Larkin didn't "go to the press." Maybe his agent leaked it, maybe the team did. But either way it was going to come out.
Giroux was totally different anyway since it was the deadline and he was a FA. Of course it would have been much better for the Flyers, ironically, if he'd tried to get out sooner. Or if they'd actually been smart enough to start rebuilding sooner, in which case he would have.
It is nice to have franchise players who stay on the same team for a long time. Except when they get old and are still making superstar money, then we want them gone.
Quinn Hughes isn't leaving Minnesota before his contract's up. He wanted go play there, and to win. If the Wild choose to try and trade him because they think he won't re-sign long-term, that's their prerogative, and something they knew might happen when they got him. But even with his brothers in the picture he is tight with many players and the coaching staff/front office there from the Olympics, which is also why Larkin wants to go there (and Tkachuk would have).
Last year both Colorado and Carolina chose to trade Rantanen rather than risk losing him for nothing, even though they were both contenders. He didn't ask to be traded though. And it worked out well for Carolina, a year later.
Larkin doesn't have a four-team NMC, he has an every-team NMC. That's what the Red Wings gave him. That's the contract. Now they're just re-negotiating it.
