Larkin’s leadership just as valuable as his production for Red Wings in 2023-24 season

DETROIT -- Captain Dylan Larkin is the longest-tenured member of the Detroit Red Wings, who selected him 15th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, and the only remaining player from the 2015-16 squad that last made the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

So as exciting as the Red Wings’ push for a playoff spot this season was for Larkin, falling just short left him wanting more.

“I think we’re much closer than we have been in my career,” Larkin said in his end-of-season media session. “We missed the playoffs this year and I would love nothing more than to win a championship, but we have to get in the playoffs. I asked for meaningful games in April, and we got that. We came up short, but now it’s about how we get in.”

This season, Larkin scored a career-high 33 goals in 68 games and averaged over a point-per-game (33-36—69) for the first time in his nine-year NHL career. The 27-year-old forward also set multiple individual milestones in his fourth season as Detroit’s captain, including scoring his 200th career goal on Jan. 27 and recording his 500th career point on April 11.

“For me, probably one of the best and hardest experiences in my career," Larkin said about this season. “It sucks that there was no reward, but it was a great experience to find out a lot about myself and our team.”

Head coach Derek Lalonde said he believes Larkin is the heart and soul of the Red Wings.

“He’s our best player,” Lalonde said about Larkin on Feb. 23. “He’s our 1C. I think he’s a star in this league. I get some of the next-tier guys -- (Nathan) MacKinnon, (Connor) McDavid, (Nikita) Kucherov, some guys that have come through here. He feels like that to us.”

The progress Detroit made this season encourages Larkin, who said he was especially impressed with the progression of fellow forward Lucas Raymond.

“He was really good,” Larkin said about Raymond, who had a team-high 72 points in 82 games this season. "Emotionally, physically he did it all down the stretch for us. He was in it and wanted to win. He willed us to win. The experience down the stretch was great for me, it’s great for Lucas and that’s great for our team.”

“He’s our best player,” Lalonde said about Larkin on Feb. 23. “He’s our 1C. I think he’s a star in this league. I get some of the next-tier guys --(Nathan) MacKinnon, (Connor) McDavid, (Nikita) Kucherov, some guys that have come through here. He feels like that to us.”

Larkin said he expects to see a very motivated group at the Red Wings’ 2024 Training Camp.

“The momentum we built, for the guys returning, hopefully there’s a hunger there all summer and a little bit of anger and hurt for what we just went through,” Larkin said. “Hopefully it’s there for them all summer. I know it will be for me.”