Michigan Professional Athletes

Two of Michigan's most prominent NHL alumni are headlining the league's ugliest training camp storylines — and neither situation shows signs of a clean resolution.

Larkin's Detroit Drama Reaches a Breaking Point

Dylan Larkin arrived at Red Wings camp this week not as captain, not as a centerpiece, and barely as a participant. Detroit stripped the Ann Arbor native of his captaincy after he formally requested a trade this offseason, and an upper-body injury kept him off the ice when camp opened, compounding the franchise's misery.

When Larkin finally broke his silence in front of reporters, he gave them almost nothing. He confirmed the trade request is personal, declined to explain his reasons, and wouldn't say definitively whether he still wants out. The Hockey News called it a "vague media appearance" that left fans more frustrated than informed. Bleacher Report noted he "declined to explain the reasons behind his trade request" entirely.

The organizational chaos surrounding him isn't helping. Interim GM Shawn Horcoff addressed a rumored trade list at a press conference but offered little clarity, while owner Chris Ilitch sent a public message that Detroit won't rush any deal. That posture may be backfiring — Heavy Sports reported that the Minnesota Wild, where former Wolverine Quinn Hughes landed after Vancouver's teardown, may have emerged as Larkin's only realistic destination after his leverage evaporated. The Canadiens are also in the mix, with trade pitches circulating involving Kirby Dach.

Meanwhile, teammates are doing their best to compartmentalize. Alex DeBrincat told The Hockey News he believes the Red Wings are "closer than people give us credit for," a line that reads more like organizational PR than genuine optimism given the circumstances. Veteran defenseman Ben Chiarot also spoke at camp, trying to project stability amid the noise.

Larkin, 29, is in the fourth year of his deal and stuck in Detroit until a trade materializes — which, per the owner's comments, won't happen on anyone's timeline but the organization's.

Fantilli's Columbus Standoff Turns Ugly

Across Ohio, fellow Wolverine Adam Fantilli is locked in his own standoff. The Blue Jackets and their young star center have been unable to agree on a new contract, and The Hockey News didn't mince words: "The Jackets are playing with fire." Columbus made minimal additions this offseason, and the franchise's inability to sign its most important young player has fans rightfully alarmed.

Heavy Sports reported Fantilli could miss some or all of training camp as the stalemate drags on — a damaging outcome for a Blue Jackets team that desperately needs continuity and development momentum. The situation has also spilled over into broader organizational anxiety: Kirill Marchenko's agent made comments that stirred additional trade rumors, and Heavy Sports noted the Blue Jackets have major concerns extending well beyond Fantilli's contract.

For Fantilli, a 2023 third-overall pick, the timing is critical. These are the developmental seasons that define a career trajectory. Sitting out camp isn't just a negotiating tactic — it's lost reps.

Fellow Wolverine Zach Werenski adds another layer to the Columbus picture. Heavy Sports floated him as the logical next captain for Columbus — with caveats — as the organization navigates an increasingly complicated offseason.

The Bigger Picture

Two elite Michigan products, two franchises in various states of dysfunction. Larkin's saga is the louder one, but Fantilli's contract fight may carry longer-term consequences. For Wolverines fans, it's a week to monitor both situations closely — and hope cooler heads prevail before the regular season makes these disputes irreversible.

Two of Michigan's most prominent NHL alumni are dominating the offseason conversation — and neither story has a clean ending in sight.

Larkin Out as Captain, Detroit in Limbo

Dylan Larkin arrived at Red Wings training camp this week without the "C" he'd worn since 2021. Detroit officially stripped the Wolverines product of the captaincy following his trade request during NHL free agency, announcing the team will enter the 2026-27 season without a designated captain entirely.

Larkin broke his silence with a public statement, but with no trade materializing, he's reporting to camp under contract and in an awkward organizational limbo. The Red Wings confirmed they'll continue to discuss his future privately — a polite way of saying nothing is resolved.

Fan reaction has been pointed. Red Wings supporters sounded off on social media largely backing the organization's decision, with many expressing frustration at Larkin for forcing the issue. The optics are brutal for a player whose deep Michigan roots — both at U-M and growing up in Waterford — made him a franchise cornerstone for the better part of a decade.

Detroit now faces a separate headache: finding the next captain. The team has identified candidates internally, but with Larkin physically present and emotionally absent, establishing a new leadership identity around him is an uncomfortable dance. One potential silver lining from a messy situation: analysts have noted a possible trade resolution exists, even if it won't be a flattering return for a player of Larkin's caliber.

Hughes in No Rush, Wild in No Position to Push

Meanwhile, Quinn Hughes — acquired by Minnesota from Vancouver in a blockbuster December trade — is playing his contract situation exactly the way you'd expect a former Norris Trophy winner and Canucks captain to play it: on his own timeline.

Hughes is entering the final year of his deal and became eligible for an extension when July arrived. He hasn't signed one. His message to Wild fans? Don't hold your breath. "I want to take my time," Hughes told reporters, adding that he's happy in Minnesota but sees no urgency to commit long-term just yet.

The leverage dynamics here favor Hughes significantly. Cale Makar's historic new extension with the Avalanche reset the market for elite offensive defensemen — and Hughes, a comparable talent, can point directly to that deal as a benchmark. Multiple reports indicate the Wild may have already lost control of the negotiating dynamic, with Hughes able to walk into unrestricted free agency following the season if no deal is reached.

It's a precarious position for Minnesota, which gave up significant assets to land Hughes and is now watching him set the pace of his own future. Hughes hasn't been adversarial — his public comments have been measured and professional — but measured and professional can still mean expensive and uncertain for a front office trying to plan around a franchise-caliber blue liner.

The Michigan Thread

Two alumni, two teams, two very different flavors of organizational dysfunction. Larkin's situation is louder and uglier; Hughes's is quieter but potentially just as consequential. Neither story wraps up before puck drop — and Michigan fans across the NHL map will be tracking both all season long.

Michigan's two biggest NHL names are both staring down defining moments this offseason — and neither situation looks particularly clean.

Quinn Hughes: The Wild's Unresolved Gamble

Minnesota went all-in to get Quinn Hughes. Now the question is whether they can keep him.

Wild GM Bill Guerin has publicly expressed confidence that the team will extend the former Norris Trophy winner, but the calendar is not cooperating. Hughes became extension-eligible on July 1, and with the regular season approaching, nothing has been signed. Guerin's own words reveal the uncertainty: when pressed on negotiations, the GM acknowledged, "Who knows what he's going to want."

That honest admission has fueled a drumbeat of trade speculation. Bleacher Report's Adam Gretz went as far as predicting Minnesota will move Hughes at some point during the 2026-27 season — a bold call that has already linked the Michigan blue-liner to the New Jersey Devils, where his younger brother Luke anchors the back end. The Devils angle isn't just fan fiction; it's been floated seriously enough that it's generating its own news cycle.

The price tag for Hughes also keeps getting sharper context. Vancouver — the team that traded him to Minnesota last December — just locked down Zeev Buium, one of the key pieces it received in that blockbuster, to an eight-year, $75 million extension. That deal is a stark reminder of what Minnesota surrendered to land Hughes. If he walks or gets flipped, the ledger on that trade gets considerably grimmer for the Wild.

Guerin has noted that Cale Makar's massive new extension with Colorado could complicate talks, suggesting Hughes "might be after different things" than pure market rate. What those things are remains unclear — and that ambiguity is exactly what's keeping Wild fans up at night.

Dylan Larkin: A Trade Request Gone Wrong

If Hughes' situation is uncertain, Dylan Larkin's is arguably worse — and more of his own making.

Larkin, Detroit's captain, requested a trade from the Red Wings this offseason following a turbulent conclusion to the 2025-26 season. The move came amid upheaval in the front office: longtime GM Steve Yzerman was ousted after a disappointing campaign, with insiders delivering a brutally honest post-mortem on the end of his tenure. Larkin's trade request was a central piece of that chaotic offseason narrative.

The problem? It's backfired. According to Yahoo Sports, Larkin "may have greatly overplayed his hand." The Red Wings haven't moved him, and with the NHL rumor mill churning — Montreal was floated as a possible destination — Detroit appears to be in no rush to accommodate its disgruntled captain. Larkin's leverage may be far more limited than he anticipated.

The optics are damaging for a player who wears the C. Being a captain who asked out and didn't get out puts Larkin in an uncomfortable limbo heading into camp — neither traded nor reconciled with his current situation.

On the Periphery

Not all Michigan news is this fraught. Brendan Brisson quietly signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, keeping the former Rangers forward in the league for another shot. And in Columbus, the Blue Jackets are under pressure to finalize an extension with Adam Fantilli before training camp opens — a situation worth monitoring as the season draws near.

But make no mistake: this is Hughes and Larkin's offseason to define, for better or worse.

The Hughes Countdown Begins

Cale Makar just did Quinn Hughes a massive favor — and handed the Minnesota Wild a massive headache.

When Colorado locked up Makar on an 8-year, $163.4 million extension this week — making him the highest-paid player in NHL history and the first NHL skater to eclipse $20 million annually — the ripple effects landed immediately on the Wild's doorstep. Hughes, the Michigan product and one of the game's premier offensive defensemen, is now the most obvious next name in line. Makar's deal doesn't just set a benchmark; it sets a floor.

The Wild find themselves in a complicated spot. Hughes has publicly stated he's open to re-signing in Minnesota, which is about the best leverage a team can hope for. But "open to it" and "signed" are very different things, and with training camps opening in roughly three weeks, the gap between those two outcomes is narrowing fast. Per Bleacher Report, Hughes' future in Minnesota is becoming a genuine question mark — with trade buzz beginning to surface alongside contract talk ahead of the 2026-27 season. The New York Times has also reported on whether Makar's blockbuster will kick-start negotiations, and what those talks might look like for a Wild franchise calculating the long-term cost of retaining a superstar defender.

The math is uncomfortable for Minnesota: if Makar at $20M-plus is the market, Hughes — younger, similarly elite, and coming off a Norris Trophy pedigree — will not be cheap. Whatever the Wild offer, it will need to look less like a bargain and more like a statement.

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Other Wolverines Worth Watching

Quinn Hughes isn't the only Michigan alum generating headlines this week.

Zach Werenski is being talked about as Columbus Blue Jackets captain material. With Boone Jenner's departure to Washington leaving the C vacant, NHL analyst Mike Johnson made the case plainly: Werenski is the call. The Michigan defenseman has grown into one of the Blue Jackets' most important pieces, and an official leadership role would cement that standing heading into next season.

Dylan Larkin earned a spot in the NHL's own ranking of the top 20 centers in the game — a notable endorsement for the Red Wings captain, who remains one of the most complete two-way centers in the league and one of Michigan's marquee NHL exports.

Erik Portillo, the Kings' goaltending prospect, is generating buzz of a different kind. A piece this week flagged his readiness for an NHL opportunity — but with Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg ahead of him on the depth chart, the Michigan netminder faces a genuine roster logjam standing between him and a starting role.

And Rutger McGroarty, Pittsburgh's Michigan-bred winger, landed at No. 4 in PensBurgh's annual Top 25 Under 25 rankings — a slight dip from last year's top spot, reflecting the modest 24-game sample he logged with the Penguins in 2025-26, but still a strong signal of his standing in Pittsburgh's future plans.

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The biggest story out of Michigan's NHL alumni this week, though, begins and ends with Quinn Hughes. Makar signed the richest deal in league history. Now the Wild have to figure out what that means for their own franchise cornerstone — before someone else does it for them.