New details on what caused the initial rift between Dylan Larkin and Steve Yzerman emerge

Henrik Zetterberg retired on September 14, 2018. Larkin didn't get the 'C' until January 13, 2021.

On the Jason Gregor Show, MLive's Ansar Khan framed that delay as the seed of the frost, saying it bothered Larkin. With Yzerman stepping down as general manager this week, the tidy read is that removing the man removes the grudge.

That is backwards. The captaincy delay was never a personality clash; it was a preview of how Yzerman operates.

He doesn't hand out status before he's ready, and he doesn't move on anyone else's clock. The same patience that made Larkin wait is the patience now dictating that Larkin won't be dealt for a discount.

Khan already said he isn't sure a new general manager flips Larkin's mind. The quieter truth is that a new general manager is unlikely to flip the return, either.

Detroit reportedly asked Dallas for 23-year-old Wyatt Johnston and got a flat no. Whoever inherits this desk inherits that price, a full no-trade clause narrowing the market to a few teams, and no center on the roster to replace a point-per-game captain.

Larkin re-signed for eight years in 2023, years into the Yzerman era he supposedly resents. Players fleeing a grudge don't sign that.

What changed isn't the captaincy wound. It's ten straight springs without playoff hockey, and a gold medal in Milan that showed Larkin what winning feels like.

Yzerman remains as a senior advisor, sitting on the committee choosing his own replacement.

The franchise that once made Larkin wait for the 'C' is now making itself wait for a boss, and the trade sits frozen inside that vacancy.

None of that gets solved by a title change.

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