One of these years, springtime hockey will return to Detroit. Why not this year, says Dylan Larkin.
With a roster full of players with "a lot to prove," including the captain himself, Larkin believes the Red Wings could sneak up on their rivals this season -- and perhaps sneak into the playoffs.
"At the end of the year I want all of our guys to be proud of what we did, our body of work throughout 82 games, and I really believe that it could lead to hockey into the spring," Larkin said Wednesday on the Stoney & Jansen Show. "We could surprise a lot of teams."
The Wings haven't made the playoffs in six years. This probably isn't the year they snap the skid. They're still short on top-end talent, though the additions of first-round picks Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond should help. So would a bounce-back season for No. 71. Detroit's strength is on the blueline, which is a good place to start for a young team.
The playoffs aren't necessarily the goal, in Larkin's eyes. The goal is progress, and the playoffs would be the reward.
"I just want to be proud of the work, the production and how we came together as a team," he said. "That’s been a huge emphasis all of (Jeff) Blashill’s tenure, is how selfless we play, how defensive and structured we are. I just want us to be proud of the progress at the end of the season."
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Seider and Raymond will play a big part in that. Their progress is essential to the progress of the rebuild. The 19-year-old Raymond is slated to play with Larkin on Detroit's top line, at least to start the season, and Seider, 20, is tabbed for top-four minutes on defense. Larkin's advice to the two rookies?
"My perspective is just, whether things aren't going well and the coaches are getting on them, they just have to stick to why they’re here and what makes them special," he said. "Yes, they have to play responsible for the team and win battles, but if things aren’t going well, they have to stick to the kind of players that they are -- and that’s skilled and making plays. And in the end they’re going to make this team a lot better."
As for himself, Larkin said this week he's aiming for "a bounce-back year" after tallying just nine goals and 23 points in 44 games last season. Specifically, he said he'll be conscious of stats like face-off percentage, "shots on net, quality shots on net and battles won."
"Just little things like that. It won’t always result in goals and assists and points, but as long as the team’s winning and I’m contributing and not being a liability defensively, that’s a huge thing for me," he said.