Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider and forward Alex DeBrincat addressed Dylan Larkin’s decision to walk away from the team following Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The victory came on the same day Larkin informed the organization he no longer wanted to be a Red Wing and would not report to the rink, prompting the club to suspend him without pay.
Seider, speaking after the game, offered a balanced take:
“Obviously it’s tough. But in the end you just want him to be happy. If that’s not here, hopefully it’s somewhere else. It’s hard to put that player aspect aside and see it as a friend. But ultimately my goal is him being happy. As for being competitive, hopefully we get a good return. Nevertheless, we still got a h*ll of a group here.”
Seider also noted that the win carried extra meaning given the circumstances surrounding Larkin’s departure:
“It meant a little more. I think it came down to that this is our squad and we got a really good group in here.”
Alex DeBrincat echoed a similar message, stressing the need to move forward as a unit:
“I think we can rally around the adversity we’ve faced so far. I don’t think it’s necessarily been easy, but we’ve come together as a group and decided we’re gonna stick up for each other, play for each other every day and come to the rink, work hard.”
Dylan Larkin had requested a trade earlier this summer and was stripped of the “C” before the season began. Interim general manager Shawn Horcoff continues working on a trade for Larkin, with the forward’s approved list currently limited to ten U.S.-based teams.
Red Wings interim GM shares his thoughts on Dylan Larkin’s situation
Red Wings interim GM Shawn Horcoff made it clear on Thursday that Detroit is in no hurry to force a trade for Dylan Larkin, even after the forward walked away from the team.
Horcoff revealed he spent considerable time trying to convince Larkin to remain a Red Wing before the situation reached this point.
“My initial plan was to try to fix it. I wanted to try to do what I could to keep Dylan here and in a Red Wing jersey, and clearly I was unsuccessful doing that,” Horcoff said.
He pointed to Larkin’s limited list of acceptable destinations as a major obstacle in finding a deal. Horcoff emphasized that any package coming back must strengthen the roster now while also fitting the club’s longer-term vision.
Edited by Abhishek Dilta
