The post Unless He’s Traded, Larkin Will Show Up For Red Wings Camp appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.
It’s been a couple of months now since Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin got in touch with his inner Denis Lemieux. He called his agent and said, ‘Tell Detroit bull—t. Trade me right $%^&@ now!”
Well, it hasn’t happened yet. Larkin remains with the Red Wings. The clock is ticking down toward the start of the team’s training camp.
The delay in resolving this matter has certainly worsened since the departure of Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman. That’s left some Detroit fans pondering a notion.
Might Larkin opt to hold out and not report to training camp?
He might not. In fact, he will not.
It is August 12th, training camp is in a month and the Red Wings don’t have a GM. Dylan Larkin hasn’t been traded. And Simon Edvinsson still doesn’t have a contract. I know a lot can be done in a little amount t of time once the wheels turn, but the season ended in April lmao
— Brian Fisher (@BrianFisherLORW) August 12, 2026
He has 8.7 million reasons not to pursue this tack. That’s what the Red Wings will be paying Larkin this season – $8.7 million.
He’s not going to give the team a reason not to pay him that money. And a holdout seeking to force the team’s hand into trading him more quickly would only play into the team’s hands.
If Larkin were to withhold his services, it would allow management not to pay Larkin all that money. The Red Wings could simply suspend Larkin for refusing to honor his contract.
Red Wings Captain is Not a Foolish Man
You can call Larkin a lot of things, and certainly, a definitive portion of the Red Wings faithful has applied a plethora of colorful adjectives to Larkin’s name this summer.
One thing you can’t call him is foolish. And he’d have to be a fool to take this course of action.
Larkin has to have figured out that he’ll feel the wrath of the faithful if he’s in the lineup when the team takes the ice for its first game of the NHL season. That wrath would only ramp up if he were to hold out and have to sheepishly come back with his tail between his legs if the Red Wings still weren’t able to trade him.
I still don’t understand the outright vitriol towards Dylan Larkin. I understand being unhappy and I agree that he shouldn’t be here at the start of the season, but this is far from only his fault. He consistently pushed Yzerman to push the team forward and Yzerman held them back
— Ryan Frederick (@RyanFred1415) August 13, 2026
Sitting out is unlikely to increase the pursuit of Larkin. If the Red Wings can’t generate enough interest in him now, what team is going to want to trade for a player who is sitting at home?
You can question Larkin’s commitment to the team, but you can’t question his commitment to his craft. Plenty of video has surfaced this summer of Larkin and various other area NHLers being put through the paces of strenuous offseason conditioning programs.
Larkin loves to play hockey. He just evidently no longer loves playing hockey for the Red Wings. However, in his desire not to do so, he’s going to be forced to suck it up and embrace wearing the Winged Wheel jersey until something breaks on the trade front.
And he will do it, because holding out helps no one solve this ongoing problem.
The post Unless He’s Traded, Larkin Will Show Up For Red Wings Camp appeared first on Detroit Hockey Now.