Dylan Larkin took questions from reporters on Thursday, the first day of Detroit Red Wings training camp, and it was his first time facing the room since the Dylan Larkin trade request went public in June. He is no longer the captain, and he is dealing with an upper-body injury that kept him off the ice for the opening practice.

Max Bultman of The Athletic, who was at the press conference, reported that Larkin has spoken with his teammates and told them the request “was not because of them.”

The timeline explains part of why. Larkin’s camp made the request known in early June, as ESPN first reported, roughly a month before Steve Yzerman stepped down as general manager in July. Detroit did not name a replacement until Sept. 15, when Shawn Horcoff was named interim GM.

Larkin Says It Was Not About His Teammates

Larkin wanted that part on the record before anything else. He told the room he has gone to his teammates directly, and that the ask had nothing to do with the group in the room.

“I’ve tried to give them space to let it sink in, and I wish so badly I could be on the ice because that’s where the actions will follow the talking. But (the request was) not because of them. So I have spoken to them and given them space to let it sink in.”

That support has shown up publicly. Horcoff pointed to comments from Alex DeBrincat and Moritz Seider as a sign the room is not fracturing over this, and said he does not expect the situation to become a distraction.

Dylan Larkin Trade Request Stays Unexplained

Ruling out his teammates is as far as Larkin went. He would not give the actual reason, and he did not promise he ever will.

“I’m not ready to go there yet. 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. And it’s maybe something that I may never be, you know? And it wasn’t easy to get to that decision. It was very hard. It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing. I don’t take what I did lightly, and I got to that point, and I’m not quite ready to talk about it.”

He also would not say which teams are on his list, and he would not say whether the request still stands, according to The Associated Press. For now, the fanbase is left with a decision he describes as deliberate and a reason he is keeping to himself.

Larkin Wore the C From 2021 Until This Month

Larkin had been Detroit’s captain since January 2021. The Red Wings took the letter away on Sept. 11. Asked about it Thursday, with Horcoff now running hockey operations on an interim basis, Larkin did not argue the call.

“It was discussed with Shawn and the organization, and I understand it. I asked for a trade from the Detroit Red Wings as the captain, and actions have consequences. I understand why that decision was made, and I’m going to be a professional about it.”

Nobody is replacing him for now. The club said it will open the 2026-27 season without naming a captain, and that any further discussion on the subject waits until permanent hockey operations leadership is in place.