Even amid the backdrop of an incredible Stanley Cup Final, even with the NHL draft and free agency weeks away, the hockey world is abuzz right now about the action off the ice.Nothing is getting more chatter than Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin requesting a trade from the only team he’s ever known, especially given the difficult position into which it puts an already reeling franchise.There was a time not long ago that you’d almost never see something like this unfold: a superstar asking out in the middle of a long-term contract. (Larkin has five years remaining on an eight-year deal annually worth $8.7 million signed in March 2023.) But whereas Larkin’s situation would be rather notable as a one-off, it interestingly appears to be following a trend where some of the NHL’s best players take control of their careers and choose to leave a troubled market — or in the case of Detroit, which is stuck in a 10-year playoff drought going back to Larkin’s rookie season, a declining one — to join a contender.Jack Eichel did it five years ago, moving from Buffalo to Vegas in Nov. 2021, and it paid off with the 2023 Stanley Cup (and maybe another in the next 10 days). Matthew Tkachuk soon followed suit, engineering his July 2022 exit from Calgary to Florida, where he, too, won a championship in 2024 and again last spring.Then you have Mitch Marner, Artemi Panarin and Quinn Hughes all making high-profile moves in the last 12 months. In the first two cases, Marner and Panarin used no-movement protection to turn down unwanted destinations and find a preferred new home for beyond their then-contracts — Marner in Vegas and Panarin in Los Angeles. After forcing his way out of Vancouver last December, meanwhile, Hughes would presumably have his pick of suitors if he doesn’t re-sign with the Minnesota Wild when his current deal expires next summer, whether via trade or free agency.Add in the fact that the Oilers’ Connor McDavid and the Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews are balking at the idea of making long-term commitments to aging teams whose contention windows are potentially starting to close, and it’s a fascinating turn from the way things have operated in this league for a very long time. For so many years, organizational loyalty served as a guiding principle. Today, however, it’s becoming a far more routine part of business to see the NHL’s best players exerting their influence to end up where they want to be, when they want to go there.According to some on the players’ side, it’s about time.“It finally looks like the players are throwing off the yoke,” said one high-profile NHL player agent, speaking anonymously as he does not represent any of the above stars. “Historically, players did what was best for the team, and that’s starting to change. Now, they’re looking after their own best interests.”