Just when you think the Detroit Red Wings drama both on and off the ice has settled down. It isn’t even a spark; it is a full-on raging fire.

The team hasn’t been considered successful for several years. That’s what makes the fact that Dylan Larkin wants to leave a little bit understandable.

Everyone is frustrated with the play of the Red Wings and even with management. It is justified. It’s been 10 years since the team has even seen the playoffs.

There’s a big difference, though, between a player being frustrated and one who is under contract demanding a trade. Not just any player, either. One who is only in his fourth year of an eight-year, $69.6 million deal.

Dylan Larkin. A name that is sure to be hated in Detroit at this point, and likely for a long time in the future.

Larkin Adds Fuel to the Fire

The reports that have surfaced today, October 29, claim that the Larkin camp is “done waiting.” Oh really?

NHL insider Pierre LeBrun reported on X that Larkin’s representatives informed Detroit that the former captain believes he has given the organization enough time to accommodate the trade request he made in May.

So this guy is under an eight-year contract carrying an $8.7 million salary cap. He signed the deal in March of 2025. His entire NHL career has been with Detroit. The organization has been loyal to him and gave him a substantial contract.

Now, he has deemed that they have had long enough to find a trade? I see. So, reading between the lines, let’s just assume that the Red Wings haven’t found a deal they believe is worthy. Larkin could be trying to imply they have. So, is he undervaluing himself?

It seems contradictory to his actions. He seems to think he’s worth a lot and can make demands that don’t have to legally be honored.

His current contract has a full no-trade clause through the first five years and then transitions to a modified no-trade clause for the final three years according to Spotrac.

To be boldly clear: His representation negotiated the current contract, and Larkin agreed to it. Eight years, no trade clause, $69.6 million, and now he has determined he wants out and that he has given the team ample time to kneel to his requests.

Larkin Has Zero Loyalty

Sit the man down. Being a holdout and not playing should give him a lot of credit in the NHL (insert sarcastic eye roll). Teams should just be lining up to take a guy like this.

The team has absolutely no obligation to “give in” to his terms. Clearly, Larkin doesn’t understand the meaning of a handshake, let alone a contract. Just because he wants something doesn’t mean everyone around him has to jump. Now he wants them to ask how high.

Apparently, he thinks extortion will accelerate a trade.

He’s talented; that’s hard to deny, but is he talented enough to overcome this? It’s hard to believe a team would want to take a chance on him with everything that is currently happening.

Remember when he told us all how sorry he was and how he wanted to earn back the trust of his fellow players and fans? I do. Everyone does. So that was all just pomp and circumstance? What team wants that?

Now, instead of standing by the players who committed to playing beside you, you have decided that you no longer want to take the ice? That’s quite a statement.

He once wore the captain’s letter. What a disappointment. Not just as a player but as a human. This isn’t just business. This is your word.

The Red Wings have some blame to assume here, but it is on a different level. Yes, they have let this situation drag on, but they also have a responsibility to get a valid return for a guy carrying an $8.7 million annual cap hit.

Larkin is frustrated. So what. Everyone is. Now things have changed, though.

His decision to stop playing shouldn’t force the team into taking a deal that damages its future any more than it already has. Larkin can sit. Larkin can wait.

The Red Wings might be better off without him on the ice anyway. He’s shown his loyalties.

Truthfully, the faster he can leave Detroit, the better, but the team has no obligation to give in, and letting him sit might not be a bad decision. He sure isn’t increasing his value any currently.

Suspend him without pay and let him sit. That will cost Larkin more than $41,000 per day. Business is business, right?