I can only laugh at the timing of Bleacher Report’s Sara Civian declaring the Red Wings a 2026 offseason loser:
Loser: The Red Wings
Nothing quite tells you you’re “losing” the offseason like firing your franchise legend of a GM after nearly a decade of stagnation and failure to make the playoffs.
This offseason has been a mess for the Red Wings, and things got messier — but likely better in the long run — as they announced the firing of GM Steve Yzerman on Wednesday morning.
Let’s take a look at the conundrum he found himself in that the next GM will inherit.
The Red Wings’ signing of Viktor Arvidsson was solid, but they’ve been quiet beyond that this offseason — despite their desperation to return to the playoffs — for a reason.
They can’t do much of anything until their current situation gets sorted out. The “situation?” Oh yeah, it’s just that their captain, first-line center, and face of the franchise for nearly a decade, Dylan Larkin, wants out with five more seasons left on his contract.
This is such a gigantic bummer for Red Wings fans. First off, they either lose Larkin or keep him, knowing his heart’s not in it, which would’ve been bad enough. The holdup here has pretty much prevented Yzerman from making timely moves that could help build the Red Wings up in the post-Larkin era. If we’re being real, though, that was never his strong suit.
There’s no need to jump into a trade that would yield anything but the perfect return for Larkin, just because he requested one. But now things are going to be awkward and sour as his time with the Red Wings comes to an end, no matter what.
Perhaps the firing of Yzerman changes Larkin’s feelings on staying a Red Wing? We’ll have to stay tuned.
Continued; the Larkin situation is simple. It’s a divorce. He’s out.
