Dylan Larkin seemed to win back the approval of Detroit Red Wings fans at times in his season debut, but he was still met with a mix of cheers and boos as he was announced the first star after a 5-3 win over the Senators on Tuesday.
“I’m trying to be a man and face it, and I understand why that’s happening,” Larkin said. “But again, like I said to you guys at the start of the season, I was going to try to show up with my play, and it was nice to be out there with the guys and get a win.”
Larkin, who was stripped of the team’s captaincy last month after requesting a trade in the off-season, finished the game with a goal, an assist and a roughing minor after he went after Ridly Greig for a hit on teammate Alex DeBrincat to end the second period.
Larkin, who was booed throughout his first few shifts of the game, had a subdued reaction after scoring in the first period to put the Red Wings up 2-1.
“I don’t want to offend anyone with over-celebrating, with knowing the situation that’s going on,” Larkin said. “But again, with all that, scoring a goal in the NHL, scoring a goal for this team when we needed it, it felt pretty good.”
Larkin’s return helped spark the Red Wings to their first win this season, improving to 1-2-0 after he missed the first two games of the campaign with an upper-body injury.
“He’s a hockey player,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “Once he puts the equipment on, he just goes and plays hockey. Had an impact on the game. I think he played with his heart on his sleeve, which is a real good thing for him. He needed to do that tonight, and he did it.
“I can tell you on the bench his teammates were rallying around him. They believe we’re a better team with him than without him, and the rest of the group was happy for him, so it was a team win, and Dylan did what Dylan needed to do.
“Sometimes you just need to get back to playing hockey. Like, what happened, happened, and all this stuff, it’s enough already. Just go play hockey, and that’s what he did.”
The 30-year-old forward 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 wrote in the Athletic on Wednesday that the list is now up to nine or 10 teams, all of which are contenders.
The Waterford, Mich., native has played his entire 12-season career in Detroit, recording 277 goals and 645 points in 809 games but has not played playoff hockey since his rookie season in 2015-16.
He also helped lead the United States to a gold medal at Milano Cortina 2026, the country’s first since 1980.