The Detroit Red Wings are seemingly up against the ropes, and there might be no bell that can save them. Dylan Larkin requested a trade ahead of the 2026-27 NHL season, and although the captain is signed long term and there is no looming free-agency pressure, the Winged Wheel may truly be out of options.
“It’s not as if [Steve] Yzerman can say, ‘You know, you’ve only given us a couple of different teams. I don’t like the packages we’re getting, so you’re going to come back and play.’ Yzerman has got to move him. Detroit needs to do something here,” as reported on The Sheet with Jeff Marek.
Although Larkin’s trade request is often compared to the examples set by fellow Team USA teammates Jack Eichel, Quinn Hughes, and Matthew Tkachuk, the Red Wings’ captain may be setting an unforeseen precedent. If he gets his way and is moved by Detroit to one of the teams on Larkin’s reported trade list, then the veteran could pull off a move that completely changes the NHL landscape.
Why Larkin’s trade request is different
When a franchise player asks to be traded, the request often comes ahead of a contract year or when there are few years left on his deal. That way, leverage is granted to him because no team wants to risk losing a star to free agency.
Dylan Larkin #71 of the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.
However, unrestricted free agency is nowhere near for Larkin. Detroit’s captain is under contract through the 2030-31 NHL season. Regardless, he has managed to put the Red Wings on the clock. The fact the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft is right around the corner can also play to Larkin and his camp’s advantage.
Larkin’s example is one that sends chills down the spine of every league executive, especially those in organizations that, like Detroit, haven’t been able to break through the bubble and make the Stanley Cup Playoffs on a yearly basis. Perhaps, the true impact of max-term deals had been greatly exaggerated.
Larkin’s trade request was a long time coming in Detroit
Larkin has played only five career postseason games, all of which came during his rookie year back in 2016. A decade later, the Red Wings drag the longest active playoff drought in the league. For that, the Winged Wheel only has itself to blame.
Everybody points to the role played by Team USA’s camaraderie in leading several players to ask out of difficult situations around the league. While it might be a reasonable point to make, it’s clear Larkin’s frustration with the “Yzerplan” in Motor City existed long before he joined the Stars and Stripes at the 4 Nations Face-Off and the Olympics. If anything, it only accelerated the process.
But it was always going to be a foregone conclusion. Only Detroit could stop it by winning. The Red Wings didn’t. Larkin deserves a share of the blame for his performance, especially late in the season and at five-on-five, but the writing was on the wall long before, whether the front office in the 313 cared to address it or not.
Red Wings are out of options
It’s time for Detroit to face the music. The Red Wings can twist and maneuver their way through negotiations and trade packages, but there appears to be no avoiding the inevitable. Larkin has made up his mind: he wants out of Detroit.
The fact he is under contract for the next five years may matter little, and a precedent could be set that completely shifts how every struggling franchise handles its stars. If Larkin can free himself from Motor City without needing to flirt with free agency, then the rest of the league may be in trouble, and the NHL’s apex contenders could become unstoppable.
Turning point in NHL history
If the Detroits of the league can’t stop their Larkins from forcing their way to the Vegases, Minnesotas, and Floridas of the world, then it might be all she wrote for the so-called parity in the NHL. What good would long-term deals with full no-movement clauses be?
Larkin may be on the verge of creating a watershed moment. If he gets his way—which is reportedly the direction things are heading—the league may be past the point of no return.
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