Is there a greater honor than the lasting face of a franchise bestowing the captaincy of a team upon you? Probably, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t special nonetheless.
Steve “The Captain” Yzerman named Dylan Larkin the 37th captain of the Detroit Red Wings hockey club. After edging the fanbase by making Larkin an alternate for two seasons, the front office made what every Detroit fan knew and expected a happy reality.
Larkin will likely waste the prime of his career during one of the messiest rebuilds imaginable. Remember when the Red Wings missed the 2016-17 playoffs and fans buckled in for a five-year rebuild, tops? Well, the team is on year four of that plan and while the roster looks almost completely different save the younger talent that carried that miserable team, that doesn’t necessarily mean improvement.
Leadership is what this team needs when it will likely get pummeled into the dust like that apple you and your friends kicked around the lunchroom floor to be “edgy.” But unlike that poor fruit, the Wings will get no mercy as great as a trip to the great Wastebin in the Sky.
The Wings dropped a video on puppet network Fox Sports Detroit that wheeled out such Red Wing greats as Henrik Zetterberg, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Mickey Redmond. Too bad the Captain himself was too busy salivating over the top-four pick the Red Wings will likely get come the 2021 Draft. Perhaps Owen Power or even Matty Beniers could be the club’s next sacrifice to the Hockey Gods as the team’s top talent ages.
All pessimism aside, Larkin being named captain is a great move for the Wings. A Waterford kid, he’s a local face that cares about the community and creates an added comfort level for Michigan players who might slip in the draft. I’m talking about you, Kent Johnson. Hopefully the Wings can spend a late first-rounder or early second to add you to the depth chart. Is Strauss Mann interested in getting Cheveldaed?
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