Larkin Skates at Red Wings Camp, Could Play Saturday
Detroit's former captain took the ice for the first time this camp Wednesday and may suit up for the preseason finale against Columbus.
Dylan Larkin got on the ice at Detroit Red Wings training camp for the first time Wednesday, and if the next few days go well he could play in the team's preseason finale Saturday against Columbus, coach Todd McLellan told reporters, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.
Larkin, 30, reported to camp with an upper-body injury that had kept him off the ice entirely.
That was only the latest turn in an eventful offseason for him. Larkin requested a trade over the summer, while Steve Yzerman was still running hockey operations in Detroit. The Red Wings later promoted Shawn Horcoff to interim general manager and moved Yzerman into a senior adviser role. Before camp opened, the club stripped Larkin of the captaincy.
He has five seasons remaining on the eight-year, $69.6 million contract he signed in 2023, a deal that includes a no-trade clause. Larkin initially told the Red Wings he would accept a move only to Florida, Minnesota or Las Vegas.
He has never played anywhere else. Detroit drafted the Michigan product 15th overall in 2014, and he now ranks 10th in franchise history in scoring with 643 points. Larkin also played a role for the United States at the Milan Cortina Olympics in February, when the Americans won gold.
For now the question is narrower than any of that: whether the center can get through the rest of the week of practice and into a game before the regular season starts.
