The Detroit Red Wings had a bit of controversy over the summer. Captain Dylan Larkin publicly questioned the front office after the season, saying he wanted to see them do more to improve the team. General manager Steve Yzerman hit back with his own call out of Larkin and the leadership in the locker room. In the end, nothing came of this small back-and-forth.
However, it certainly led to questions about how well things were going between the Red Wings GM and their captain. On Wednesday, fans got a bit of insight into this relationship. Yzerman spoke about how he and Larkin get along while appearing on NHL on TNT before facing the Florida Panthers.
“I don't wanna speak for Dylan. I'd like to think we have a great relationship. I enjoy talking with him, he's very open with me. We communicate very well. I think we have a great relationship. (His) comments at the end of the season aren't a that big of a deal, and certainly didn't create a divide in the relationship between he and I,” Yzerman told NHL on TNT.
Red Wings' Dylan Larkin desperate to turn things around
The Red Wings have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the last nine years. In fact, Larkin has made the playoffs just once in his career — his rookie season in 2016. He signed a long-term contract in 2023 and has routinely expressed his desire to win.
Detroit has certainly come close in recent seasons. However, last year was a step back for this team. The Red Wings made a coaching change midseason after a brutally poor start. And they collapsed late in the year after a turnaround in January and February.
“It was hard that we didn't do anything, and I felt the group kinda—we didn't gain any momentum from the trade deadline, and guys were kinda down about it,” said the Red Wings captain, in April, of the lack of moves at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, via Sam Stockton of The Hockey News. “So it'd be nice to add something and bring a little bit of a spark on the ice and maybe a morale boost as well.”
There is a palpable urgency to return to the playoffs this season. The Red Wings have never gone a full decade without playoff hockey in their history. Larkin will do everything he can to ensure his group avoids a 10th straight season missing the playoffs.
