Dylan Larkin receives major wave of pressure from NHL insider ahead of upcoming season
Photo credit: NHL.com
If Dylan Larkin is as serious about winning a Stanley Cup as he says, he'll need to step up his game in Little Caesars Arena and drag the team by will to the playoffs.
Dylan Larkin is the captain of the Detroit Red Wings and has aspirations of a Stanley Cup run in 2025-26.
After a disappointing 6th-place finish in the Atlantic Division and a 39-35-8 record, he needs to change his mindset.
He'll have to help push this team to the playoffs by will.
Larkin was last seen in the playoffs in 2016 and was chosen as Henrik Zetterberg's successor. Since then, it seems Larkin has had a difficult time motivating the team to find success in the postseason.
He'll have to find a way to make it there, by his own will if NHL Analyst Mike Rupp has anything to say about it. He has challenged him to drag the Red Wings to the playoffs.
"This might not be fair to say, but I think it speaks volumes to what I think of him as a player - I think he needs to drag this team to the playoffs," Rupp said. "I think we need to see a moment - he needs to have his moment where this guy is just out of this world. He has the ability to do it."
This was issued during the NHL Network's assessment of the top-20 centers in the NHL, which was controversial.
Larkin was absent, but Macklin Celebrini was present. It speaks to the lack of relevance and notoriety the Red Wings have as a team anymore.
The center has been a dynamite player for the Red Wings but has failed to achieve anything significant compared to his predecessors in the 90s and early 00s here in Detroit.
Can Dylan Larkin Drag The Detroit Red Wings to the Playoffs?
The 6-foot-1, 199-pound center scored 70 points (30-40) in 82 games as the team's top center. But it was unable to make a run to the playoffs.
He was placed above centers like JT Miller and Vinnie Trocheck, who went unranked. Trocheck has seen more playoff time than Larkin, who was ranked 14th of the top-20 centers in the NHL.
The former 15th OA pick in 2014 has remained passionate in regards to the team's return to the playoffs. He'd voice his frustration with the team's lack of meaningful moves during the postseason, and arguably, Yzerman hasn't done better this year either.
It's difficult to tell when the team will find its way back to the postseason, but when they do, Larkin and the team will be vindicated.
Previously on Red Wings Insider
| POLL | ||
AOUT 23 | 220 ANSWERS Dylan Larkin receives major wave of pressure from NHL insider ahead of upcoming season Do you think center Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings can drag the team to the Stanley Cup playoffs? | ||
| Yes | 113 | 51.4 % |
| No | 107 | 48.6 % |
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