So Larkin Made Some Interesting Comments.

[Dotter]

Honestly I hope he dumps Holl, Copp, Compher, Gus,Tarasenko even Ras. *Literally attach prospects and picks to dump these guys and use the cap wiser. That's too money going to these plugs. *Get younger if we are going to suck anyway.

#1 *Dump vets by attaching picks/prospects.

#2 *Get younger.

Huh?

 

[RedHawkDown]

I doubt they would take the older player and pay more in cap? Larkin is almost 10 years older they already have similar production... If I was a CBJ fan I would call for my GM's head.

He's 8 years older, and they don't have similar production. Fantilli put up 54 points this year, closer to Larkin's 45-point rookie season, and playing with far better players than Larkin had in his rookie season. It's also a gamble to some degree for us.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

He has been doing these for 9 years, probably 7 as the guy front and center. Again this is a longer streak than the Dead Things… I hope he can recharge as well, but I get being sick of the same thing and not offering rah rah or hockey cliches.

To be clear it's a longer non-playoff streak than the Dead Things only because everyone basically made the playoffs then. But this stretch has been nowhere near as bad as the dead things.

No one is asking for rah rah or hockey cliches. Every other player had more thoughtful answers than Larkin.

 

[JoesuffP]

Yzerman isn’t trying to build around you Dylan sorry. Best case scenario we get more talented players and you become a complimentary player only way we do anything of significance

 

[ricky0034]

I try not to read too much into interviews or whatever but Larkin honestly gives me such petulant little child vibes and i'm starting to get a little sick of it

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

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.

Sorry, just being realistic. The other possible outcome is that he makes a truly awful trade because he feels compelled to do something to please the room.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

To be clear it's a longer non-playoff streak than the Dead Things only because everyone basically made the playoffs then. But this stretch has been nowhere near as bad as the dead things.

No one is asking for rah rah or hockey cliches. Every other player had more thoughtful answers than Larkin.

So this was the opinion of the majority of the board but when he says it something is wrong?

I put that disqualification in earlier in terms of less teams. This represents one of the lowest points in the franchise. Something we knew was coming and were warned about for years. I just don’t see enough desperation to stop it and I cannot justify accepting it.

Again I don’t want him traded and I don’t want Yzerman fired. They are all big boys here get some asses in gear and play the first playoff game in LCA next year. I believe he said this out loud for the rest of the room too, so I know I differ from some there.

 

[cvaicunas]

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.

Didn't Larkin also mention he was injured after the 4 nations as well? Many here speculated as much during the stretch run. I for one, think he has every right to comment bluntly if he so chooses. Now if these comments stem from a divide behind the scenes, then perhaps we do see Larkin moved.

 

[Dotter]

Trade Larkin for EP40

Sign both Marner and Tavaras. Is Byram available in trade, say for Danielsson? That would make DRWs a playoff team.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

So this was the opinion of the majority of the board but when he says it something is wrong?

I put that disqualification in earlier in terms of less teams. This represents one of the lowest points in the franchise. Something we knew was coming and were warned about for years. I just don’t see enough desperation to stop it and I cannot justify accepting it.

Again I don’t want him traded and I don’t want Yzerman fired. They are all big boys here get some asses in gear and play the first playoff game in LCA next year. I believe he said this out loud for the rest of the room too, so I know I differ from some there.

Yes it's wrong. Because he is the captain of the team and paid to answer these questions and be a leader and his comments created drama. What he said can easily be construed as "I didn't believe that this team was good enough to make the playoffs." Versus this board where we are fans, as in fanatics, and will always find something to complain about it.

I don't have a problem with Larkin feeling that way and saying something. My issue is him saying it in the press conference. And just in general he does not seem like he's in a good place mentally and emotionally, even for someone who didn't make the playoffs again.

Listen to Kane's comments when asked about the trade deadline:

 

[raymond23]

I can’t even listen to his press conference

He sounds absolutely awful and depressed

 

[JoesuffP]

Imagine saying you have to make a desperate trade and not understanding these never ever work that’s how you become the phoenix suns with zero future. Desperate trade should not be in your vocabulary if you really want long term success

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Washington, Ottawa, and Montreal all managed to do things. This is sort of Yzerman’s job so that better not be the song and dance. We also I assume held onto our futures at the deadline to explore some of that this summer.

Offseason trade prices < Trade deadline trade prices. My hope is there will be some deals at the draft.

The issue we’re going to run into is very, VERY few teams need to move people for cap space this offseason. Pionk is officially signed now (for an absolute steal of a deal), and at a great deal. I expect Vilardi and Ehlers to both sign for a combined 14 mil, and the jets will still have enough left over space for Samberg and a few others. This is just one example. I don’t know if many teams are going to have trouble signing their guys.

What Yzerman needs to do to make up for this piss poor season is get creative with trades. Reach out to Robataille, Bergevin and Blake in LA to see if Gavrikov has any interest in signing in Detroit and trading a pick to them for first rights.

Use picks from this year’s draft to fill holes on the immediate roster that we don’t currently have prospects to fill within the next 3 to 5 years. 3rd line and lower, bottom pair, etc. We have a great prospect pool but realistically not all of our roster holes will be plugged by our kids, and definitely not in the next 2 seasons unless some develop a lot faster.

Finding takers on dead weight like Compher and Holl. I don’t see why a team like San Jose wouldn’t want them for nothing when they have to get to the floor.

Crappy free agent class or not, Yzerman needs to win it. And he needs to be active in trades to make this team something or Detroit won’t go higher than 6th in the division next season.

 

[MarioBalotelli]

Sooo you are saying he is in fact our best player. Then what is the plan to get players better than him?

Trade his salary off the books first.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

Washington, Ottawa, and Montreal all managed to do things. This is sort of Yzerman’s job so that better not be the song and dance. We also I assume held onto our futures at the deadline to explore some of that this summer.

Sounds a lot like we should do anything because we need to do something. What could go wrong?

 

[Frk It]

Yes it's wrong. Because he is the captain of the team and paid to answer these questions and be a leader and his comments created drama. What he said can easily be construed as "I didn't believe that this team was good enough to make the playoffs." Versus this board where we are fans, as in fanatics, and will always find something to complain about it.

I don't have a problem with Larkin feeling that way and saying something. My issue is him saying it in the press conference. And just in general he does not seem like he's in a good place mentally and emotionally, even for someone who didn't make the playoffs again.

Listen to Kane's comments when asked about the trade deadline:

Kane has been here like a year. Kane has also gotten to experience 3 Cups and 143 playoff games to Dylan Larkin's 5. Larkin has given exactly the kind of answers you would want want plenty of times before. He has done that actually pretty much his whole career, so far.

Sounds a lot like we should do anything because we need to do something. What could go wrong?

Doing nothing worked out great for us...

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Yes it's wrong. Because he is the captain of the team and paid to answer these questions and be a leader and his comments created drama. What he said can easily be construed as "I didn't believe that this team was good enough to make the playoffs." Versus this board where we are fans, as in fanatics, and will always find something to complain about it.

I don't have a problem with Larkin feeling that way and saying something. My issue is him saying it in the press conference. And just in general he does not seem like he's in a good place mentally and emotionally, even for someone who didn't make the playoffs again.

Listen to Kane's comments when asked about the trade deadline:

This is a conversation I’m confident Larkin and Yzerman had when Larkin was signing a long term deal. Yzerman is showing zero urgency to make this team better so I’m fine with Larkin calling out that lack of improvement by the GM.

Additionally, Yzerman had his coach’s back after last season when the players quit on him. Maybe Larkin is feeling that management doesn’t care what the players are feeling/asking for? He’s never made these types of comments in the past. So maybe he’s making them now because he feels it will force management to listen.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Sounds a lot like we should do anything because we need to do something. What could go wrong?

Doing nothing but signing more replacement level players and running back this roster would be the definition of insanity.

It’s either trade Larkin and DeBrincat and tank, or spend assets and get better. They can’t add enough rookies to get rid of the dead weight like Tank, Compher, Ras, Petry, Holl, Gus, Berggren, Motte. This team needs to make some trades and sign at least 2 of the impact free agents this year.

 

[USAHockey97]

Yzerman has built one of the best prospect pools in the entire NHL. Yzerman spent $116 million during free agency in 2022 and 2023 to give precious Dylan a shot at playoff hockey. Team was in 6th place, 4 points behind Toronto and Carolina on Feb 28, 2024.

Dylan bottles a playoff spot in 2024 by captaining a team that lost 15 of 20 games from Feb 29-Apr 11, 2024. Yzerman replaces coach and hires a coach who has coached over 1,000 games and taken three other franchises to the playoffs.

Dylan cries and whines that all of this is not enough and people on here lap up his cringe comments like it's some sort of impressive leadership. I mean Larkin is whining about 4th round draft picks. He's an embarrassment.

Impressive pools? The red wings have a lot of depth prospects. Raymond, Seider and Edvinsson are the best from his picks. Cossa and Augustine have a chance to be very good to. But they need more high end offensive skill.

 

[USAHockey97]

This is 100% on Larkin. Don't bring Yzerman into this, he's made significant moves and has kept his mouth shut. When other players have acted the way Larkin has, they have been moved.

Debrincat is the only significant move I can think of other than trading Mantha, Bert and Hronek. His FA signings have been fairly underwhelming and none were higher end pieces.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Kane has been here like a year. Kane has also gotten to experience 3 Cups and 143 playoff games to Dylan Larkin's 5. Larkin has given exactly the kind of answers you would want want plenty of times before. He has done that actually pretty much his whole career, so far.

I understand Larkin has been on a losing team for a while now. It sounds like one guy believes in the team and thought they were good enough to make the playoffs and the other guy felt like they weren't and needed help at the deadline.

On a human level I understand this isn't fun for him, but I'd still rather have the captain of the team sound like the former not the latter.

 

[USAHockey97]

Doing nothing but signing more replacement level players and running back this roster would be the definition of insanity.

It’s either trade Larkin and DeBrincat and tank, or spend assets and get better. They can’t add enough rookies to get rid of the dead weight like Tank, Compher, Ras, Petry, Holl, Gus, Berggren, Motte. This team needs to make some trades and sign at least 2 of the impact free agents this year.

Agreed. At this point I’d like to see Larkin traded if only to get the Wings to get a top 5 pick. Then again, Yzerman probably would just draft a high IQ, high floor, low ceiling, two way player. Yay more depth pieces!

 

[USAHockey97]

It's kind of funny, because I think you can make an argument that the biggest long term mistake Yzerman made was exiting the rebuild a year or two too quickly - presumably trying to make Larkin a happy camper.

Exactly. They needed higher end skill.

 

[jkutswings]

Sorry, just being realistic. The other possible outcome is that he makes a truly awful trade because he feels compelled to do something to please the room.

I'd prefer to avoid either extreme (doing nothing or doing something awful). There's a wide spectrum of possibilities in between.

On the simpler end, it's not like it's impossible to deal lesser picks/prospects for a 4/5 defenseman that can actually play defense and PK.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

I'd prefer to avoid either extreme (doing nothing or doing something awful). There's a wide spectrum of possibilities in between.

On the simpler end, it's not like it's impossible to deal lesser picks/prospects for a 4/5 defenseman that can actually play defense and PK.

One would think, right?