Earlier in the 2024-25 season, the Red Wings lost Andrew Copp for the season and it was a crushing blow. But they should’ve been able to overcome losing Copp, and they didn’t, or else we’d see a team still fighting tooth and nail to punch their way into the playoffs.
While the Wings never got consistent since before the league dispersed with the 4 Nations Face-Off, one player has also slumped unlike any other. You may know their name, and while they’ve enjoyed a decent season overall, nobody can dominate game in and game out.
Unfortunately for the Red Wings, they didn’t get the memo, and it’s one reason they tanked over what has now been nearly two months. Nobody could pick up where Dylan Larkin faltered, and it’s yet another reason you can add to what will inevitably be a missed opportunity to crush their perennial playoff drought.
Dylan Larkin isn’t to blame here…the Red Wings are…
Here are Dylan Larkin’s numbers since the Red Wings 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning before the 4 Nations break: 20 games, 12 points, five goals, seven assists, 10.4 shooting percentage. If that’s not bad by Dylan Larkin’s standards, I don’t know what is.
But that’s not the point. Not a single player in that Red Wings locker room, not Alex DeBrincat, not Lucas Raymond, not Patrick Kane, nobody did an adequate enough job, collectively, to fill in. And it shows that the Red Wings success still hinges on one player.
So, if the Wings want to be considered a good team overall, not just a good team when their star player is playing good hockey, they need to quit relying on him for sustained success. This isn’t to say there wouldn’t, or shouldn’t, be an adjustment period, considering how valuable Larkin is, but what’s happened over the past two seasons is inexcusable.
Last year, Larkin missed time when the stakes ramped up and nobody felt like stepping up. This year, Larkin stayed healthy but his play stagnated and nobody felt like stepping up. If the Red Wings don’t figure this out when the puck drops to kick off the 2025-26 season, then expect the same result.
Light in an endless tunnel of darkness?
Luckily for the Red Wings, they’re a team full of youngsters, with Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider, Marco Kasper, and Simon Edvinsson factoring in as a few of many up-and-comers. Some are on the verge of stardom, and we should see other promising names creep their way toward the big club next season.
So, while the Red Wings haven’t figured out how to compensate for a missing or stagnating Dylan Larkin, the good news is that they’re young and have time to figure this out. But with two close calls already, the fans won’t be waiting much longer, as there’s a good football, basketball, and baseball team they can instead turn their attention to.
That said, the Wings need a sense of urgency in place. But they have the talent to make sure this doesn’t happen a third time in a row.
