Wojo: Red Wings’ Yzerman-Larkin standoff is mess, with no end in sight
· Yahoo Sports
Detroit — Steve Yzerman just wanted to talk about the draft, and the Red Wings’ new prospects, and his trade for a first-round pick. But one issue won’t go away, not until he makes it go away.
And judging by Yzerman’s demeanor and terse response, Dylan Larkin’s trade request isn’t any closer to being resolved. Plenty of teams made deals during the draft that concluded Saturday, but the Wings’ wayward captain didn’t move. And it’s increasingly apparent Yzerman isn’t inclined to budge — no giveaway to make this go away.
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The standoff overshadowed a seemingly productive draft by the Wings, who traded one-time hotshot goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa to Utah for a first-round pick, which they used on high-scoring winger J.P. Hurlbert. The circular nature of this drama is bizarre, with no end in sight. Hurlbert is headed to play for Michigan, where Larkin starred. When interviewed after the pick, Hurlbert said his favorite team growing up was the Red Wings, and his favorite player was Larkin.
Maybe at one time, Larkin’s favorite player was Yzerman. But the link between captains is broken, and hope of a quick, amicable resolution is fading. Yzerman initially declined to address the issue until after he spoke about the draft. Then he delivered a blunt statement and took no questions.
He confirmed the details of Larkin’s request, that it was made by his agent shortly after the season, followed by a short list of teams for whom he’d waive his no-trade clause. Yzerman’s options are limited and acceptable offers scarce, so far. And he doesn’t seem interested in clearing up the murkiness.
“Dylan has five years remaining on his contract,” Yzerman said Saturday. “My job as the manager of the Detroit Red Wings is always to do what’s in the best interest of the Detroit Red Wings, and I will act accordingly to that. I cannot make any guarantees and did not make any guarantees that the request could, or would, be met. There’s certainly a lot of uncertainty around that.”
Time on his side
Yzerman said he might have more to say when free-agency opens next week. Uncertainty does the Wings no good, as they must make decisions on trades and signings during a vitally important offseason. Uncertainty does Larkin no good either, although he doesn’t really have to deal with it until training camp, if he’s still on the team.
That’s far, far from ideal, as Larkin has irreparably damaged his standing in Detroit, and in the process, further damaged Yzerman’s. The only thing Yzerman controls now is time, and as we’ve seen, he can be a patient, stubborn one.
At the time of Larkin’s request, I thought he was doing Yzerman a favor, forcing him to shake things up after 10 years out of the playoffs, the last seven with Yzerman in charge. The Wings still might find a suitable trade partner for Larkin, 29, whose contract is team-friendly and whose scoring acumen — five straight 30-goal seasons — is impressive.
Perhaps other teams don’t find him so enticing. When you dig into the numbers, Larkin’s production severely lags in five-on-five situations. He has been the captain during four consecutive March collapses, and while injuries have been a factor, he hasn’t been a vocal, driving force through tough stretches.
When Larkin won a gold medal with Team USA in the Olympics, he played alongside stars and close friends, and unlocked a spirit that had been dulled by the losing in Detroit. It was the most high-stakes winning he’d ever experienced, and it made him long for more with the Wings.
Twice, Larkin has publicly questioned Yzerman’s inactivity at the trade deadline, which is his right (and his duty as captain). Yzerman angrily retorted after the 2025 season that he counted on more “from our best players, our leaders.” The frustration is shared. Yzerman has made poor decisions on veteran acquisitions, and the Wings rarely have looked like a true playoff team, but the players rarely have risen when it mattered.
Dictating terms
On a broader scale, this is a growing trend in the NHL, about a decade after NBA stars began dictating their terms. A lot of U.S. players relished the Olympic experience and came home with heightened ambitions. They want to win, of course. They also want to play alongside friends in comfortable settings.
Brady Tkachuk forced his way out of Ottawa to play with his brother in Florida. Connor Hellebuyck, the gold-medal goaltender, isn’t happy in Winnipeg. Minnesota defenseman Quinn Hughes pushed hard for a trade from Vancouver. Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski, the reigning Norris Trophy winner and a former teammate of Larkin’s at Michigan, said he won’t re-sign when his contract is up in two years.
The Blue Jackets are searching for a solution now, and while you could envision a Larkin-Werenski pairing somewhere, it’s hard to see where. The Wings probably don’t have the assets to land Werenski, and frankly, any notion of Larkin remaining in Detroit seems distasteful right now — to the Wings and the fans.
Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell said the quiet part out loud last when he spoke to the Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun.
“I think it’s the model of what the NBA has done over the years, where players ask to get traded to particular places and somehow they always make it happen,” Waddell said to LeBrun. “I will say, for myself, if we’re in that position, just because somebody asked for a trade, you don’t always have to make it.”
That’s surely what Yzerman would have said if he wanted to say more. The Wings have benefited from this before, when Alex DeBrincat wanted out of Ottawa and Yzerman bought him back to his hometown. DeBrincat, Larkin and Patrick Kane know each other well and have meshed nicely. Larkin also was close friends with Tyler Bertuzzi and got emotional when Yzerman traded him in 2023.
Yzerman can be unyielding and austere, more about business, less about feelings. But times and players are changing. Yzerman’s firm control and tough negotiating worked in Tampa, where he made excellent picks and drove hard bargains. That was almost 10 years ago, and Yzerman’s approach has taken a beating in Detroit. He has a modest talent core in Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond, Simon Edvinsson and DeBrincat, a solid coach in Todd McLellan, and decent prospects in the organization. He has respect and power, although both are waning.
Yzerman still has leverage and time to use it. Minnesota reportedly covets Larkin to play alongside another Olympian and friend, Quinn Hughes. The Wild boldly dealt for Hughes and desperately want to add more.
Depending on what Yzerman can get for Larkin, the rebuild sadly might require a rebuild, or at least a repurposing. Hurlbert sounds and plays like a younger Larkin, a skilled scorer. At one point Cossa was the goalie of the future, and that mantle now goes to Michal Postava or Trey Augustine.
Yzerman said Hurlbert, 18, was in a small group of players he was willing to leap for, if available at Utah’s No. 23 pick. It looks like a slight philosophical shift, as the Wings recognize the need to focus on offensive players, not just two-way players.
“He’s very skilled, he’s very smart,” said Kris Draper, Wings assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting. “He has a knack around the net, can score goals in different ways, and has good creativity with the puck on his stick. He’s going to Michigan and has an opportunity to play in a really good program that certainly stresses offense.”
That was Larkin a decade ago, when everything was bright and promising. It was Yzerman a decade ago, when he was putting together a Cup-winning team in Tampa. It can still work for both, although apparently not together, not here. It’s a shame with an uncertain end game. Letting this linger doesn’t serve anyone’s best interest.
@bobwojnowski
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Wojo: Red Wings’ Yzerman-Larkin standoff is mess, with no end in sight