I’m just shaking my head at the admirable Adam Proteau’s off-key take on the situation between disgruntled Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin and Detroit’s players and management.
Proteau wonders aloud what would happen if the Red Wings brought a disgruntled Larkin to training camp, which is not going to happen…
While Yzerman can and should put up a brave front for public consumption and pretend that Larkin is going to play more games in a Red Wings uniform, picture what could happen if Larkin isn’t traded.
When training camp begins, there will be an army of media asking pointed questions. Could the Wings function and focus when, every day, there’ll be constant questions about Larkin’s future in Detroit?
That potential situation could get sufficiently ugly to be a burden that Red Wings players have no choice but to deal with daily. It will be a constant distraction, and no amount of brave posturing will change the fact that Larkin has checked out.
Larkin knew there was no turning back once he informed Yzerman that he wanted a trade. And there’ll be a poisonous atmosphere in Motown if Larkin sticks around.
There are two points to be made here:
- Yzerman’s not going to talk to the media until he wants to do so. For better or worse, he’s not a general manager that reaches out to the media, and I have a bad feeling that he’s not going to speak this summer/fall until the Larkin situation rectifies itself. It’s disappointing to have a hermit for a GM in terms of his relationship with the media (or the total lack thereof), but that’s his prerogative;
- Again, there is no purpose in bringing Larkin to training camp. If he’s still a member of the Red Wings’ organization come September, the Wings should either sit him out or suspend him outright.
And this is why Yzerman should hold out for the best deal possible–because the most well-intentioned journalists just get the whole bloody point of trading Larkin if and only if there’s a commensurate return wrong:
[I]f Yzerman tries going the scorched-earth route with Larkin, you’d better believe there will be constant questions about Yzerman’s judgement.
Given that Larkin has presented Yzerman with a list of more than one team, Yzerman should be able to get a manageable trade package. Not a terrific trade package, but a solid one. Because Larkin wants out means Yzerman can now only make the best of a bad situation. That means accepting a trade package that doesn’t bring back the exact amount of talent going out of the Wings organization when Larkin leaves.
Yeah, fuck that. Pardon the F-bomb, but fuck that. Detroit’s not going to have to “settle” for their captain’s return just because they need to get rid of him. No, the Red Wings aren’t going to be as good a team without Larkin, but they can and should hold out for as close to an “even” trade as possible.
Accepting anything less is stupid, frankly.
At this stage, the optics of a Larkin return to Detroit would be exceedingly negative, with all the focus on Yzerman and Larkin. But between the two of them, the Wings GM and captain should be able to figure out an exit for Larkin that helps Detroit as much as possible.
I agree with Proteau’s conclusion, and, again, I have no beef with Proteau, but this is a nuclear situation here, and there’s a lot of fallout. The Red Wings’ captain has demanded a trade, and the GM is understandably furious and feels betrayed, as does the fan base…
So this is going to take a while to play out. We’re going to have to be patient, especially now that the Leo Carlsson offer sheet increased Larkin’s value.
