According to Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now, there is growing confidence around the league of what many already believed to be true: that the Detroit Red Wings will be unable to fulfill Dylan Larkin‘s trade request, especially without a General Manager. This won’t be a surprise to many, as the only question on many fans’ minds is whether Larkin will begin the year with the Red Wings or hold out until the situation is resolved.

According to Duff, Larkin and his representation haven’t considered holding out. This means that even if the Red Wings can get a General Manager in place in the relatively near future and they don’t have enough to swing a trade, Larkin is amenable to going to Detroit’s training camp and starting the regular season in HockeyTown.

Even this approach won’t come as too much of a surprise. Larkin has nearly nine million reasons not to hold out, as the Red Wings would be within their right to suspend him without pay if he refused to report to the team. It’s safe to say that Larkin no longer has the support of many fans in Detroit, and refusing to honor his contract would only increase the amount of vitriol coming his way.  Regardless, assuming the Red Wings can’t find a trade partner after hiring a new General Manager, Larkin shouldn’t bank on a warm return to Little Caesars Arena.

While it’s easy to gauge Red Wings fans’ thoughts on the situation, determining the reception by his teammates is much more difficult. There’s little chance Larkin will remain the captain of the team after requesting a trade, but it’s anyone’s guess how much respect he’ll retain in the locker room. At the end of the day, hockey players are professional athletes, with professional being the key word.

There’s nobody who can understand Larkin’s situation better than his teammates, but it’s also hard to argue that he’ll have the same amount of respect as he once had. Especially for the players who want to be in Detroit, that breach of perceived loyalty is hard to repair.