Red Wings strip Dylan Larkin of captaincy after trade request but say he'll be at training camp

Dylan Larkin said Friday he will be on the ice for the start of training camp next week with the Detroit Red Wings, who subsequently announced he had been stripped of the captaincy after asking for a trade earlier this year.

Larkin had worn the “C” on his jersey for the past six seasons. He asked then-general manager Steve Yzerman for a trade after the team missed the playoffs for an active NHL-record 10th consecutive year.

Yzerman abruptly stepped down from that role in mid-July, and the Red Wings said any decisions about Larkin’s future would be made by the next person in charge of hockey operations.

The 30-year-old center said he appreciates the conversations he has had in recent weeks with team executives.

“When new leadership is in place, we'll talk further about the direction of the team,” Larkin said in a statement posted by the club on social media. “We'll keep those conversations private, and I will keep my focus on the season and on the guys in that room.”

Larkin has five seasons left on the eight-year, $69.6 million contract he signed in May 2023. That includes a no-trade clause, and he initially told Detroit he would only accept a move to Florida, Minnesota or Vegas.

Teammate Alex DeBrincat said word emerging of the trade request made things uncomfortable for a bit but did not change what he and others thought about Larkin.

“He’s still a great player,” DeBrincat said Wednesday at the annual NHL/NHLPA preseason player media tour in Las Vegas. "He’s been a great friend and a great teammate to me, and we obviously love him here. That’s kind of for him to answer of what’s next for him, but I think for us, it’s all the same. We’re happy to see him at the rink and happy to get started.”

Larkin has played his entire career in the league with the Red Wings after they selected him with the 15th pick in the 2014 draft and he debuted the following year. He ranks 10th in franchise history in scoring and has played in just five playoff games: a first-round loss to Tampa Bay in 2016.

The Waterford, Michigan, native was an important role player for the U.S. when it won Olympic gold at the Milan-Cortina Games in February.

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