be fired in favor of Dylan Larkin. What a sad state we would be in if we continue to hitch our wagon to this man

No one needs to be fired or traded. People need to relax.

 

[USAHockey97]

The Red Wings have consistently been ranked as a top 5 team in terms of young talent since Yzerman returned. This was not the case under Holland, as his North American scouting was flat out awful. You may disagree, and that's fine, but the majority of people who follow this closely do not agree with you.

You are 100% correct with respect to Hollands talent pool. Not even close. And yes, Yzerman has a highly regarded prospect pool, but from my reading it’s from the sheer number of safe, depth players they have accumulated. The biggest criticism I’ve read is they lack any high end offensive talent that moves the needle.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

Yes, quite easily. The only argument before was that Detroit was further along in their rebuild. Well Montreal is in the playoffs and their prospect pool hasn't changed.

EDIT: Sorry RW fans, didn't mean to invade your board. I thought this was main boards!

You made the playoffs but is that your goal? I rather have Detroit's pool and future over Montreal's. Literally a bad two weeks separates who gets in and who doesn't...

 

[CanadienShark]

You made the playoffs but is that your goal? I rather have Detroit's pool and future over Montreal's. Literally a bad two weeks separates who gets in and who doesn't...

Goal? To gain experience. We've already exceeded our expectations. I wouldn't trade pools. Anyways, I don't want to pick a fight on a team board that I'm not a member of. I like Detroit and hope you guys do well.

 

[RedHawkDown]

They also have a rookie d-men who decided to go absolutely insane this year.

Sure. So they went from having 1 good young dman (Guhle) to 2. Detroit had 2 on the roster all year (Seider is a 1D and Edvinsson has been great). If Larkin played worth a damn, they'd be in the playoffs.

 

[Shaman464]

Debrincat was a great trade. Trades that actually matter. Trading Matta and Walman are moves nobody remembers in 3 years for a reason they move the needle absolutely nothing. Hopping on Larkin’s side here is absurd. He shit the bed 3 seasons in a row down the stretch when he could have proved he was worth a damn and is now cry about it. His character is on full display regardless of the narratives people have chosen to run with

The Cat trade was a unicorn where Ottawa had no leverage and would either take what they could get for him or lose him for nothing. Yzerman trading draft capital or prospects when his best players are 5-10 years younger than Larkin would have been foolish. Larkin can hate it all he wants but this was a shot across the bow for Yzerman.

 

[USAHockey97]

To be fair he’s not currently a good first line center.

Agreed. The Wings don’t have one in their system and probably won’t.

 

[gn2007]

Sure. So they went from having 1 good young dman (Guhle) to 2. Detroit had 2 on the roster all year (Seider is a 1D and Edvinsson has been great). If Larkin played worth a damn, they'd be in the playoffs.

He was tied second your team in total points. Captains aren't necessarily the ones that get top points on the team

Maybe he did play shitty just like the interview he said after trade deadline guys felt bummed and had no morale boost.

If you guys don't bring up cossa and decide to run talbot, mrazek. Playoffs is clearly not on Yzerman mind.