Stunning new details emerge on Steve Yzerman's departure and it involves Dylan Larkin
Photo credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images
The Detroit Red Wings changed titles this month. They did not change who is answering the phone on Dylan Larkin.
Anthony Di Marco said on Campbell vs Gallo that the Yzerman decision was made partly to convince Larkin to stay, or at least to make his exit smoother.
Re Steve Yzerman dismissal/Red Wings: "I thoroughly believe, and speaking with one general manager...that this was in part, on Detroit's angle, to try and get Dylan Larkin to stay...[or] at least make the process a little smoother."
- Anthony Di Marco
- Anthony Di Marco
That theory has spread across a week of Detroit coverage. The organizational chart does not fully support it.
The Red Wings announced on July 15 that Steve Yzerman becomes senior adviser to governor and chief executive officer Chris Ilitch, per NHL.com.
The same release confirmed Yzerman keeps running day-to-day hockey operations until a successor is hired.
The counterpart never left the building
Larkin asked out on June 4, the Detroit News reported, with five years and an $8.7 million average annual value still on his contract.
If a strained relationship with Yzerman was the trigger, the remedy is unfinished. Yzerman is still the executive rival teams call this month.
He is also now advising the owner conducting the search for his own replacement.
Why every other team should care
Any club chasing a first-line center, including the Minnesota Wild connection reported this month, is negotiating with a caretaker instead of a decision maker.
That freezes the market. Nobody surrenders a package of young roster players to an executive who may not be there in September.
It also means the price will likely move once a permanent hire is announced, not before.
Detroit did not choose its captain over its general manager. It bought time, and Larkin's leverage now depends on a hiring timeline nobody has committed to publicly.
Head coach Todd McLellan enters camp with a captain in limbo and no boss above him to set the direction.
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