Red Wings promising, inconsistent; Still haven't traded Dylan Larkin

You like Paul Bunyan? Yeah. Yeah, that's all right. Why don't you give it a hug? Where's his axe? Don't worry about his axe. Worry about the Red Wings. Is that what goes there? Let's worry about the Red Wings, okay? How does Detroit... Normally it does. How does Detroit turn promising stretches of hockey into consistent results, Wojo? Because right now, it's like, ooh. You want the easy answer? Yeah, give me the easy answer so I can put it all the way. You wait a few years and get more first-round picks. They really don't have it right now. They've scored, what, three goals total the last three games. And they had been bumping along a little bit better than I had anticipated, hanging tough, and now they're on a – Very tough road trip. They got wiped out by Colorado the other day. They're back to last in the Atlantic Division. They don't have much offense, and Dylan Larkin is still out there, and Simon Edmondson is still out there. I think if they could just—their goaltending has been pretty good. If they can just maintain and stay within range of anything, that's all you can hope for right now. Well, you know what? That's the on-the-ice issue. But again, it's off-ice problems with Edmondson, Jeff. I mean— This guy wanted to come here, and now he's not. So it's interesting, because the man I'm about to mention really upsets Wojo here. Who? Elliott Friedman. Are you aware of Elliott Friedman? He's the Adam Schefter of the NHL. He just throws so many rumors out there. So his latest rumor, Woody and Wojo, is that Simon Edmondson has made it clear to the Red Wings that he no longer wants to be a Red Wing. So that means Horkoff has until December 1st, if this is true, to obviously trade. So, I mean, you've got to figure that out. And you're right. I mean, Simon Edmondson spent his own insurance to be at training camp. He wanted to be a Red Wing. Sounds like the Wings have low-balled him this entire time. He decided not to sign. And now we're looking at just another issue with the Red Wings. But that's the latest from Friedman. Do you buy it? No, thank you. Well, yeah. He has to buy it. It has to be sent back because, and I do not think in any way, shape, or form, There's a reconciliation coming with Larkin. I wouldn't rule it out with Edmondson because of that December 1st or 2nd deadline, whatever it is. The Wings are not going anywhere this year. They can sit and wait and wait and wait and try to squeeze an offer out of somebody. You know, you mentioned goaltending earlier, just a few seconds ago. But how much pressure is also on the goalies and Alex DeBrinckit? I mean, not only is a leader and a scorer, but an energy guy as well. I mean, it seems like he's playing every minute of every game. Mo Sider, too. Yeah. And Mo Sider averages 26 minutes a game. That is a load. And their goaltending, Gibson has been out. A little bit, but he's coming back. And Tarasov, Daniil Tarasov, has been pretty good. He's like, I think for the amount of games he's played, he's like second or third in the league in save percentage. You know, they got a lot of young guys in the mix. When does patience turn into a demand for results? Well, see, I like the young guys, and the young guys have been fine, and I actually like this group because Dylan Larkin's not a part of it anymore, and I'm sure they're bonding because Larkin is sitting at home watching millions of dollars go by the wayside. But I do think, speaking of Larkin, we've reached the point where the Wings are three points out of the wildcard. They're damn near last in their division. They're four, five, and one in their last ten. They've lost three in a row. They're not going anywhere. So I think at some point, Sean Horkoff says, Dylan Larkin, you need to be. be moved, and we'll take a futures package. Like, forget this, we want an everyday player right now. Take the best futures package, and start rebuilding this thing, because this team's not going anywhere. Take the best package, and you don't have to quantify it as a futures package, or veterans. Just keep waiting for the best package, and keep talking to teams who aren't on his list and see if you can push him. If he wants to be gone so bad, then add more teams. That's the other thing that Friedman said. Do you want to hear it? Do you want to hear it? Oh, you want to hear it? He doesn't want to hear it. Friedman says that Larkin's representation has gone to Horkoff and said, listen, deal with the 10 teams we've dealt with or given you. We've given you a third of the league. Meanwhile, Horkoff, to Wojo's point, keeps going back to the wings, or to Larkin, and says, listen, we need more. We don't like the offers we're getting, so give us more teams we can deal with. There's some stubbornness on both sides. I keep looking at the Red Wings as slow playing this, if this was poker. And, you know, I mean, come on, dude. a move. I mean, this started in June. I would agree with you if you were like a playoff team and if you didn't get him signed or get him traded, then you wouldn't make the playoffs. But that's not what they are. But he don't want to be here. So let's move on with it. The league is watching. It almost feels like you're torturing the guy. I know Red Wing fans hate Dylan Larkin. I understand that. It almost feels like. You guys are so soft. You guys are so soft. We're soft. Did you sit in the elements of the Michigan game yesterday? No. Please, please give Dylan his freedom. Please. They play the Blues on Tuesday. We'll see what happens within the next two weeks. I want to shift gears to another topic, Michigan basketball. They're just getting started. We saw them get blown out against UConn. Mike Boynton coming into a new situation. Talk about what he's up against. Well, he is up against so much. Relying on their two guards. McKinney was pretty good. In the second half, he got in foul trouble and then fouled out. But UConn just reloads. And Michigan, the expectation dropped a notch when they lost their five-star recruit to season-ending injury McCoy. But... They still should be and are a top three or four team in the Big Ten. Is this a case of maybe the backups who were there for Michigan last year and starting this year need to find their way a little more before they can raise their game to the level that we're looking for? Well, it's amazing what you miss when three guys go to the NBA. And then, by the way, your national championship coach leaves as well. You talk about that backcourt, and I think it's one of the maybe better backcourts in the Big Ten and maybe in the country, But it sure doesn't look the same when Mo Johnson isn't out there or a DiMara isn't out there or a Yaxel Lendenborg isn't out there. Which, by the way, how good is Yaxel in the NBA? Yeah, they should have kept him at Michigan. They should have paid him more money. Alright, guys, that ought to be the last word. Thanks a lot to Bob Winowski. You can see him in the Detroit News and see him on 97.1 The Ticket. Thanks a lot to Jeff Rieger. You can hear him on 97.1 The Ticket. We'll have much more sports work Sunday night coming up after this break. I feel like I'm just here. Just mail it in, boys.