Neither Larkin nor his agent, Pat Brisson, have spoken publicly about the situation since Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet first reported the trade request.
Larkin grew up in the Detroit area and has played his entire hockey career in the state of Michigan. The Red Wings selected him in the first round (No. 15) of the 2014 NHL Draft, and he has 643 points (276 goals, 367 assists) in 808 games for them, 10th in their 100-year history. He has been their captain since Jan. 13, 2021, wearing the “C” that Yzerman once wore for Detroit as a player.
But he has played only five games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, all in his rookie season of 2015-16. The Red Wings have missed the playoffs for 10 straight seasons, their longest drought ever and the longest active drought in the NHL. Larkin got a taste of winning when he helped Team USA win gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan in February, and he turns 30 on July 30.
There seemed to be tension between Larkin and Yzerman after the 2024-25 season. In his season-ending media availability, Larkin said the Red Wings didn’t gain momentum from the NHL Trade Deadline. Their most significant move was acquiring goalie Petr Mrazek and center Craig Smith from the Chicago Blackhawks for center Joe Veleno on March 7, 2025.
“Guys were kind of down about it,” Larkin said. “It’d be nice to add something and bring a little bit of spark on the ice, and maybe a morale boost as well.”
Yzerman responded by saying the Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues didn’t do anything at the deadline and made the playoffs “led by their best players.” Asked about Larkin’s comments, he said: “I’m counting on our best players, our leaders, to give us a bit of a morale boost. That’s what they’re paid for, and that’s the expectation from them.”
Entering this season, Yzerman said he and Larkin were fine.
“I enjoy talking with him,” Yzerman told TNT on Oct. 15. “He’s very open with me. We communicate very well. So, I think we have a great relationship. The comments at the end of the season aren’t that big of a deal and certainly didn’t create any divide in the relationship.”