Dylan Larkin - Captain Controversy

 

Dylan Larkin - Captain Controversy


Dylan Larkin is a member for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. Larkin has established himself as a consistent player throughout his 11-year career; all with the Red Wings. Recently, the longtime captain had been hit with backlash and negative reactions from fans after requesting a trade in June of 2026. The Red Wings have been going through a rebuild for quite some time, as their last playoff appearance was in the 2015-16 season; which happened to be Larkin's rookie season. 

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Larkin was drafted 15th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft out of the University of Michigan. He only played out his freshman season during his time, posting 15 goals and 32 assists for 47 points with the Wolverines; 12 games above a point-per-game. He joined the Red Wings' affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins for a playoff push where he amassed five points in six games. What seemed to be a star in the making, Larkin was called up to the Red Wings club for the start of the 2015-16 season. Larkin ended up making an appearance in the NHL All Star Game in just his first season, joining Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman as the only members of the team to achieve the feat. 



Leading up to the 2025-26 season, Larkin had
produced, but not at a superstar level. He totaled
576 points, including 242 goals and 334 assists.
He was the face of the Red Wings franchise 
after players like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik 
Zetterberg hung up the skates, who were Hall
of Fame caliber players. He had only been apart
of one postseason push in his tenure in Detroit,
none when wearing the "C." They had come 
close, but there was nothing to show for other
than some highly touted prospects coming in 
like Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider.


During the 2025-26 season, Larkin was named to the 
United States Olympic Men's Hockey roster, where
he would have the chance to compete with and
against the best players in the world. The United States squad featured some of the best, such as Auston
Matthews, Jack Eichel, and Connor Hellebuyck.
Larkin had himself a good tournament, posting three
points off of two goals and one assist. The Americans also defeated the Canadians in overtime to capture their first Gold Medal since 1980.



Larkin finished the rest of the regular season
falling short of the playoffs for the 10th consecutive
season. That's where everything started to go south.
Larkin addressed to General Manager Steve 
Yzerman that he wanted out of Detroit in June of 
2026. This sparked controversy not only in the city
of Detroit, but the whole hockey community. I
think this came as a surprise towards everyone, 
as Larkin had expressed interest in working 
towards being part of the rebuild that was in 
progress. Many suspect his mind had been 
changed after seeing success in the Olympics
in February earlier that year, as he hasn't came 
close to anything like that during his NHL career.

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After the request, he limited his options to three teams: The Minnesota Wild, Florida Panthers, and Vegas Golden Knights. These three teams had the firepower to be serious contenders in the league, with Vegas reaching the Stanley Cup Finals two times in four years; winning it all in 2023. The Florida Panthers had three Finals' appearances from 2023-2025, winning it consecutively in 2024-25. The Minnesota Wild haven't had playoff success like the other two but had a dangerous roster. They also had Olympic teammates Matt Boldy and Quinn Hughes, who were offensive threats to any team. 

There hasn't been a trade as of yet, and some suspect it to be on hold for a little bit. There doesn't seem to be anything in the works of the Red Wings' front office at the moment after Yzerman stepped down shortly before the start of the 2026-27 season. Larkin appeared in his first game of the season on October 6th, where he received boos from the Detroit crowd stepping on the ice for warmups. Ironically, he posted a goal and assist where the crowd erupted in cheers and became the first star of the game. 

















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