By LARRY LAGE AP Hockey Writer
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings have suspended Dylan Larkin without pay and taken him off the roster after they said his agent told the team the center will no longer play for the franchise, growing frustrated by its inability to move him months after he asked for a trade.
“We are disappointed by his decision, particularly given his obligations to the organization and his teammates,” interim general manager Shawn Horcoff said in a statement Thursday, shortly before Detroit hosted Chicago.
Detroit coach Todd McLellan told reporters earlier in the day that Larkin would not play against the Blackhawks, adding that Horcoff was expected to address the move.
Larkin asked for a trade in the offseason after the franchise extended its postseason drought to a decade, but he started the season still on the team but stripped of the captaincy.
“We’ve talked to the teams on Dylan’s list and we’ve taken calls from other teams around the league that have expressed interest in Dylan,” Horcoff said. “We just continue to try to find a solution that fits for both sides.”
Messages seeking comment were left with Larkin’s agent, Pat Brisson.
Larkin is the second NHL player suspended without pay this fall after requesting a trade during the offseason. Winnipeg did that with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck — a U.S. Olympic teammate of Larkin’s — before sending him to New Jersey last week.
Now it’s Larkin, who will forfeit roughly $41,000 a day while suspended.
The 30-year-old center has two goals and six assists in 10 games, giving him 278 goals and 649 points in 818 games since making his debut with his hometown Red Wings during the 2015-16 season. Larkin, who is from Waterford, Michigan, was drafted by Detroit No. 15 overall in 2014 after playing for the Wolverines in college.
He was a key player for the United States when it won Olympic gold last February at the Milan Cortina Games.
After missing two games with an upper-body injury, he scored in his season debut — after being booed when he touched the puck on his first shift — to help Detroit beat Ottawa. He scored again on Monday night in a win at Edmonton.
“I wanted to try to do what I could to keep Dylan here in a Red Wings jersey,” Horcoff said. “Clearly, I was unsuccessful doing that.”
Larkin has a full no-trade clause as part of his eight-year contract, which has five years remaining with an annual salary cap hit of $8.7 million. He initially told the Red Wings he would accept a trade to Florida, Minnesota and Vegas before reportedly adding more possibilities in recent weeks.
Horcoff said his goal is to acquire players that can help right away, adding he’s open to deals for prospects and draft picks that give the franchise a fair return for someone of Larkin’s caliber.
“With the teams that Dylan has on his list, it’s difficult to get something done in a trade like this,” Horcoff said.
Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider hopes Larkin finds happiness with another club but added the players are glad to have the awkward situation behind them.
“Hopefully, it just eliminates a little bit of the noise,” he said after Detroit’s 4-1 victory over Chicago on Thursday night. “You get sick and tired of answering the same questions over and over again. It’s good to put it in the past.”
Forward Alex DeBrincat echoed Seider’s comments.
“It’s his decision,” he said of Larkin. “We’re happy with the guys who are here and we’re confident in our group here. We’re ready to move forward and keep getting wins.”
McLellan admitted that the constant attention on Larkin’s trade request has been a distraction.
“We’re moving on,” he said. “This has been going on for too long and that’s all we’ve ever talked about.”
Nearly a month into the season, standout defenseman Simon Edvinsson remains unsigned as a restricted free agent. The 23-year-old Swede had nine goals and 25 points in 72 games last year, his second full season in the NHL. Detroit drafted him No. 6 overall in 2021 and he has 19 career goals and 60 points in 175 games.
The Red Wings want him on the team and have no interest in signing and trading him.
“Nothing’s changed,” Horcoff said.
In desperately need of good news two weeks ago, the Red Wings signed two-time All-Star forward Alex DeBrincat to a seven-year contract worth $13 million per season.
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Associated Press freelancer Dana Gauruder contributed to this report.
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