Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman seemingly takes veiled dig at team captain Dylan Larkin

Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman appeared to take a subtle shot at captain Dylan Larkin during his end-of-season media session on Tuesday.

The Red Wings wrapped up the 2024-25 season with a 39-35-8 record, finishing third from the bottom in the Atlantic Division and missing the playoffs.

Yzerman addressed Larkin’s comments over the team’s lack of moves at the trade deadline.

"I would point out two teams, in Montreal and St. Louis, who at the trade deadline were sitting outside of a playoff spot. Neither team did anything," Yzerman said. "They both ended up making the playoffs, and are playing very well at this time, led by their best players."

Larkin had complained, both on trade deadline day and two days after the season ended, about the Wings' inaction, with their only moves being acquiring veteran goalie Petr Mrazek and fourth-line forward Craig Smith. They sent prospect Joe Veleno to Chicago.

"We didn’t do anything ... we didn’t gain any momentum from the trade deadline ... It would be nice to add something and bring a little bit of a spark on the ice and maybe a morale boost as well," Larkin said earlier in April.

Yzerman also addressed Dylan Larkin's remarks on team morale, saying he expects the team's best players and leaders to provide a morale boost, adding that it's part of their responsibility and what they are paid to do.

Yzerman's point was that making a big trade is costly for a rebuilding team like Detroit. He expected Larkin and other leaders to provide an internal boost rather than relying on external additions.

While the GM admitted that the explanation was not directly because of Larkin's comments, he did reveal that he spoke with his player in private about his trade remarks, but declined to share details.

GM Steve Yzerman on offseason changes for Red Wings

Steve Yzerman acknowledged the team's struggles with depth scoring, noting they lacked production from the bottom six and didn’t generate enough five-on-five goals from the top six.

“So, how do we address that? Try to get better players. Try to make our players better. And demand that our players that are here, that are under contract, that we have high expectations for, they be better,” Steve Yzerman said.

With Detroit missing the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season, Yzerman seems focused on upgrading talent at both ends of the lineup.