Detroit Red Wings: Can Dylan Larkin tap back into the scoring in 2021-22?
By Tyler Kotila
The Detroit Red Wings are nearing training camp, which means the 2021-22 season is not too far from kicking off. That being said, the team is going to be better this season and likely find ways to put the puck in the back of the net more often.
One of the players who should be scoring more in 2021-22 is Dylan Larkin. The Detroit Red Wings captain saw a decrease in production in 2020-21, and the shortened season and a scary injury are not totally to blame.
Larkin’s numbers would have been down either way. He played in 44 games where he scored nine goals and added 14 assists for 23 total points. Doing some simple proportional math, Larkin projected out to play around 64 games where he would log 13 goals and 20 assists for just 33 points (give or take a few since there’s some rounding).
The point is, his numbers would have been down either way, and it sucks to see the team’s leader falter a bit from being able to find the back of the net. The Red Wings team’s the past few seasons have not been the greatest, which might be the reasoning for the struggles, but a bounce-back year in 2021-22 would be huge for Larkin.
Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin needs to tap into scoring touch.
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If the Red Wings are still viewing Dylan Larkin as the 1C guy to be “their guy” as the team’s first-line center, he needs to be better.
While Detroit Jock City Co-Site Expert Bob Heyrman and I have discussed the longer Larkin is around, it seems like he may be a 2C for this team.
Larkin has more of the makings of a second-line center. It’s not to say that he is not valuable to this time or cannot be an asset in many ways, but he’s more of a second-line center than that top-line guy.
On this Red Wings team, he will maintain his top-line spot, it’s not to say that someone is going to replace him right now, but it seems like he may end up in a second-line center role eventually. Sooner than later, that is.
Do not get me wrong, just because I am calling him a second-line player does not mean he will not be able to score, will not be a sound player, and will not be a good leader; that’s just wrong. Larkin is going to be a sound player on the ice and continue to develop as this team’s leader, the scoring is a maybe, but the hope is that it will come around.
The first point is that the 2021-22 season is a good of a time as ever for Larkin to bounce back in the points column as well as show that he can continue to be a good leader and hold down his role with this team. The second point is that Larkin is more of a second-line center and may wind up in that role if the team brings in or develops a true number one.
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With the 2021-22 season on the horizon, Larkin needs to tap into the scoring touch to make him even more of an asset to this Detroit Red Wings time while also getting back on track in the scoring column.