The Detroit Red Wings may be getting their captain back sooner than expected.
Head coach Todd McLellan provided an encouraging update on Dylan Larkin, stating that the star center is expected to be a game-time decision for Detroit’s next matchup on Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators.
Dylan Larkin expected to be a game time decision tomorrow, McLellan says
— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) March 23, 2026
Trending in the right direction
This update marks a positive shift after initial fears that Larkin could miss extended time following a lower-body injury he suffered against the Florida Panthers.
At one point, Detroit was preparing to be without both Larkin and Andrew Copp for multiple games — a scenario that raised serious concerns given their importance down the middle.
Now, it appears Larkin’s recovery may be progressing faster than expected.
Why Larkin’s return matters
There’s no sugarcoating it: Detroit needs its captain.
The Red Wings have struggled offensively at times this season, ranking near the bottom of the league in five-on-five scoring, and Larkin remains the engine that drives their attack.
His absence was immediately felt, especially during a stretch where the team has been battling to stay alive in the playoff race.
Playoff urgency is here
Detroit’s next game against Ottawa suddenly carries even more weight.
If the season ended today, the Red Wings would be just short of a playoff spot, meaning every point from here on out is critical.
Getting Larkin back, even in a limited capacity, could provide a major boost as Detroit looks to close the gap and climb back into the postseason picture.
The bottom line
For now, all eyes will be on warmups Tuesday night.
If Larkin is able to go, it could be exactly the spark the Red Wings need.
If not, the pressure only intensifies.
Either way, the message is clear:
The Red Wings don’t have much room for error, and they need their captain.
One Response
Time to call them the dead wings. I still don’t place too much blame on Yzerman, and more on the hand he was dealt and bad luck. He didn’t get to draft a franchise player to build around, and he inherited Larkin, who’s not very good at times, and very good at other times this season.
When they should have had a top draft pick, they are relegated to a 4th pick, and in other years they fell out of the top 10 despite being one of the few worst teams.
Everyone applauded signings like Tarasenko, and then he fizzled out that year (unbeknownst to any teams in the league). He’s hit on so many of his draft picks: Raymond, Seider, Edvinsson, Finnie, ASP (potentially), MBN (potentially). He’s rebuilt the AHL affiliate and given them some depth there. He’s traded for key pieces like John Gibson and Alex Debrincat. Signing Kane has worked out excellently for both sides. Talbot, until more recently has been a very serviceable backup. Cossa is in the pipeline, about ready. If the defensive play was better we may have seen Cossa a bit sooner than next season.
Larkin often will turn the puck over in the o-zone, and instead of back checking or changing, he stops and complains to the refs, meanwhile the other team is already in our zone with a chance to score. His PK and own zone play are often lacking…..how many times I see him glide, not skating, and holding his stick out half-heartedly pretending to cut off a passing lane, and then the pass goes right by his stick to the other team’s player for a nice scoring chance. He’s mentally weak for the leader of a franchise like the Detroit Red Wings. Is he a key piece to their current offensive ability, absolutely. And when he’s on his game, he’s very good, as he was in the Olympics. The 6 weeks leading up to the Olympics, he was terrible (by his own standards).
These are the reasons the rebuild is taking so painfully long. They need another free agent or trade addition in the offseason. I do not blame Yzerman for passing on Hughes, Trochek, Petterson, or Smith. Hughes wouldn’t sign an extension, why sell the farm for a rental player for a team that still isn’t a strong/proven cup contender (even with Hughes). There is a reason no other team acquired Petterson/Trochek/Smith…..the price was too high. As the deadline approached, the prices became crazy high. With that said, the wings have a few key players locked up for awhile (Larkin, Raymond, Seider, Debrincat) and at discount prices now. This leaves them the cap space available to make an offseason addition. I still give Steve time, how much, I don’t know. It depends on the decisions going forward, the moves he makes, and the performance of the team. His hockey IQ is high. So for the fans that think they know better, I seriously doubt give the same circumstances, any of them would have made better decisions.