Larkin ‘Ready to be Bottom of the Totem Pole Again’

After an offseason dominated by headlines with his name in them, former Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin seemingly would rather have talked about anything and anyone but himself as he faced the first Detroit scrum of the pre-season since news of his trade request broke earlier this summer.

Unfortunately for him, no trade has come come to fruition even after several months and a change in Detroit’s top executive office. Now, with training camp underway, the Red Wings are beginning the season without a captain after the front office stripped the ‘C’ from his chest ahead of the season.

‘I understand it. I asked for a trade from the Detroit Red Wings.

And, you know, actions have consequences. I understand why that decision was made and I’m going to be professional about it.’ Said Larkin.

With no ‘official leader’ on ice, the Red Wings and head coach Todd McLellan have a lot of uncertainty around the roster, and will be turning to the rest of their roster to find leadership in other ways.

For right now, though, that means figuring out how the pecking order of the team will work itself out without Larkin participating in hockey activities, or as an active leader in the locker room.

After a summer of waiting for a trade that has never come, the scrutiny and pressure facing Larkin feels higher than it did even when he assumed the team’s captaincy in the middle of what is now a ten year playoff drought. Perhaps, then, the idea is that taking some of the pressures and responsibilities off of his shoulders will alleviate the situation and let Larkin be a better player for the Red Wings.

‘I just want to play, you know. I’m a hockey player, and there’s a lot of people in there [the Red Wings locker room] that I care deeply about.

I’m excited to be part of this team, and you know, back at the bottom of the totem pole, which may be kind of nice.’ Said Larkin.

The only problem being, as anyone with a cursory knowledge of the totem pole, is that the low man on it is the most important part as the base.

However, as McLellan points out, leadership is going to have to come from every part of the roster, and the team simply can’t rely on one player for that.

‘We’re all on the totem pole, and there can only be one guy on top. Is it Mo?

,’ Said McLellan, ‘Is it Razor? We can be interchangeable pieces on the top and everywhere else on the pole…

Other guys have to step up in moments and provide that leadership.’

The Red Wings and Larkin find themselves in an odd transitional period as they await a new general manager, and potentially a new home for Larkin. Where that leaves the rest of the Red Wings roster is still in flux.

But one way or another, the team will need to sort its own problems out over the NHL’s newly shortened training camp schedule.

‘I think I said this in the past- We do pick the team, but we don’t really pick the team,’ Said McLellan, ‘The players do. They’re going to sort themselves out, and we need the best version of the Red Wings we can possibly find.’