Red Wings Suspend Larkin Without Pay After He Says He Will No Longer Play for Detroit

The Detroit Red Wings suspended Dylan Larkin without pay on Thursday after the forward informed the club he will no longer play for the team, bringing a months-long trade standoff to a head. Interim general manager Shawn Horcoff announced the suspension in a statement on Thursday afternoon, hours after head coach Todd McLellan confirmed Larkin would not suit up against the Chicago Blackhawks. Horcoff said the club was disappointed by Larkin's decision, particularly given his obligations to the organisation and his team-mates, and added that Detroit will continue to explore trade opportunities, noting that any deal needs Larkin's approval and must be in the Red Wings' best interests. Larkin's agent, Pat Brisson, told the Detroit Free Press that his client had simply had enough after months without a workable trade, and that it was Larkin's choice not to report ahead of Thursday's game. The 30-year-old requested a trade in the summer after Detroit missed the play-offs for a tenth straight season, was stripped of the captaincy on September 11, and has since expanded his list of approved destinations to ten teams. He has two goals and four assists in ten games this season, and his absence leaves Detroit — tied for last in the Atlantic Division at 5-4-3 — without its most prominent forward as trade talks resume.