Dylan Larkin Looking For his Version of Sergei Fedorov

The Detroit Red Wings recently announced that they will retire Sergei Fedorov’s jersey in January of next year. Fedorov was one of the critical members of the 1997 and 1998 Red Wings teams that won back-to-back Stanley Cups. General manager Steve Yzerman, who was the captain of those Red Wings teams, was the leader of these teams that brought them out of the “Dead Wings” era. The 2025 Red Wings team is looking for its version of Sergei Fedorov to take the scoring load off captain Dylan Larkin.

Fedorov was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015 after spending nearly his entire career with the Red Wings. In 1,248 games, Fedorov scored 483 goals and added 696 assists. Beyond that, Fedorov would win the Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward in the NHL during the 1993-94 season when Fedorov scored 56 goals in 82 games played and again in the 1995-96 season. Fedorov won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP for the 1994-95 season.

Larkin was named the 37^th captain in Red Wings history in January of 2021. After being drafted by the Red Wings with the 15^th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft out of the University of Michigan. The Waterford, Michigan native, who signed an eight-year contract with the Red Wings, will play his entire career with the Red Wings. Larkin has only made the Stanley Cup playoffs once in his career, when the Red Wings lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in 2016.

That is not to say that Dylan Larkin has not been a tremendous leader during his Red Wings tenure. The franchise was amid a rebuild after making it to the Stanley Cup playoffs for 25 seasons in a row. Under former head coach Derek Lalonde, the Red Wings were one point shy of making the playoffs after the Philadelphia Flyers made it to overtime against the Washington Capitals on the final day of the 2023-24 season.

“It’s hard to put into words,” said Larkin, who became the first Michigan-born captain in franchise history and just the third Red Wings captain in the last 34 years. “I think I understand the significance of this role. I’ve seen it my whole life, been around, been a fan, been around fans, been to games, to know what it means to not only be a Detroit Red Wing, to now be the captain, I couldn’t be more honored.
“It’s very exciting, it’s hard to put into words, but this means so much to me and I couldn’t be more honored and thankful for all the fans that have supported me and our team along the way.”

The Red Wings acquired Alex DeBrincat from the Ottawa Senators in July of 2023 for forward Dominik Kubalik, defenseman prospect Donovan Sebrango, a conditional first-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, and a fourth-round pick in the same draft. DeBrincat has played in all 82 games both seasons he has played with the Red Wings, scoring 39 goals and adding 31 assists during the 2024-25 season. DeBrincat scored 41 goals in an NHL season twice with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2018-19 season and again during the 2021-22 season.

One player that the Red Wings have at least tried to acquire is Arcadia, California native Jason Robertson, who was drafted by the Dallas Stars with the 39^th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Robertson began his hockey career with the Little Caesars 13-under AAA team. Robertson has scored 40 goals twice in six seasons playing with the Stars. The Stars are reportedly shopping Robertson to get underneath the salary cap of $95.5 million for the 2025-26 season.

The Red Wings have the draft assets to acquire a player to go alongside Dylan Larkin. One name that consistently comes up in trade rumors is goaltender Sebastian Cossa. I have written that Cossa is the player whose success is most important for the success of the “Yzerplan.” Cossa was drafted by the Red Wings with the 36^th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Cossa has yet to make a move to the Red Wings on a regular basis, but did win his first NHL game against the Buffalo Sabres in December of 2024.