It’s official.
Dylan Larkin has been named the 37th captain in Detroit Red Wings franchise history. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/l05lknUP6B
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 13, 2021
The worst-kept secret in Detroit is finally out and the Red Wings have named Dylan Larkin as the team’s captain going into the 2020-21 season.
Larkin, 24, enters his sixth NHL season as the center on the Wings’ top line and now with a C to bear rather than an A. Larkin follows Henrik Zetterberg, who did a lot to help guide a younger Larkin in his early years in the league and is already off to a fine start in having one hell of a career to try to live up to (especially given that this captaincy was given to him by a man known as THE Captain in Detroit).
As far as what this means officially and on-ice, it’s not dissimilar from when he was wearing the A. The players with letters on their chests are the only ones that are supposed to be able to talk with the refs about how they see the game.
Unofficially, the weight of the C is much larger. Many people talked about the team last season looking lost and in search of an identity. Larkin has been the de facto captain of this team since Zetterberg had to head to long term injury retirement and he’s borne a lot of the weight of his team’s struggles. With the C on his chest, it will be up to him to instill that team identity and do it right.
More, from the Red Wings
DETROIT — The Detroit Red Wings today announced that center Dylan Larkin has been named the team’s captain, becoming the 37th captain in franchise history and the first Michigander and native metro Detroiter. Additionally, centers Luke Glendening and Frans Nielsen will serve as alternate captains for the 2020-21 season.
You can read the entire presser, including quotes from Steve Yzerman and Jeff Blashill at the team’s site.
