Updated at 4:27 PM: Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot, forward J.T. Compher and coach Todd McLellan spoke with the media for a grand total of 30 minutes on Thursday, and if you don’t have time to watch the video thereof, provided by the Red Wings, the Free Press’s Helene St. James summarized their remarks regarding the…unusual…situation surrounding Dylan Larkin:
“Everything that’s gone on, we spoke about it as a team,” Chiarot said. “Dylan addressed the team. I think we keep that in here between the guys on the team. We’ve taken care of it, and we’ll keep our feelings to ourselves. We’ve addressed the situations that need to be addressed as a team together. That’s all that matters. We’re a team in here, and we’ll be ready to go on October 2. Everyone in here has a job to do. You come in, you worry about doing your job. The leaders on the team worry about bringing the team together and making sure we’re a unit. We’re all together, and we’re all on the same page, along with the coaches and managers. I think that’s what we have now, and that’s all we need.”
Veteran forward J.T. Compher echoed that sentiment: “I think we’ll ask of Dylan what we ask of every guy − to come here and help us try and win games. Whether that’s physically, attitude-wise, whatever role the coaches ask you to play on this team, that’s what we need out of each guy. This league’s too hard to be thinking about any other thing. When the season starts October 2, every team that comes in here is not going to care what’s going on.”
Chiarot and J.T. Compher both found out about Larkin’s trade request via the internet. Neither took it personally.
“I think every guy just tries to do what’s right for himself and his family,” Chiarot said. “Each individual guy has their own business that they’ve got to take care of. Our team’s no different. Individually, guys have to look out for themselves and their families. Once they’re in this room, we’re a team and we’re Detroit Red Wings. That’s how I think about it. That’s how I approach it. As long as the league’s been around, guys have got to do what’s right for them. Once you come in the room, you do what’s right for the team. I don’t think we’re any different.”
Compher pointed to the request as showing “the business side of this game. I think if you asked him, he’d say that he loves going to battle with the guys in this room. He has very tight relationships with a lot of guys here. So when he’s healthy and he’s here playing, we’ll be going to battle with him because we know that he’s going to give us his best. Just like we’re going to give our best for this organization.”
Coach McLellan also weighed in, and I can only offer you part of St. James’ extended quotes here:
“Any time that you hear that an individual wants to leave for whatever reasons, it’s disappointing,” he said. “I thought about myself and the staff. What did we do? What can we do better? Then after that, it moves forward. The organization takes care of it. Coaches don’t trade players. Players don’t trade players. Trainers don’t trade players. The management team and Dylan have worked diligently together to get to this point where we are now, and they’ll continue to do that.
“Who wouldn’t want Dylan Larkin on their team? He made a commitment to the team signing a contract. We made a commitment to him to provide an opportunity to play, and that’s where we’re at right now. I know Dylan’s, he’s anxious to get back on the ice and he wants to earn everybody’s trust back, and that’s where we move forward. We just need the best Dylan Larkin we can possibly get and we’ll be fine.”
Continued (paywall); give it a read if you are able.
Update: Here’s more from MLive’s Ansar Khan:
“I could sit up here and lie and try and beat around the bush — I have no idea what’s in front of us, but I do know what we have in the locker room, and I know he’s got his teammates’ support,” McLellan said Thursday during the first day of training camp at Little Caesars Arena. “He’s done what he needs to do with his teammates, and he wants to earn their trust. He’s sat with me, and he wants to do the same with the coaching staff. And then there’s 19,000 people that’ll sit in the rink each day. He’s going to continue to do that and he’s determined to do it. It’s not going to be easy, I’m sure, but he’s here and he’s a hell of a player and, you know, we’ll help him through it.”
…
Larkin spoke to teammates as a group. Some said they didn’t take it personally, that it’s a business.
“I think we’ll keep (the conversation) kind of between us, but I think we’ll ask of Dylan what we ask of every guy — come here and help us try to win games,” J.T. Compher said.“It definitely shows the business side of this game, and I think if you asked him, he’d say that he loves going to battle with the guys in this room, and he has very tight relationships with a lot of guys here. When he’s healthy and if he’s here playing, we’ll be going to battle with him because we know that he’s going to give us his best.”
Ben Chiarot said the team has addressed it and “taken care of it.”
“We’ll keep our feelings to ourselves,” Chiarot said. “No question things were unsettled in the summer. I think as soon as we get everyone in here in the room, get out there together on the ice, that’s all that matters. We’ve addressed the situations that need to be addressed as a team together. It’s all anyone needs to know. Every guy tries to do what’s right for himself and his family. Each individual guy has their own business that they got to take care of. Guys have to look out for themselves and their families. Once they’re in this room, we’re a team and you worry about the Detroit Red Wings.”
