Red Wings’ Larkin expected back in time for training camp after surgery

Some positive news on the status of Hockeytown’s on-ice leader.

During his pre-draft media availability, Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman stated that captain Dylan Larkin underwent surgery this offseason, and that the team expects him to be back on the ice at training camp in September.

Yzerman did not disclose what Larkin had hurt in order for surgery to be necessary.

2023-24 was a battle for the Waterford, Michigan native. In December, Larkin was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, missing five games, after a scary fall in a game against the Ottawa Senators. Then, in March, he missed three weeks due to a lower-body injury.

In total, the veteran center missed 14 games, but was still one of the Red Wings’ top scorers. In 68 games, Larkin led the team with 33 goals, finishing second on the team behind Lucas Raymond with 69 points. It was the first time in his nine-year career that he averaged a point per game during the regular season. However, he came up short of matching his career-high in scoring that he set during the 2022-23 campaign, which saw Larkin post 79 points in 80 games.

Larkin will be heading into the second year of his eight-year contract that he signed last March, with see him carry a cap hit of $8.7 million through the end of the 2030-31 season.

In 652 NHL appearances, Larkin has scored 212 goals and 294 assists, including five games in the 2015-16 playoffs.

Larkin came to the Red Wings in 2015 after one season at the University of Michigan. The 15th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft has been one of the team’s top players for most of his career, earning the captaincy in the middle of the 2020-21 season shortly after Henrik Zetterberg retired.