The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe argues that 8 of the NHL’s 32 fan bases should feel “insulted” by their respective teams’ offseason performances as of July 8th…
But McIndoe suggests that it’s not the franchise that the Red Wings’ fan base should be insulted by:
2. Detroit Red Wings
What happened: With a team-record playoff drought hitting the ten-year mark, captain Dylan Larkin stood up and declared that enough was enough. As in: He’d had enough, and wanted to be traded to a good team that was already winning without him. You guys can figure out the whole “winning in Detroit” thing once he’s gone.
The case for: While Larkin certainly wasn’t the only or the biggest star to demand a trade this summer, he was the only one to do so with five years left on his contract. And as has become the norm, he used his no-trade clause to limit his potential destinations to just three teams: Minnesota, Florida or Vegas, none of whom necessarily seemed to have the assets Steve Yzerman would need to make a deal.
So far, Yzerman has been holding strong, waiting for Larkin to either change his mind or provide a longer list. Neither has happened yet, raising the possibility that we might get an extremely awkward September reunion when training camp opens.
The case against: With no trade in place yet, there’s always the possibility that Larkin and Yzerman could work out their differences, similar to what we saw with Werenski in Columbus. And while Yzerman has been pushed into trades before by players like Martin St. Louis and Jonathan Drouin, his track record in those deals is solid, so he might be able to find a way to make this work for the Wings.
The insult-o-meter reads: 8.5/10. Having a captain throw in the towel is a brutal look for a fan base, and barring an unexpected reconciliation, it’s hard to see this ending in anything other than more salt being poured in Wings fans’ wounds.
Continued (paywall); Larkin and Yzerman are NOT going to make up and be friends again, and it IS HIGHLY LIKELY that the Red Wings will not end up with the best player or players after trading Dylan Larkin to another team.
What is also true is that it’s going to be up to Detroit’s players, coaches and management to ensure that the team doesn’t take a step back during the 2025-2026 season.
