Overview
- Reporting on Tuesday said Larkin’s formal trade request remains unresolved and league confidence is growing that Detroit will not move him before the regular season.
- The Red Wings have paused major roster transactions while they search for a new general manager, and assistant GM Shawn Horcoff does not have authority to complete trades.
- Larkin and his camp are not planning a holdout, in part because his contract pays an average annual value of $8.7 million through 2030–31 and the team could suspend him without pay if he refused to report.
- Detroit’s reported asking price—at minimum an NHL‑ready top‑six forward and preferably a center, with little interest in picks or prospects—has left linked teams such as Minnesota, Vegas, Florida and Dallas short of the assets needed to complete a deal.
- If no trade materializes after a new GM is hired, Larkin is expected to report to training camp but likely will lose the captaincy and face strained relations in the locker room, or the club could pursue a complex multi‑team transaction later in the season.