Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom welcome Dylan Larkin to Detroit Red Wings captain's row

Former Detroit Red Wings captains Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg were on the ice Thursday for a delayed celebration honoring Dylan Larkin becoming the 37th captain in franchise history.

Yzerman bestowed the "C" on Larkin before the start of the 2021 season, but the pandemic made it impossible to have much of a ceremony. Yzerman and Larkin met in Yzerman's office, and shook hands. 

Thursday was more fitting for such an honor. Before a lively crowd at Little Caesars Arena, a red carpet was rolled out to welcome a who's who of former Wings captains: Alex Delvecchio, Red Berenson, Nick Libbett, Paul Woods, Dennis Hextall and Mickey Redmond joined Yzerman, Lidstrom and Zetterberg.

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Lidstrom and Zetterberg both live in their native Sweden. Lidstrom was named captain after Yzerman retired in 2006, and Zetterberg wore the "C" from 2012 until his retirement in 2018. 

Larkin was the last player introduced, after new alternate captains Marc Staal and Danny DeKeyser. 

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.