Something about the reaction to Dylan Larkin’s trade request bothers me. Everybody seems to have a strong opinion about what he owes Detroit. I wonder whether we’re asking the other half of the question. What does Detroit owe him?

The Red Wings drafted Larkin in 2014. He gave the organization years of his career, signed an extension and stayed while the team tried to find its way back to being a contender. Somewhere along the line, though, the waiting had to get pretty difficult. Now, apparently, he wanted out. And a lot of the anger has landed on him.

I get why some Detroit fans feel betrayed. Larkin was their captain, and fans want their captain to believe in the team. They want him to lead the way back, not look for the exit. But believing in a team and waiting forever for it to become a winner aren’t necessarily the same thing.

There’s Another Way to Look at the Larkin Situation

A recent discussion on Daily Faceoff LIVE raised a fair point. Larkin reportedly gave Detroit a list of Stanley Cup contenders he would accept a trade to. Some people mocked that list. But honestly, why wouldn’t a player nearing the prime of his career want to go somewhere with a realistic chance to win?

He’s not asking to leave one struggling team just to join another. There’s another side to this, of course. As Jeff Marek pointed out, Detroit doesn’t have to trade him simply because he asked. Players make trade requests all the time, and sometimes they have to stay where they are. A request isn’t a guarantee. But that doesn’t make the request itself a betrayal.

The Human Side of Larkin’s Decision

Here’s the part I keep coming back to. If you spend years working at something, keep showing up, and begin to believe that the situation isn’t going to improve, wouldn’t you at least consider your options? Sometimes you have somewhere else to go. Sometimes you don’t. Larkin apparently thought he had a choice worth exploring.

That doesn’t mean Detroit’s management has failed at everything, or that Larkin has handled every part of this perfectly. Building a winner is hard, and teams usually fall short for several reasons. Still, the Red Wings have to own their share of this story. If a longtime captain reaches the point where he wants to leave, the question may not be just what’s wrong with the player. Perhaps it’s also what has happened around him.

Larkin is back in the lineup, and Detroit has started 4-1-3 since his return. There’s still plenty of hockey ahead. Maybe it’s time to turn down the volume on the blame and ask a more useful question: What has Detroit done to convince its best players that the future is worth waiting for?

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