Larkin Sidelined by Injury as Camp Opens — and the Trade Cloud Still Hangs Over Detroit

There's no easy way to say it: Dylan Larkin will not skate when Red Wings training camp opens Thursday, sidelined by an upper-body injury he suffered earlier this week in off-ice training. Not the start to the year any of us wanted. And the injury is only half of it. Larkin asked to be traded this offseason, he's no longer our captain, and his future in Detroit sits in limbo even after the team announced last week he'd report to camp. He has five seasons left on the eight-year, $69.6 million deal he signed in 2023, a no-trade clause included, and initially told the Wings he'd accept a move only to Florida, Minnesota or Las Vegas. This is the man who's played his entire NHL career here since Detroit took him 15th in 2014 — a former Michigan star, 10th in franchise scoring with 643 points, and a piece of the U.S. team that took Olympic gold at Milan-Cortina in February. That history is why this stings. All of it now lands on interim GM Shawn Horcoff.