Speaking after the morning skate prior to their game against the Chicago Blackhawks (7:30 p.m. ET; Disney+, HULU, ESPN+, SN+), McLellan said interim general manager Shawn Horcoff would address the situation at a later time.
Larkin had requested a trade this summer, which became public. The Red Wings also announced on Sept. 11 that the 30-year-old forward would no longer be the team's captain, a role he had held since Jan. 13, 2021. Detroit began this season without a captain.
Larkin has six points (two goals, four assists) in 10 games this season and five seasons left on an eight-year, $69.6 million contract ($8.7 million average annual value) he signed with Detroit on March 1, 2023. He missed the preseason and the first two regular-season games with an upper-body injury, and was booed during introductions at Detroit's season opener, a 2-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Oct. 2.
He returned to play Oct. 6, turned the boos into cheers with a goal and an assist in a 5-3 win against the Ottawa Senators at Little Caesars Arena on Oct. 6 and was announced as the first star to a mix of boos and cheers.
"I think it's going to take some time," Horcoff said Oct. 14. "He's working back through that. I think it's only going to get easier for him as things go on here and he starts to find his game and his legs a little bit more. It hasn't been easy for him."
"I have to give Dylan a lot of credit with the way he's handled this. It's clearly not an easy situation, but he's got the full support of management. He's got the full support of his teammates, the coaching staff in there, and he's come back and really came to play right off the bat. And I think the fans have recognized that. Obviously, there were some tough times for him, I would say, early. But through his effort and through his work and obviously the acknowledgment of it being a difficult situation, and Dylan to his own words."
Larkin did not practice on Wednesday prior to being held out of the lineup Thursday.
A native of Waterford, Michigan, Larkin was chosen by the Red Wings in the first round (No. 15) of the 2014 NHL Draft. He has 649 points (278 goals, 371 assists) in 818 regular-season games and scored one goal in his lone Stanley Cup Playoff appearance, a five-game loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2016 Eastern Conference First Round.
Detroit (5-4-3) is currently last in the Atlantic Division. It has not qualified for the playoffs since 2016; the 10-year drought is currently the longest in the NHL.
NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika contributed to this report
