Booed Larkin Returns as Red Wings Host Senators After Trade Demand
Dylan Larkin is back on the ice for the Detroit Red Wings — and the fans have not forgotten.
Larkin made his season debut Tuesday night at home against the Ottawa Senators, skating on the top line between Viktor Arvidsson and Lucas Raymond. It was his first appearance of the season after missing the entire preseason and the first two regular-season games with an upper-body injury.
The 30-year-old forward requested a trade from Detroit in June and was stripped of the captaincy in September. He has not publicly explained why he wants out, saying in September he wasn't ready to discuss the reasons.
The reception has already been ugly. When Larkin was introduced among the scratches before the Red Wings' home opener, he was mercilessly booed by the home crowd.
Defenseman Moritz Seider said the team is preparing for more of the same. "It's never something you want to hear, but ... this is their opportunity to express their feelings, and however they feel, they're gonna make them notice," Seider said, per 97.1 The Ticket. "So, I think we're just prepared for everything. The better we play, I think the easier it is to eliminate noise."
The context makes the tension sharper. Larkin is a Michigan native entering his 12th season with the only NHL franchise he has known, drafted by Detroit in 2014. He has 276 goals and 643 points in 808 career games. Last season he put up 34 goals and 67 points in 74 games as the Red Wings missed the playoffs for a 10th straight year. In February, he won Olympic gold with Team USA.
Detroit is also shorthanded up front. Forwards Marco Kasper, Mason Appleton, and J.T. Compher are all unavailable against Ottawa with undisclosed injuries. Kasper and Appleton are considered week-to-week, while Compher is day-to-day.
Larkin's future in Detroit remains unresolved, and his trade request still hangs over the season. What happens next — on the ice and in the front office — is the question nobody in Hockeytown can avoid.
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