It's a weird time for the Detroit Red Wings. They haven't been to the postseason in a decade, they're between GMs, and their home-grown captain Dylan Larkin has asked for a trade.
And if that wasn't bad enough, Thursday is Larkin's birthday, and since he's still the captain of the team, they had to say something.
Well, I'd contend that they didn't, but they did, and boy, did people not let them forget how awkward things are right now.
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That's a plain Jane graphic if ever I've seen one — although the Chick-fil-A sponsorship is cool; I wish they'd sponsor my birthday — but if you didn't know what was going on with Larkin, you wouldn't think anything of it.
At least until you consider the team's birthday message from 365 days ago when things were just swell up in Hockeytown.
A little more excitement behind that one, huh?
And once again, Chick-fil-A got in on it. The official happy birthday-wisher of the Detroit Red Wings. Who knew?
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Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin got a bit of an awkward happy birthday from his team after he requested a trade earlier this offseason. ((Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images))
While it was nice of the team to give Larkin a shoutout in light of recent events, they probably could've flown under the radar.
I think the odds of someone being like, "Your silence on your captain's birthday is deafening," are low. But then again, it's the internet, so who knows?
What I do know is that fans were not sending well-wishes of their own.
There's a chance that this will not be the final awkward happy birthday for Larkin in Detroit.
He requested a trade going into what is only the fourth year of an eight-year contract that runs through the 2030-31 season.
Dylan Larkin is still under contract through the 2030-2031 season. (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)
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If the Red Wings can't cut a deal with another team that is to their liking — and Larkin's, given he has a full no-trade clause in his contract for the next two years — he'll be sticking with the team.
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So, yeah, maybe keep an eye on what's going on in Detroit this season.
It could certainly be interesting.
Matthew Reigle is a writer for OutKick.
