HAPPY BIRTHDAY! The most disgusting day in Red Wings history. No wings captain has ever requested a trade in team history.

[Steve Yzerlland]

If this Dylan Larkin trade-request report is true, I want him gone. Simple as that.

This is the captain of the Detroit Red Wings. The hometown guy. The face of the franchise. The player who was supposed to represent loyalty, accountability, and dragging this team back to relevance. And now, in the Red Wings’ 100th season, after years of the fanbase defending him, excusing the losing, and treating him like the one untouchable piece, he reportedly asks out?

Pure garbage.

And the worst part is the no-trade clause. He doesn’t just ask out — he has the contract power to completely handcuff the team. That means Detroit can’t just take the best package. They can’t open the market properly. They can’t maximize leverage. They have to work around his preferred destinations while the entire league knows the captain wants out. That is brutal asset-management sabotage from the one guy who was supposed to be leading the room.

You want out? Fine. Then take the “C” off immediately.

Because this isn’t some random middle-six winger asking for a change of scenery. This is the captain. This is the guy who signed long-term, got paid, got protected, got marketed as the heart of the rebuild, and now when the pressure gets unbearable, he wants the escape hatch?

No thanks.

I don’t care how many points he has. I don’t care that he’s from Michigan. I don’t care that he suffered through the worst years. Captains don’t pull this kind of stunt and then keep being treated like franchise royalty. If you don’t want to be here, you should not be leading this team for one more shift.

Trade him. Strip the captaincy. Turn the page.

The Red Wings are bigger than Dylan Larkin.

 

[wingsfannnn9191]

C should have been stripped long ago for seider and dealt … he’s doing us a favour in the long run so I’m not to bothered as I should be. Said 3 yrs ago he was a loser and would never lead us to a cup . I was right

Adios muchachos

That being said I’m not trading him for the sake of trading him and ending up with shit. If he plays hard ball I Bring him back and strip the c. I’d gladly wait two years. He’ll still have 3 yrs left

 

[SpookyTsuki]

Wasn’t even that bad either. We were competing (for the playoffs at least) the last 3-4 years or so.

 

[JediOrderPizza]

He wants to be a 2c on a cup contender and not the guy with pressure I guess.

Someone said he was the worst Red Wings captain and I thought that was harsh, but then you go well Yzerman, Lidstrom, and Zetterberg. So yeah it tracks, in my lifetime anyways.

 

[Run the Jewels]

In before this thread gets locked.

 

[Euro Twins]

He wants to be a 2c on a cup contender and not the guy with pressure I guess.

Someone said he was the worst Red Wings captain and I thought that was harsh, but then you go well Yzerman, Lidstrom, and Zetterberg. So yeah it tracks, in my lifetime anyways.

Definitely not the worst red wings captain. But not even close to the best.

 

[Kjoe1988]

I’m am kind of over him.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

Guys I'm ranting tonight buckle up!

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

The bigger issue here is what this says to the rest of the league.

Why would any serious free agent look at Detroit right now and think, “Yeah, that’s where I want to sign long-term”? The captain reportedly wants out. The hometown guy. The face of the rebuild. The one player who was supposed to be emotionally invested beyond just the paycheck.

If the captain quits, what does that tell everyone else?

It tells free agents the room is broken. It tells them the plan isn’t convincing. It tells them the organization sold hope for years and still couldn’t build a team worth believing in. That is catastrophic optics for a franchise already fighting to regain credibility.

And Chris Ilitch looks like an absolute clown in all of this.

You gave Dylan Larkin the money. You gave him the term. You gave him the no-trade clause. You handed him the power to control his exit because you believed he was the committed guy. The loyal guy. The captain who would never quit when things got hard.

That is the entire point of giving someone that kind of protection.

You do not hand out an NTC to a player who might turn around and use it to handcuff the team. You give that to someone you believe is locked in for the mission. Someone who wants the burden. Someone who can handle the losing, the pressure, the ugly years, and still say, “This is my team.”

Instead, now Detroit may be stuck with a captain who wants out and has the contractual leverage to shrink the trade market. That is a nightmare. The team loses leverage, the locker room loses credibility, the fanbase loses trust, and every free agent watching this circus has to wonder what is really going on behind closed doors.

This is not just about losing Dylan Larkin.

This makes the entire organization look weak, unserious, and unstable.

If your captain quits, your rebuild failed on a deeper level than just the standings.

 

[FMichael]

Guys I'm ranting tonight buckle up!

Not gonna lie - this is probably the most interest/entertainment regarding the Wings I've had in a loooooong time!

 

[wingsfannnn9191]

He wants to be a 2c on a cup contender and not the guy with pressure I guess.

Someone said he was the worst Red Wings captain and I thought that was harsh, but then you go well Yzerman, Lidstrom, and Zetterberg. So yeah it tracks, in my lifetime anyways.

He was always a loser . Got crucified years ago for saying he wasn’t a leader and would never carry the team on his back to a cup and to name seider the c

He’ll be comfortable being the 4-6th best player on a team

 

[wingsfannnn9191]

The bigger issue here is what this says to the rest of the league.

Why would any serious free agent look at Detroit right now and think, “Yeah, that’s where I want to sign long-term”? The captain reportedly wants out. The hometown guy. The face of the rebuild. The one player who was supposed to be emotionally invested beyond just the paycheck.

If the captain quits, what does that tell everyone else?

It tells free agents the room is broken. It tells them the plan isn’t convincing. It tells them the organization sold hope for years and still couldn’t build a team worth believing in. That is catastrophic optics for a franchise already fighting to regain credibility.

And Chris Ilitch looks like an absolute clown in all of this.

You gave Dylan Larkin the money. You gave him the term. You gave him the no-trade clause. You handed him the power to control his exit because you believed he was the committed guy. The loyal guy. The captain who would never quit when things got hard.

That is the entire point of giving someone that kind of protection.

You do not hand out an NTC to a player who might turn around and use it to handcuff the team. You give that to someone you believe is locked in for the mission. Someone who wants the burden. Someone who can handle the losing, the pressure, the ugly years, and still say, “This is my team.”

Instead, now Detroit may be stuck with a captain who wants out and has the contractual leverage to shrink the trade market. That is a nightmare. The team loses leverage, the locker room loses credibility, the fanbase loses trust, and every free agent watching this circus has to wonder what is really going on behind closed doors.

This is not just about losing Dylan Larkin.

This makes the entire organization look weak, unserious, and unstable.

If your captain quits, your rebuild failed on a deeper level than just the standings.

Problem is there’s no big free agent anymore . We have to fix this problem through our rookies and trading for teams younger players and hope they turn into stars here like I been saying for a while

Trading crybaby will help speed up the process

 

[Run the Jewels]

Why would any serious free agent look at Detroit right now and think, “Yeah, that’s where I want to sign long-term”? The captain reportedly wants out. The hometown guy. The face of the rebuild. The one player who was supposed to be emotionally invested beyond just the paycheck.

 

[NC Wings Phan]

Nailed it. You don’t do that in this org. Says everything about his character. F… him. Never felt good about him in the C. This validates all the concerns. I don’t like the way it’s happening in terms of the hit on potential return, but good f…ing riddance to his whiny trash attitude and excuses. Mentally weak players don’t make good leaders and anyone who doesn’t think his leadership doesn’t trickle out to team has likely never played.

It’s a shame it’s come to this but as evidenced by the fact that it’s happening at all, this is a positive move for team and good f…ing riddance. He should’ve been gone 7/1/2025 after his gutless b…. a.. comments to media about lack of deadline moves. Cry somewhere else.

Hope he rots in Toronto some day at least and never tastes playoff success. Shame. F…ing embarrassing.

Good riddance.

*spits

 

[NC Wings Phan]

Why would any serious free agent look at Detroit right now and think, “Yeah, that’s where I want to sign long-term”? The captain reportedly wants out. The hometown guy. The face of the rebuild. The one player who was supposed to be emotionally invested beyond just the paycheck.

Anyone who wouldn’t come because gutless Larkin who cries to Helene about the GM not making deadline deals can f… off anyways. We’ll take the guys that want to play with big Mo and leave anyone who would’ve looked up to little Larkin; zero concern.

Our offense is likely take a hit, let’s be real, but our leadership and character is getting an upgrade as soon as they pin that C to Mo.

 

[Heaton]

Anyone who wouldn’t come because gutless Larkin who cries to Helene about the GM not making deadline deals can f… off anyways. We’ll take the guys that want to play with big Mo and leave anyone who would’ve looked up to little Larkin; zero concern.

Our offense is likely take a hit, let’s be real, but our leadership and character is getting an upgrade as soon as they pin that C to Mo.

Look, I'm all about the "f*** Larkin" train, but Larkin had a point. Yzerman has not done a good enough job and while Larkin should shoulder plenty of blame, I don't really blame from for wanting out. I think this could be good for for both the player and the team but there's another possibility that the Wings straight up lose the trade. The team acquiring the best player usually wins the deal.

I'm just glad it's looking like there will be real change this offseason. I'm just not sure Yzerman should be making these big decisions anymore.

 

[saska sault]

I was going to try to spend the off season away from discussion but this has pulled me right back in! Who's got an extra pitch fork?

 

[Hammettf2b]

The bigger issue here is what this says to the rest of the league.

Why would any serious free agent look at Detroit right now and think, “Yeah, that’s where I want to sign long-term”? The captain reportedly wants out. The hometown guy. The face of the rebuild. The one player who was supposed to be emotionally invested beyond just the paycheck.

If the captain quits, what does that tell everyone else?

It tells free agents the room is broken. It tells them the plan isn’t convincing. It tells them the organization sold hope for years and still couldn’t build a team worth believing in. That is catastrophic optics for a franchise already fighting to regain credibility.

And Chris Ilitch looks like an absolute clown in all of this.

You gave Dylan Larkin the money. You gave him the term. You gave him the no-trade clause. You handed him the power to control his exit because you believed he was the committed guy. The loyal guy. The captain who would never quit when things got hard.

That is the entire point of giving someone that kind of protection.

You do not hand out an NTC to a player who might turn around and use it to handcuff the team. You give that to someone you believe is locked in for the mission. Someone who wants the burden. Someone who can handle the losing, the pressure, the ugly years, and still say, “This is my team.”

Instead, now Detroit may be stuck with a captain who wants out and has the contractual leverage to shrink the trade market. That is a nightmare. The team loses leverage, the locker room loses credibility, the fanbase loses trust, and every free agent watching this circus has to wonder what is really going on behind closed doors.

This is not just about losing Dylan Larkin.

This makes the entire organization look weak, unserious, and unstable.

If your captain quits, your rebuild failed on a deeper level than just the standings.

Maybe this lights a fire under Yzerman to make a splash. This reminds me of when Kobe Bryant demanded a trade only for management to make a splash and eventually won some titles.

Thats wishful thinking though. A Larkin trade might be best for both sides.

 

[jaster]

Guys I'm ranting tonight buckle up!

 

[NC Wings Phan]

Look, I'm all about the "f*** Larkin" train, but Larkin had a point. Yzerman has not done a good enough job and while Larkin should shoulder plenty of blame, I don't really blame from for wanting out. I think this could be good for for both the player and the team but there's another possibility that the Wings straight up lose the trade. The team acquiring the best player usually wins the deal.

I'm just glad it's looking like there will be real change this offseason. I'm just not sure Yzerman should be making these big decisions anymore.

You were LGW boards, no?

Anyways, I don’t blame him either, and I’m not going to sit and say Yzerman’s been perfect by any stretch, but I don’t think he’s been bad either, especially relative to where and what he started with.

Stripping dramatics, I genuinely think Larkin has been in a tough spot with team and the team/management in a tough with Larkin since the day Holland handed keys to Yzerman to drive. Old org was clearly flailing and Larkin really only piece remotely worth salvaging, but is he really the guy you want to build a team around. The story was there, and a desperately bad team is desperate for a story, and the hometown angle made it so much worse likely for both. It was an unreasonable situation for both sides; dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t.

He’s the only good player you have, the only chip you have, and the only story you have.

Is that fair or easy for either party.

Nah.

But it dragged on and here we are and reality is Larkin has said too much s… and become the face of implosions and the new core is a younger crew put together by a different management team. It was bound to get messy with his attitude, deserved, reasonable, or not. It was untenable, and again, here we are.

This is definitely going to be a defining moment for Yzerman. I think there’s an argument to be made that as much as Larkin was necessary to build around, he’s also been a hinderance and he isn’t the leader we’d really want, and guys like Mo make that more obvious. When I heard guys like Copp whining about “the noise from you guys,” aside from being done with Copp, I was also infinitely more done with Larkin in that moment, as he sets the tone for that mentality, and that’s such a huge part of why I believe we haven’t been able to finish.

Now there’s really not going to be excuses. Yzerman will have to make a move, and it’ll have a huge impact on the future direction. He’ll also name a new Captain, no doubt Seider. Whiners will complain we’re not perfect yet but we really are not in a terrible spot relative to 2019, the hole we were in, and the chaos since, especially without getting lottery luck.

I’m more optimistic than some I’d say clearly, but I’ll also say if things don’t meaningfully keep going in right direction or if we seriously decline, obviously going to be time to move on from Yzerman in next 2-3 years. But this could also be one of those necessary foundational shakeup moments that finally gets us to where we really need to be, and where I personally think Yzerman has been trying to go.

Time will tell, but for a lot of reasons, I think this could be a good and necessary, albeit ugly and painful in the short-term, step in the right direction.

 

[Oddbob]

How is there a need for 2 threads started on the same day talking about the same topic?????

 

[FMichael]

How is there a need for 2 threads started on the same day talking about the same topic?????

We need a 3rd!

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

In before this thread gets locked.

Literally why? This is unprecedented territory.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

Thursday June 4th 2026. The day Larkin turned his back on Detroit. He quit!

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

Unbelievable. He f***ing quit on us! Steve Yzerman made him the captain! Illitch paid him and gave him his NTC assuming he was ride or die! To see the contract through. He is weak!