Red Wings’ Dylan Larkin calls making trade request ‘very hard’, but doesn’t regret it

It’s been a tumultuous offseason for Dylan Larkin.

The longtime Detroit Red Wings center requested a trade from the team in June. He then saw Detroit’s general manager Steve Yzerman, the man to whom he presumably made the trade request, step down from the role in July, leaving a power vacuum at the top of the very organization with which he’s trying to negotiate his exit. Even Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson lamented that there’s “no one to talk to” about a possible contract extension. In September, Larkin was stripped of his captaincy. All the while, he’s gone from a beloved homegrown star to public enemy number one in Detroit.

On Thursday, Larkin addressed the media upon to start of Red Wings training camp, and talked about the reasons for making the trade request in the first place.

“There’s a lot there, a lot of personal stuff in that, and to be honest with you guys, I’m not ready to go there yet,” Larkin said. “I understand that there’s answers that fans and people that care about this organization around the world want to know, but I’m really not ready to go there. It’s maybe something that I may never be, you know?”

While Larkin is remaining discreet about why he requested a trade, he made it clear that he doesn’t regret his decision despite how difficult it was to make.

“It wasn’t easy to get to that decision,” he said. “It was very hard. It wasn’t a spur of the moment thing. I don’t take what I did lightly.”

The Waterford, Michigan native said that he spoke to his teammates, and stated that the trade request “was not because of them.” He is currently inactive with an upper-body injury, but expressed his desire to back to playing hockey.

“I wish so badly I could be on the ice,” he said. “Because that’s where the actions will follow the talking.”