This situation is completely out of control...

October 2nd, 2026, Little Caesars Arena. The Red Wings are about to kick off this brand new season and their top line center is standing there in street clothes hearing his own name get booed. That is Dylan Larkin. He requested a trade earlier this offseason, was stripped of the captaincy, and that is just the tip of the iceberg for arguably one of the worst offseasons the Red Wings have ever had. Now, one of their best young defensemen, Simon Edmondson, is without a contract, preferably prefers a trade. He's 23 years old, he's unsigned, and the clock is ticking on his contract. And through it all, the Red Wings, they're 4-4-3, and their head coach, Todd McClellan, keeps telling everyone that the room is fine and that they are continuing to battle through adversity. but which one is it? Are they continuing to fight through chaos, or is chaos too much for this team? Come along for the ride, and I'll show you why Red Wings fans aren't necessarily upset at Dylan Larkin or Simon Edmondson. They are a little bit, but there is a far bigger problem here that Red Wings fans are upset about. So to start with the timeline, because this situation is far messier than just a player asking for a trade, ESPN reported in June that Dylan Larkin wanted out. He wanted a trade. And sources said that tension with management was so high and goes back to at least his contract negotiation in 2023. Then Steve Iserman stepped down, quote unquote, as the general manager in July. Sean Horkoff was then named and took over as interim general manager, but he wasn't actually named to the job until two days before training camp opened this season and then came the questions about the captaincy after several quote-unquote in-depth conversations and discussions with team leadership Larkin lost the sea the team said it would play without a captain and that any further decisions would wait until the new hockey operations leader was now in place Larkin then spoke publicly on September 17th and said that he didn't hide from it. He said, quote, I asked for a trade from the Detroit Red Wings as the captain, and that has real consequences. You also have to think about how rare that is, that a captain almost never says that out loud. And he also said that he doesn't regret asking for a trade. What he wouldn't say is why he wanted out. And this is where it gets dangerous and when a player stays quiet like that the fans start to write the story the media starts to write the story put words in people's mouths and the loudest theory is that this was never about the locker room specifically it's about the direction of the team and who is steering the team in that direction then you get all the way to the home opener this season hours before the puck drop. The Red Wings moved Larkin onto the non-roster injury reserve. He was introduced in his street clothes on the bench with the inactive players and the boos were so loud the arena had to play music over it to drown out the boos. Coach Todd McClellan after the game said obviously he's got to live with the ramifications of asking for a trade and then I feel bad for him. I do. Rangers two, Red Wings nothing, and Detroit put up 22 shots on Dylan Garan and did not score a goal in their home opener. Here is where it actually starts to get a little awkward. Four days later, Dylan Larkin, not injured anymore. He's back in the lineup. October 6th, again, just four days later, Dylan Larkin back in the lineup. Red Wings versus Senators. The Red Wings win five to three. Larkin scores about 13 minutes into the game. Fans booed his first touch, and then by the end of the night, they were cheering him again. Todd McClellan said, quote, without him tonight, I don't know if we win. And that's the most confusing part of all of this for Red Wings fans. You go into that game, you go into the whole situation, you boo him on home ice because he's still with the team and asked out with five years left on his contract. And then by the end of the night, you're probably not winning that game without him. This team, to a degree, still needs him. So if you're not a Red Wings fan, you might be asking yourself, why hasn't Dylan Larkin been traded yet? What is happening here well dylan larkin actually holds quite a bit of leverage here and the red wings gave him that leverage he signed an 8.7 million dollar contract through the 2030-31 season on the eight-year 69.6 million dollar deal that he signed in 2023 a full no trade clause this season and next and then it turns into only then a modified no trade clause through the 2030-31 season And in plain English, guys, basically, Dylan Larkin gets to pick where he goes right now. And dating back to the summer, his list starts with three teams. Sportsnet reported on October 20th that it has now grown to 10 teams, including Florida, Minnesota, Vegas, and New Jersey. And the Free Press added Carolina and Utah as potential destinations. Now, you may notice that that list of 10 teams does not include a single Canadian team. team, and TSN reported that Dylan Larkin would not approve a move to the Montreal Canadiens. Then Chris Johnson said on October 22nd that Larkin may be willing to go a bit beyond the 10 if necessary. That is the original thing that made Red Wings fans so confused and frustrated with this process. He wants out, but he won't go at any cost. Pierre Lebrun just recently reported that the minnesota wild are the team that is pushing the hardest detroit has been linked to the minnesota wild center daniel urov in those talks because the red wings want young centers coming back in a dylan larkin trade let's play a fun little wrinkle to all of this remember the interim general manager sean horkoff well some reports and speculation say that the interim general manager can't trade a player of this magnitude now clutch points wrote that this week um Horkov has more room to work with but there's a lot of people that do not agree with that and do not think he has the authority to actually make a trade this big and that is just one big fire there's actually two big fires and we haven't talked about this yet and this one might actually hurt more and that is defenseman Simon Edmondson and that's mostly because he's not 30 years old he's 23 years old and a top pairing defenseman he is the sixth overall pick from 2021 a restricted free agent coming off his entry level deal and he is still unsigned and elliot friedman reported on october 3rd that simon edmondson would now prefer a trade frustrated by this contract stalemate interim general manager sean horkoff did have a response to that per the free press he said that the team has no interest in trading him in his words quote simon is a priority for us He says Detroit is very open to every contract structure and has offered short, mid and long term options. No numbers specifically have come out, but writers project three to six years at roughly eight to eight point five million dollars a season is what was offered from the Red Wings. and that top number matters because mo cider makes 8.55 million dollars and nobody wants a 23 year old out earning him in the organization since the start of 2024 he has 56 points 180 hits and 292 block shots in 150 games played and because of his trade request from elliot friedman other teams are now circling. TSN's Pierre Lebrun says that as many as 10 teams have called and the Flyers are reportedly in talks for Simon Edmondson as well. By the way, there is a clock to worry about on all of this. Reports say that if Detroit cannot get a deal done by December 1st and he isn't part of a sign-in trade by then, he loses the entire season. And look at what the current detroit red wings blue line is working with right now through six games only cider falk and william wallander had more than one point amongst the eighth defenseman the red wings had used defense isn't a spot where they can afford to give young talent like a 23 year old simon edmondson away for free that's the scariest part for this team they think that they can compete right now and losing larkin for a lesser return because you're probably going to lose that trade and then losing a 23 year old top pairing defenseman because you don't want to pay him more than what most cider is making in a rising cap world pay the man his money keep him in detroit he's a young stud defenseman here's one part of the story that the mainstream media really isn't talking about though despite all that chaos this Red Wings team is actually still better than you think. The Red Wings are currently 4-4-3, 11 points through 11 games. They got at least a point in six straight games, and that ended Saturday in a 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames. Their first regulation loss, by the way, in 15 days. After a 1-0 shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens, head coach Todd McClellan said, quote, I'd be lying if everything going on wasn't a distraction. and then he added but we have a responsibility to each other after the calgary loss however he said quote they were obviously better than us in multiple areas like the special teams alone and one of our poorer nights as far as execution goes lucas raymond actually has nine points in ten games and he's carrying some heavy minutes alex the brinkett just moved into the top 50 in points in franchise history detroit red wings franchise history so some of the core is absolutely doing its job so i actually think todd mcclellan is a very good coach i like todd mcclellan i think he offers some really good quotes and he's one of the guys that fans came out of this not hating but they do look like a 500 team that doesn't really have a plan and is on borrowed time right now which brings me to the real story fans are not upset with simon edmondson simon evanson's agent dylan larkin as much anymore they are more upset about the people upstairs remember how this off season started the general manager who quote unquote built this team steve eiserman stepped down in july and fans wanted to know who is actually accountable for what happens next And nobody has given them a straight answer yet because we still don't even know if Sean Horkoff can actually make these big moves. The Red Wings have not made the playoffs since 2016. That is 10 straight years without playoffs for the city of Detroit and the longest drought in the franchise's history. On opening night, fans were audibly cheering, sell the team in that 2-0 loss to the Rangers the same night that Dylan Larkin was booed. A group of Red Wings fans also circulated a public letter that talks about the circus and the lack of transparency and accountability from the Red Wings leadership under Chris Illich. Chris Illich had his answer on LinkedIn, which we covered on the channel. He said, quote, I recognize fan frustration. I get it. I certainly feel the same way. He also said that the team is looking for a president of hockey operations, and that would decide whether to hire a general manager under them or if Horkoff is going to be the general manager of this team and that Sean Horkoff is a candidate in that so take that in for a second to the person who is supposed to write this ship and bring them into the right direction still has not been hired and Dylan Larkin's situation and Simon Evanson's December first deadline and his situation his future they they're just hanging in the balance so what do you think who do you blame do you blame ownership are you blaming Dylan Larkin are you blaming Simon Edmondson or his agent which by the way they both came out and said we don't even know who to talk to about this contract extension in the dog days of the summer so how does all of this land I have to be honest the way I see this happening I think Dylan Larkin he is going to get moved and probably a lot sooner than people realize i think they're definitely working on a trade whether it's sean horkoff or chris illich who's facilitating the trade himself because every report says that the list is growing and minnesota is pushing hard for dylan larkin let me know in the comments below what is going to hurt more would it be losing simon edvinson or dylan larkin i think it's simon edvinson