Red Wings prepared to 'wait as long as necessary' to trade Larkin

DETROIT -- Dylan Larkin has sealed his legacy in his hometown. Whatever goodwill he had rebuilt is gone. The former captain left the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, and they suspended him without pay.

The only question now is when Detroit will trade him and what it will receive in return, but the crux of the problem remains: Larkin has requested a trade while limiting the market with his no-trade clause, hampering the Red Wings’ ability to make a deal that works for them.

They cannot give away their No. 1 center just because he wants to leave. The 30-year-old is a six-time 30-goal scorer in the fourth season of an eight-year, $69.6 million contract ($8.7 million average annual value).

“With the teams that Dylan has on his list, it’s difficult to get something done,” Red Wings interim general manager Shawn Horcoff said. “A trade like this, there are significant challenges when you’re trying to put a salary like Dylan’s into a team, trying to find the right pieces to give in return. So, it’s difficult.

“How long it takes, I’m not sure. But I’m prepared to wait as long as necessary to make sure that the return that we get is something that is good for the Red Wings overall.”

Horcoff said his goal is to get players who can help Detroit right away, but he’s open to all kinds of trades.

“Really, we’re just trying to find something that is fair for a return for someone of Dylan’s caliber,” Horcoff said. “He’s a heck of a player on a good contract, and it’s important for us.”

Larkin could help by further expanding his trade list, which is now reportedly 10 teams.

“There probably are certain teams in the League that, if they were on his list, it would be easier for us to come to a deal and come to an agreement,” Horcoff said. “But unfortunately, at this point, we’re not there yet.”

You can see Larkin’s side, to an extent.

It appears he wants to go to a team with a better chance to win. His only Stanley Cup Playoff experience was five games in 2015-16, his rookie season. The Red Wings have missed the playoffs the past 10 seasons, the longest drought in their history and the longest active drought in the NHL.

Larkin clashed with former GM Steve Yzerman and asked for a trade after last season. Yzerman was fired on July 15, but Detroit still hasn’t hired a permanent leader of hockey operations. Defenseman Simon Edvinsson, a restricted free agent, remains unsigned and wants a trade as well.

Although he couldn’t participate at first due to an upper-body injury, Larkin showed up for training camp. When he was stripped of the captaincy, he said actions have consequences. He faced the boos during introductions at the home opener and early in his first game back, and he had six points (two goals, four assists) in 10 games.

In his mind, he gave the Red Wings enough time to make a deal.

“Dylan’s had enough of the situation,” Larkin’s agent, Pat Brisson, told The Athletic. “We believe he’s been very professional and cooperative through this process.”

That changed Thursday, though, didn’t it? Larkin said he wanted to earn back the trust of his coaches and teammates. Now he has quit on them and put pressure on the team. Is that professional and cooperative?

“It’s pretty raw,” Horcoff said. “I think everybody needs some time in the locker room to digest it. I will say that I’ve been very, very impressed. Dylan requested to be traded this summer, and those players welcomed him with open arms, as did the coaching staff, as did management, as did the fans to a large extent.”

The Red Wings hoped they could smooth things over with Larkin. That’s over now.

“My initial plan was to try to fix it,” Horcoff said. “I wanted to try to do what I could to keep Dylan here in a Red Wing jersey, and clearly I was unsuccessful doing that.”

Asked if the situation had become unfixable, Horcoff said: “Dylan no longer wants to be a Red Wing, and he’s not with us. That pretty much is a strong statement. I think Dylan’s the only one that really would be able to answer something like that, but for us, it’s pretty cut and dried.”

Larkin ranks 10th in the history of the Red Wings, one of the most storied teams in the NHL, with 649 points (278 goals, 371 assists) in 818 games. He wore the “C” for six seasons. But what will fans remember? How will they react when he returns to Detroit for the first time with a new team, no matter what the Red Wings receive in return for him?

The boos ought to be deafening.