Dylan Larkin’s future with the Red Wings looks increasingly hard to picture in a game-day setting this season.
Friday’s announcement that Larkin would be on the attention camp, without the captaincy, did not guarantee he would actually suit up for regular-season action. The concern is straightforward: teams usually avoid dressing players who could be on the move, because one injury can blow up an entire trade discussion.
That’s the danger hanging over Larkin now. If the Red Wings eventually name a GM and talks start moving with someone, any injury in a game would complicate everything.
A minor issue might be manageable, but a serious setback could be disastrous. The example that looms is Aleksander Barkov, who suffered a crushing knee injury on the first day of camp last season and wound up missing the entire year.
No one is saying that kind of outcome is coming for Larkin. But if he is put on the ice, the risk will always be there.
Even beyond the injury question, there’s the matter of where Larkin’s head would be. If the Red Wings keep him in the lineup while his future remains unsettled, can they count on him to be at his best? Would Todd McLellan really want to use him as a top-line center with all of this going on?
The situation feels a lot like an employee who knows the clock is ticking but hasn’t officially been let go yet. The work may continue, but the motivation changes once everyone understands the end is coming.
That is the bind here. Larkin has been stripped of his captaincy, and he likely won’t be used in the top six. The expectation is that he would see fourth-line minutes, which makes the case for playing him at all look thin.
At this point, the cleanest path may be for Larkin to show up at camp, get himself ready, and wait for the trade that seems to be coming. If he is only going to play fewer than 10 minutes a night in a fourth-line role, the regular-season appearances would not amount to much.
For now, the safest move for everyone may be to keep Dylan Larkin out and let the situation play out.
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Red Wings Rookies Had A Brutal Turn In Costly Loss To Pittsburgh
Kienan Draper went from hero to hard-luck rookie in the span of a night, helping Detroit outlast Dallas in a shootout before finding himself in the middle of a far less forgiving result against Pittsburgh. The Red Wings had enough chances to escape with points, but the game swung on a handful of costly moments and left the young forwards otherwise encouraging stretch under an ugly spotlight.
Detroit also wasted a night in which its special teams never really found a rhythm, and the Penguins were able to make the most of the openings the Red Wings handed them. With other scorers contributing and a few regular absences shaping the lineup, the margin for error was already thin, and one bad break in particular became the kind of play a team spends the next day trying to flush. [Read more 🡒]