This morning, the Athletic’s Max Bultman discusses Dylan Larkin’s awkward, disjointed and mostly answer-less press conference. Bultman notes that, for better or worse, the Detroit Red Wings will have to battle through what has become a near-constant distraction from business as usual for the team:
This is what the Red Wings are walking into this season. Distraction is not avoidable. It’s there. It’s everywhere. And while getting past Day 1 will help, it’s something everyone involved — from those at the center to those just catching fallout — will have to get comfortable with if the Red Wings are going to get through it.
“I have no idea what’s in front of us,” head coach Todd McLellan said. “But I do know what we have in the locker room, and I do know he’s got his teammates’ support. 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 will sit in the rink each day. He’s got to continue to do that, and he’s determined to do it.”
The thing is, though, it’s not just Larkin who will be affected by this sideshow. Just as J.T. Compher, Ben Chiarot and McLellan were still answering questions about Larkin after he spoke Thursday, the boos that now seem inevitable at Little Caesars Arena will find the rest of the Red Wings’ ears all the same. Other players may be able to rationalize or tune them out for a while, but at a certain point, every bit of noise or criticism or speculation will be another reminder of what is still hanging over them all.
“Obviously, they’re passionate fans; there’s frustration there,” Larkin said. “I’m frustrated as well, and I just hope that — there’s 22 other guys in the room, and it’s about them, not about one guy.”
Larkin said he spoke to his teammates and emphasized that his request was “not because of them.” He said he thought those interactions had been positive. And as scorned as the local fans have been, when the locker room opened Thursday, his teammates were at least projecting a more practical response.
“It can just be part of this business,” Compher said. “You play with a lot of friends throughout the league — this is my 11th year — and you create relationships, and you’ve gotta remember there’s a business side. Just as the teams always remember there’s a business side. So, when he’s here with us, we’re going to do whatever it takes to be a good team, and hopefully when he’s healthy and back with us, that’s his focus as well.”
Continued (paywall); Bultman says that a trade is very necessary to lift a cloud of confusion off the Red Wings players’ shoulders:
That’s the best-case scenario for both sides, and if it happens that way, the distraction can probably be kept to a dull roar. But that’s easier said than done, and it represents the first defining challenge for this Red Wings’ season.
