As soon as it was announced that Steve Yzerman would be moving on as General Manager of the Detroit Red Wings, many began to question what that meant for the trade request from captain Dylan Larkin. Is Larkin’s request still active, or is he willing to stay with Detroit after the departure of a General Manager he disagreed with?
In a new article, Max Bultman of The Athletic provided the short answer: it’s complicated. There’s no indication from Larkin or his representation that the trade request has been withdrawn. However, there’s a hypothetical scenario in which Larkin is pleased with the Red Wings’ removal of Yzerman and is willing to remain with the only organization he’s ever known.
Furthermore, if the trade request is still active, a different voice in the room could persuade Larkin to expand his list of approved destinations, making it far easier for Detroit to move him.
Ultimately, as Bultman points out in the article, this all hinges on who the Red Wings hire. In any case, it’s clear that Detroit needs a reset, and the team’s next General Manager will be tasked with far more than approving their captain’s trade request.
Additional notes from the Eastern Conference:
After a solid year with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, Oliver Wahlstrom is again looking for a new home. According to Stefen Rosner of The Elmonters, a return to the New York Islanders organization is one of the options on the table for the former first-round pick. Wahlstrom, 26, spent several years with the Islanders after the team selected him with the 11th overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft.
Throughout his six-year tenure on Long Island, Wahlstrom scored 36 goals and 71 points in 220 games with a -13 rating, averaging 11:41 of ice time per game.
The AHL’s Toronto Marlies announced that they’ve hired former player Chris Bourque as the team’s assistant General Manager. Additionally, the team has also hired Denver Manderson and Greg Moore as assistant coaches for the 2026-27 season. Bourque has spent the last four years in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, most recently working as the team’s Director of College Scouting & Recruitment.
In different AHL news, the AHL’s Hershey Bears, affiliate of the Washington Capitals, announced that they’ve hired Louis Robitaille as an assistant coach for the 2026-27 season. Robitaille played for the Bears from 2005 to 2008, winning the Calder Cup in the 2005-06 season.