Dylan Larkin played in his 700th game for the Detroit Red Wings against the Montreal Canadiens. Larkin had a goal and an assist in the game against the Canadiens. The Waterford, Michigan native grew up a Red Wings fan and was drafted by his hometown team with the 15th overall pick in the 2014 NHL entry draft out of the University of Michigan. One thing Larkin has not done is have playoff success with the Red Wings. The team has only played five playoff games with Larkin on the roster.
“Huge win for us and a memorable night for myself,” Larkin said after the game. “I think it’s going to be memorable the way we played and hopefully we can build off that.” The Red Wings currently sit in seventh place in the Atlantic Division with 49 points. They are four points out of the second wild card spot. The Red Wings have a record of 9-4-1 since replacing their former head coach Derek Lalonde with Todd McLellan. Lalonde nearly led the Red Wings to the playoffs but were eliminated on the last day of the 2023-24 season as the Washington Capitals defeated the Philadelphia Flyers.
In the 700 games that Larkin has played for the Red Wings, he has scored 233 goals and added 318 assists. These 551 points rank 12th most all time in the Red Wings franchise history. The next Red Wing that Larkin can catch is defenseman Reed Larson who played with the team from 1977 to 1985. In these eight seasons Larson scored 188 goals and added 382 assists.
Larkin was named the 37th captain of the Detroit Red Wings in January of 2021, replacing Henrik Zetterberg who was forced to retire due to a back injury when the Red Wings placed him on long-term injured reserve after the 2017-18 season. Zetterberg did not officially retire until after his contract expired following the 2020-21 NHL season. The Red Wings went without a captain for two seasons after Zetterberg was forced to retire.
Larkin leads the 2024-25 Red Wings team in scoring with 21 goals scored in 48 games played. This is nothing new for the Waterford, Michigan native as he has been shouldered with the brunt of the scoring load. Prior to the start of the 2023-24 NHL season the Red Wings signed right-winger Alex DeBrincat in free agency to alleviate some of this scoring burden. DeBrincat scored 27 goals and added 40 assists in 82 games played last season as the Red Wings fell just short of making the Stanley Cup playoffs.
I have recently written that the “new coach bump” has left the Red Wings. Larkin has scored nine goals and added 10 assists in 11 games under McLellan. After Lalonde was fired Larkin gave an interview saying “It will be nice to play for someone with some coaching experience.” Lalonde finished with 201 points in 198 games on Detroit’s bench, going 89-86-23 in two-plus seasons. The first coach that Larkin played for in the NHL was Jeff Blashill.
Whether or not Larkin can bring the Red Wings back to a perennial playoff team, one thing that can not be questioned is his commitment to his hometown team. Larkin signed an eight-year, $69.6 million contract that will run out at the end of the 2030-31 NHL season. At this time Larkin will be 34-years-old, meaning that he will spend the majority, if not all his NHL career with the Red Wings. The 2024-25 Red Wings have a record of 22-21-5 and are in seventh place in the Atlantic Division.
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