So Larkin Made Some Interesting Comments.

[raymond23]

Larkin has been on a shit team for a decade and probably done close to a thousand interviews. He slips up and says one controversial thing and we’re gonna boo him on opening night?

Get over yourself

 

[Run the Jewels]

Larkin has been on a shit team for a decade and probably done close to a thousand interviews. He slips up and says one controversial thing and we’re gonna boo him on opening night?

Get over yourself

Nah, my hope is he was saying exactly what he feels. Makes it more likely he requests a trade.

 

[sepster]

We need another top line defenseman. We've had the absolute worst PK in the league 2 out of the 4 years Mo's been here, and haven't been much better at even strength. You act like I'm calling for Makar?

You initially said the Wings "need another 1D" not "another top line defenseman." There is a difference in those two terms. That's why I was trying to get clarification.

 

[14ari13]

Nah, my hope is he was saying exactly what he feels. Makes it more likely he requests a trade.

How do we know Larkin isn't saying what the whole locker room is thinking?

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

How do we know Larkin isn't saying what the whole locker room is thinking?

That is impossible though because of reasons

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

How do we know Larkin isn't saying what the whole locker room is thinking?

It's possible, but when Kane was asked about the tread deadline's impact on the room he quickly dismissed it and said they were rolling around that time.

 

[SirloinUB]

It's possible, but when Kane was asked about the tread deadline's impact on the room he quickly dismissed it and said they were rolling around that time.

The Red Wings were 2-6 in their last 8 heading into the TDL. If that's "rolling" probably safe to ignore the rest of that perspective.

 

[wingerdinger]

Larkin has been on a shit team for a decade and probably done close to a thousand interviews. He slips up and says one controversial thing and we’re gonna boo him on opening night?

Get over yourself

People being hyper critical of Larkin is bizarre when he's the least of our problems.

I would understand trading Larkin since he probably doesnt fit in our competitive window. But I'd have to tap out of watching the wings for a bit because id assume we'd have to fully commit to the tank.

 

[Run the Jewels]

How do we know Larkin isn't saying what the whole locker room is thinking?

Just as likely the whole locker room is thinking that if playoffs were so important why did Larkin need to go and get injured at 4 Nations? Professional athletes are the most insanely confident people. They don't whine and cry about how someone should have given them something, the vast majority understand this is a meritocracy. They have nothing but respect for the top players because that's how sports works.

I'm legit trying to think when's the last time a captain of an NHL team whined about his teammates the way Dylan just did? He basically said he needs better teammates, not 4th round draft picks. It's pretty remarkable, I'll hand him that.

 

[Run the Jewels]

The Red Wings were 2-6 in their last 8 heading into the TDL. If that's "rolling" probably safe to ignore the rest of that perspective.

They've bottled the playoffs three years in a row. Why the F would Yzerman mortgage his future on that? It's literally embarrassing to suggest he should have been a buyer.

 

[SirloinUB]

They've bottled the playoffs three years in a row. Why the F would Yzerman mortgage his future on that? It's literally embarrassing to suggest he should have been a buyer.

Framing this like people are suggesting he should "mortgage his future" is pretty disingenuous.

Nobody is talking about trading young roster players (like Raymond or Kasper), top prospects, and multiple unprotected 1st rounders. Those kinds of moves would be mortgaging the future.

Mark Jankowski scored 8 goals in 19 games and was acquired for a 5th round pick.
Cody Glass put up 7 points in 14 games and was acquired for a 3rd round pick.
The Kings got Kuzmenko and a 7th for a 3rd round pick in 2027 and he put up 17 points in 22 games.

These moves and several like them could have given the team a boost and are not "mortgaging the future". A couple other options would have been to acquire some PK guys that were traded on the cheap to give the PK a boost.

 

[Henkka]

People being hyper critical of Larkin is bizarre when he's the least of our problems.

I would understand trading Larkin since he probably doesnt fit in our competitive window. But I'd have to tap out of watching the wings for a bit because id assume we'd have to fully commit to the tank.

Quite sure if any Larkin-trade ever happens, it will be a hockey trade like it was from Yzerman, sending out Martin St. Louis.

He traded St. Louis for futures + Ryan Callahan, adding some leadership. But very soon those 1st round picks (got for St. Louis) were used for buying other players. They never tanked, just used those assets to bolster the roster in a different position.

But I agree, still Larkin is least of our problems. We need to have too may good kid centers, to ever consider trading Larkin.

It would mean all Kasper, Danielson and either of Plante or Lombardi will make a breakthrough on Center position, to have a surplus of three skill centers, and then we maybe can consider trading Larkin. It takes years to find it out, and that's why it won't happen anywhere in near future. Maybe at Larkin's last contract years 4-5 years from now.

That's pretty much the truth and only possibility.

 

[cjm502]

Just as likely the whole locker room is thinking that if playoffs were so important why did Larkin need to go and get injured at 4 Nations? Professional athletes are the most insanely confident people. They don't whine and cry about how someone should have given them something, the vast majority understand this is a meritocracy. They have nothing but respect for the top players because that's how sports works.

I'm legit trying to think when's the last time a captain of an NHL team whined about his teammates the way Dylan just did? He basically said he needs better teammates, not 4th round draft picks. It's pretty remarkable, I'll hand him that.

Wow, talk about a HOT take. Yeah, Larkin went and got injured on purpose in a tournament every single player on the team would have participated in if they were given the invite. Its highly unlikely that the locker room is upset at Larkin for doing the same exact thing they would have done if given the chance.

Also, perceiving this as Larkin whining about his teammates is a wild take as well. He was stating the feelings of "the group" and "the guys". Going from the locker room being a bit deflated that they didn't receive any reinforcements to Dylan whining about his teammates is a spicy take for sure.

Not even sure if that entire post wasn't bait?

 

[Run the Jewels]

Wow, talk about a HOT take. Yeah, Larkin went and got injured on purpose in a tournament every single player on the team would have participated in if they were given the invite. Its highly unlikely that the locker room is upset at Larkin for doing the same exact thing they would have done if given the chance.

Also, perceiving this as Larkin whining about his teammates is a wild take as well. He was stating the feelings of "the group" and "the guys". Going from the locker room being a bit deflated that they didn't receive any reinforcements to Dylan whining about his teammates is a spicy take for sure.

Not even sure if that entire post wasn't bait?

Larkin is injured, Copp is injured, what exactly was Yzerman supposed to do with his top two centers being in such poor shape? Scoring line centers don't come cheap.

It's three years in a row where the team missed the playoffs within the final week. It's a league that's based entirely on parity and the room had their shot. If the room is whining that they couldn't win one or two more games, NHL players have become unbelievably soft.

Here's a Larkin quote at the end of the season after trading Bert and Hronek at the deadline.

It’s a good lesson for us that you’re never out of it and…how valuable those points are, whether it’s at home…for myself, I think we should be better in overtime and get a couple extra points there. At the end of the season you’re always gonna look at a handful of games where you…should have points…but there are real opportunities for closing out tight games like the one in Arizona (shootout loss when they were up 3-1 in the 3rd period).

We've gone from actual leadership to complaining about how Larkin doesn't have enough support.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Framing this like people are suggesting he should "mortgage his future" is pretty disingenuous.

Nobody is talking about trading young roster players (like Raymond or Kasper), top prospects, and multiple unprotected 1st rounders. Those kinds of moves would be mortgaging the future.

Mark Jankowski scored 8 goals in 19 games and was acquired for a 5th round pick.
Cody Glass put up 7 points in 14 games and was acquired for a 3rd round pick.
The Kings got Kuzmenko and a 7th for a 3rd round pick in 2027 and he put up 17 points in 22 games.

These moves and several like them could have given the team a boost and are not "mortgaging the future". A couple other options would have been to acquire some PK guys that were traded on the cheap to give the PK a boost.

LOL at boost, they are all passengers who are put in sheltered spots. We were missing Copp and apparently Larkin was injured. It's amazing how much people lap up Larkin's excuses, it's a league built on parity, the Red Wings had a shot at playoff hockey three years in a row. I fully admit it was tough with Bert and Hronek being traded two seasons ago, but the opportunity was there these past two seasons. Larkin got injured both times, he has a pretty spotty track record with injuries over the last 25 or so games of the season. Hopefully we can move him to wing or give him sheltered minutes, I can't listen to him whine any more on what he thinks he's entitled to receive.

 

[Snuggs]

No, we are not justifying signing bad contracts because this guy(Copp) was more useful than the other bad contracts Yzerman just signed this summer and collection before. Holl is terrible justification, just about everyone everywhere didn't like it.

People are nuts. Straight up, trade Larkin to sign guys that don't want to sign in Detroit for overpayments. What the heck.

 

[SirloinUB]

LOL at boost, they are all passengers who are put in sheltered spots. We were missing Copp and apparently Larkin was injured. It's amazing how much people lap up Larkin's excuses, it's a league built on parity, the Red Wings had a shot at playoff hockey three years in a row. I fully admit it was tough with Bert and Hronek being traded two seasons ago, but the opportunity was there these past two seasons. Larkin got injured both times, he has a pretty spotty track record with injuries over the last 25 or so games of the season. Hopefully we can move him to wing or give him sheltered minutes, I can't listen to him whine any more on what he thinks he's entitled to receive.

You claimed Yzerman shouldn't be mortgaging the future. Nobody claimed he should. I provided some examples of low cost acquisitions that played well down the stretch.

I'm not sure what the rest of your post is about.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

It's possible, but when Kane was asked about the tread deadline's impact on the room he quickly dismissed it and said they were rolling around that time.

Kane wants a contract. Immediately after the deadline Emily Kaplan reported the room was upset. Larkin has his NTC protection, a longterm contract and really is the only one I can see with the kind of security and tenure to go to bat for the room while crossing Yzerman.

Again though Kane is on the record both with Team USA and in the very same press conference with what a great leader he thinks Larkin is.

Maybe Kane had a different take, maybe Larkin was the straight leaker to Kaplan and doubled down again. But it feels like for a lot in this thread, Kane’s different take on the deadline if it is treated as gospel would also made what he said later about Larks being a great leader hurt the discussion. Not saying you’re doing that here, just if we are going to treat the first part massively doesn’t the second part of the interview matter here?

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

This is why people saying "you're reading too much into a media comment!!!" are sorely mistaken IMO. This is pro sports, the end of season media availabilty matters a lot, and these comments matter. We saw plenty of Vancouver fans saying "it's just media making s*** up!!!" for months with the JT/Pettersson drama, and they never even said anything this damning to the media.

Larkin's comments are a very, very, very bad look and I'd imagine Yzerman is fuming given how much he seems to value professionalism in the organization and how he was as a captain.

IMO Larkin has just driven the likelihood of him being traded up by a lot. And that sucks because Yzerman has not shown he is good at trading when he's doing it out of frustration (see: Walman). I hope we don't dump him for poor value.

But he should not be captain.

Yzerman is welcome to speak, sort of annoyed he hasn’t.

 

[norrisnick]

I guess I know now where some of the deranged callers into sports talk radio come from (I don't listen to sports talk radio, it's a cliche).

Some grass touching is in order...

 

[theVladiator]

I think he is wrong, but honestly do not have an issue with what Larkin said. He is frustrated, and sometimes that frustration boils over. It should be channeled towards constructive things going into the next season, and hopefully he will find a way to do that. That's part of the leadership mantle.

I also do not think team "did nothing" at TDL. We tried to address one of the biggest issues at that time - overusing Talbot. I know Mrazek got injured soon after arriving, but it was a meaningful move that will also help in the coming season.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Kane wants a contract. Immediately after the deadline Emily Kaplan reported the room was upset. Larkin has his NTC protection, a longterm contract and really is the only one I can see with the kind of security and tenure to go to bat for the room while crossing Yzerman.

Again though Kane is on the record both with Team USA and in the very same press conference with what a great leader he thinks Larkin is.

Maybe Kane had a different take, maybe Larkin was the straight leaker to Kaplan and doubled down again. But it feels like for a lot in this thread, Kane’s different take on the deadline if it is treated as gospel would also made what he said later about Larks being a great leader hurt the discussion. Not saying you’re doing that here, just if we are going to treat the first part massively doesn’t the second part of the interview matter here?

I don't know that Kane would have to bite his tongue because he's worried about a contract. He'll have plenty of suitors. My point was that in terms of him speaking for the whole room, one veteran player had a different take than what Larkin said.

I didn't realize Kaplan had reported that. More than whatever Larkin said or feels, that makes me more concerned about the room than just Larkin. Because if it's true then it's less surprising they suck in March. That's a fragile mentality to be looking to the GM for help than looking at the guy next to you and believing you can do it.

Again though, I think (hope?) this is all probably getting blown out of proportion. Given the social media environment we live in, Kaplan's story could've been based on one player saying "yeah it would've been nice to pick up someone at the deadline."

I don't know what Lalonde did exactly but based on several players comments he seems to have mindf***ed this team and their confidence. Maybe this is just some lingering issues from that.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Larkin is injured, Copp is injured, what exactly was Yzerman supposed to do with his top two centers being in such poor shape? Scoring line centers don't come cheap.

It's three years in a row where the team missed the playoffs within the final week. It's a league that's based entirely on parity and the room had their shot. If the room is whining that they couldn't win one or two more games, NHL players have become unbelievably soft.

Here's a Larkin quote at the end of the season after trading Bert and Hronek at the deadline.


We've gone from actual leadership to complaining about how Larkin doesn't have enough support.

His comments on the trade deadline, you can detect some kind of annoyance, but blamed himself for the loss. We just got to win. We have a team we believe in and just gotta do it.



He said what you wanted him to in season. He told the truth after the season about a group he expects to change and didn’t get it done. So basically he cannot win no matter what he does is what I expect the reaction will be to the interview on trade deadline day.

 

[Run the Jewels]

That's a fragile mentality to be looking to the GM for help than looking at the guy next to you and believing you can do it.

Again though, I think (hope?) this is all probably getting blown out of proportion.

I don't know what Lalonde did exactly but based on several players comments he seems to have mindf***ed this team and their confidence. Maybe this is just some lingering issues from that.

It's mind-blowing. Seriously, I can't even fathom a bunch of NHL'ers who missed out on NHL playoffs by like one or two games having their heads done in by not being a buyer at the trade deadline when they routinely get their asses handed to them for a month straight every late February. Yes, you're really making the case here, guys!!

Listenting to Larkin's pressers, it's the audio equivalent of watching paint dry. Total snooze fest. One thing he said he respected about Newsy during last year's press conference was that he was always even keel, you knew exactly what you were going to get and Larkin respected that.

Larkin definitely didn't throw him under the bus during last year's locker clean-out presser. He said last year was one of the best experiences of his career, he seemed to be totally happy with Newsy back then.

 

[norrisnick]

I don't know that Kane would have to bite his tongue because he's worried about a contract. He'll have plenty of suitors. My point was that in terms of him speaking for the whole room, one veteran player had a different take than what Larkin said.

I didn't realize Kaplan had reported that. More than whatever Larkin said or feels, that makes me more concerned about the room than just Larkin. Because if it's true then it's less surprising they suck in March. That's a fragile mentality to be looking to the GM for help than looking at the guy next to you and believing you can do it.

Again though, I think (hope?) this is all probably getting blown out of proportion. Given the social media environment we live in, Kaplan's story could've been based on one player saying "yeah it would've been nice to pick up someone at the deadline."

I don't know what Lalonde did exactly but based on several players comments he seems to have mindf***ed this team and their confidence. Maybe this is just some lingering issues from that.

I mean. He's not dumb. If we know the stable of defensemen behind him isn't good enough, I'm pretty sure he does as well