The Detroit Red Wings intend to hold leadership meetings every week to 10 days this season, but it does not appear former captain Dylan Larkin will be a part of them.
Nicholas J. Cotsonika of NHL.com reports that Ben Chiarot, Alex DeBrincat, Justin Faulk, Keegan Kolesar and Moritz Seider took part in the latest edition Monday, while Lucas Raymond was absent while taking a maintenance day.
Larkin, who requested a trade in the off-season and initially only submitted a three-team approved trade list, was stripped of the team’s captaincy before training camp.
“We’re trying to get everybody to grab a piece of it, and I think leadership comes in so many different forms,” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said. “There’s just the way you play. There’s the rah-rah guy in the locker room. There’s the family guy outside of the rink that takes care of meals and stuff like that. There’s the guy that approaches the coach for information or to relay things. So, there’s a lot of different people in different leadership roles in our team right now.
“I actually don’t mind it. It doesn’t have to be about one individual. It can be about the group.”
The Red Wings have just two players serving as alternate captains at the moment in Seider and Raymond. Seider, 25, said he and the 24-year-old Raymond are not focused on being a go-between for the players and coaching staff.
“No. I think, honestly, no. It’s pretty chill, honestly. We have a great group of guys in here,” Seider explained. “If there are things that need to be addressed within the team going forward to the coaches, I think, yeah, we’ll talk to them, but I think everyone is kind of having the mindset now that we always know Todd’s door is open. You can walk into his office no matter what.
“I think that’s something we try to emphasize in the locker room too. If you guys have a problem, don’t wait. Don’t sit on it. Usually, it doesn’t make it any better. If there’s something that needs to be cleared up, let’s do it right away. I think everybody’s feeling better afterwards. It might not be resolved, but I think everybody can move forward.”
Larkin missed the first two games of the Red Wings season with an upper-body injury but returned to help spark the team to their first and only win of the season last week against the Ottawa Senators.
The 30-year-old centre has one goal and one assist in three games amid the franchise’s 1-3-1 start. He is in the fourth season of an eight-year, $69.6 million contract that carries an annual cap hit of $8.7 million.
Larkin holds a full no-trade clause and initially told the Red Wings he would only accept a deal to the Minnesota Wild, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights, and later added the Dallas Stars. TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun recently reported that the list is now up to nine or 10 teams, all of which are contenders.
DeBrincat said Monday that even without the letter on his jersey, Larkin continues to be an important voice in the team’s dressing room.
“I think some guys have stepped up, but everyone for the most part, you’re just being yourself,” DeBrincat said. “Even ‘Larks.’ I mean, it doesn’t matter if he has a ‘C’ on his jersey or not. He’s still going to be the leader he is. That doesn’t change anything. When we go into the game, we’re a team.”