You can see Larkin’s side, to a certain extent. It seems like he wants to go to a team with a better chance of winning. His only Stanley Cup playoff experience was five games in 2015-16, his rookie season. The Red Wings have missed the playoffs the last 10 seasons, the longest drought in their history and the longest active drought in the NHL. Larkin clashed with former general manager Steve Yzerman and asked for a trade after last season. Yzerman was fired on July 15, but Detroit has yet to hire a permanent hockey operations leader. Restricted free agent defenseman Simon Edvinsson remains unsigned and also wants a trade. Although initially unable to participate due to an upper body injury, Larkin reported to training camp. When he was stripped of the captaincy he said that actions have consequences. He faced boos during introductions in the home opener and at the start of his first game back, and scored six points (two goals, four assists) in 10 games. In his opinion, it gave the Red Wings enough time to reach an agreement. “Dylan has had enough of the situation,” Larkin’s agent, Pat Brisson, told The Athletic. “We believe you have been very professional and cooperative during this process.” But that changed on Thursday, right? Larkin said he wanted to regain the trust of his coaches and teammates. Now he has abandoned them and put pressure on the team. Is that professional and cooperative? “It’s pretty raw,” Horcoff said. “I think everyone needs some time in the locker room to digest it. I will say I’ve been very, very impressed. Dylan asked to be traded this summer, and those players welcomed him with open arms, as did the coaching staff, the front office and the fans to a large extent.” The Red Wings hoped they could smooth things over with Larkin. That’s over now. “My initial plan was to try to figure it out,” Horcoff said. “I wanted to try to do what I could to keep Dylan here in a Red Wing jersey, and clearly I couldn’t do that.” When asked if the situation had become irreparable, Horcoff said, “Dylan doesn’t want to be a Red Wing anymore, and he’s not with us. That’s a strong statement. I think Dylan is the only one who could really answer something like that, but for us, it’s pretty simple.” Defenseman Moritz Seider said it “meant a little more” when the Red Wings defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday night because “this is our team.” Despite the distractions, they are 5-1-3 in their last nine games.
