Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin out for season

The Detroit Red Wings announced Monday afternoon that center and captain Dylan Larkin will be out for the rest of the season recovering from core muscle surgery.

It’s unclear as to what caused the injury, but it appears that Larkin had been playing through it for some of the season. With all the playoff spots in the East decided, there was no point risking injuring it further, and he might as well get more time to properly recover from the surgery before next season.

Larkin finishes the year with 31 goals and 69 points in 71 games, one of his best seasons to date. He finished just one goal shy of his career high and four points back of his career high in points, both of those totals coming in five more games in 2018-19.

Aside from recovering from surgery, the 2022 offseason might be a busy one for the Wings captain as he may start talking about an extension with the team. He’ll be in the final year of his five-year contract with a $6.1 million cap hit and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency.

The recovery period is expected to take eight to 10 weeks, so he’ll be ready in time for next season as the Wings look to take another step forward in terms of competitiveness. They were in the hunt to start the season, but tailed off and now find themselves almost 30 points out of a playoff spot as the season comes to an end. They’ll have more than $35 million in cap space with no major players to re-sign, looking at a potential free agent pool that includes Johnny Gaudreau, Filip Forsberg, and John Klingberg.