Dylan Larkin doesn't want to talk about why he requested a trade from the Detroit Red Wings or share if he still wants to be traded. So why have a press conference?
It's Awkward Press Conference Week in the NHL, and with most of the competitors having already gone through the process, it's hard to see anyone topping Dylan Larkin's availability with the Detroit Red Wings media.
"I'm here. I'm speaking today to you guys because you guys deserve answers, fans deserve answers," Larkin, who is currently injured, told reporters in a roughly 13-minute presser. "I don't want this distraction, I don't want one of my teammates to have to answer before you hear from me."
All evidence on Thursday stood the contrary. To say Larkin was guarded about his answers would be kind. He was borderline defensive, and seemingly unwilling to tip his hand on basically any of the decisions that led to his trade request.
While he did confirm that he asked for a trade and didn't regret it, he wouldn't elaborate further, calling it a personal decision and saying he might never feel comfortable revealing the reasons behind it.
Larkin expressed that his request wasn't something he did lightly, and it wasn't something where he made up his mind even around the time of the team's exit interviews at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.
He mentioned that he has since talked to his teammates about why he made the decision, noting that it wasn't because of those teammates. The 30-year-old also added that the gold medal didn't impact his decision, and he understands why he's no longer the captain.
"My focus right now is on the upcoming season with the Detroit Red Wings," he said.
When asked whether the reports of his small trade list were true and whether he had rescinded his trade request since initially making it, Larkin said him and interim GM Shawn Horcoff would keep those details between them rather than put them out publicly.
As for reports about potential conflict with ex-GM Steve Yzerman, he implied they had "differences" but he respects the Red Wings legend.
Larkin may not want to answer these questions, but if you are the captain of a team for over five years and request a trade, seemingly out of nowhere, you owe a little more to the fans than saying you don't want to talk about it.
Fans have heard all kinds of reports about how he had a small trade list. We've heard that he and Yzerman might have had friction between them, which is certainly pertinent insofar as Yzerman no longer has a job and the Red Wings might not have a full-time GM or president of hockey operations in place all season.
If you can't even give the fans some clarity one way or the other, that's pretty weak stuff.
Unless there's some real family-related stuff at play, like there seems to be with Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg, these answers just don't cut it. Hellebuyck has at least obliquely referred to the fact that he doesn't think the Winnipeg Jets can be competitive. So if that was the impetus for Larkin's request as well, then he should say so.
That could be interpreted as saying he thinks his teammates aren't good enough, collectively, and after a decade of playoff misses, you would think that's just undeniable. NHL players know when their teams aren't good and they know why, so if Larkin did say he doesn't think he can win in Detroit, there's not a guy in that room who could honestly say they don't get it.
And if it was an Yzerman thing after all? Well, he isn't his boss anymore. You don't want to rock the boat with one of the league's all-time greats, but if everyone understands that behind the scenes, then what's the harm in saying that publicly?
Players and coaches and GMs don't get along sometimes, as Larkin alluded to, but if their rift was so strong that he requested a trade, you owe it to the fans to say so. But since he's not commenting on whether the trade request has been rescinded, all anyone on the outside can do is wonder.
Even forgetting that Larkin is a local product who grew up a Red Wings fan, he's played there 11 years. You would think he understands how the business works by now.
Fans buy your jerseys, buy tickets, cheer you on. Players are not obligated to take less money than they deserve to stay with one team forever, and as far as anyone should be concerned, they can request a trade anytime they want for any reason they want.
But when it's a situation like this, explanations are owed. It's that simple. Leaving it shrouded in mystery like this is a half-way solution that, based on social media chatter in the immediate aftermath, seems to have only frustrated people more.
If he wasn't going to answer why he requested a trade — the only thing anyone really wanted to hear from him today — then he shouldn't have had the press conference. But since he did appear in front of media, even if he was told by the team that he had to, he should have been forthright.
Larkin doesn't want it to be a distraction? He didn't help himself with this presser.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.
See more of The Hockey News on Google and save us as a preferred source. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
