On the surface, it was a tough year for Dylan Larkin. Maybe the worst of his career. In his first season as captain of the Red Wings, with the team needing him to elevate his game, Larkin scored just nine goals and 23 points in 44 games.
This marked a significant step back offensively. Larkin averaged 0.76 points per game from 2017-18 to 2019-20. This year he came in at 0.52. And the Wings remained stuck at the bottom of the standings.
To make matters worse, Larkin missed the final eight games of the season with a neck injury that forced him to spend two nights in the hospital. All told, it's likely a year he'd rather forget.
It's also a year in which Larkin improved, if you ask GM Steve Yzerman. And Yzerman would know. Beyond his credentials as a Hall of Famer and nine-time All-Star, Yzerman spent 13 seasons piling up points before ultimately helping the Red Wings win the Cup. So he doesn't judge Larkin by his stat line.
"Ultimately, I see Dylan as an outstanding two-way player," Yzerman said Tuesday. "I don’t ever expect or think that we need him to lead the league in scoring. I want him to be a good player at both ends of the rink and focus on that. Whatever the goal totals turn out to be, they’ll be good enough. My goal for him, and he and I have talked about it, is strive to be one of the best two-way players in the game. He’s got the skill, the strength, the skating ability and the work ethic to do that."
Besides, Yzerman felt Larkin played well offensively this season. (And he would know.) Larkin just couldn't catch a break. He had a career-low shooting percentage of 6.7 percent, which was ninth lowest in the NHL among forwards who put at least 100 pucks on goal.
"Generating scoring chances and creating scoring chances for his linemates, I think he did an excellent job of that," Yzerman said. "I just think he missed a lot of chances, and it happens. This year, playing so many games in a row, if you get on a roll things are great. If you don’t get on a roll you’re trying to catch up, and he never had that pause to get a few days of practice to regroup and kind of find it a little bit. Overall, I thought Dylan had a good year."
Here's what else stood out to Yzerman, another thing for which the three-time Cup winner was known: Larkin never stopped competing. The Wings went through an eight-game losing streak early in the year. They fell out of the playoff race shortly thereafter. They were hit hard by injuries and COVID-19 and trades. But Larkin brought it every single night, living up to the letter on his jersey.
"I don’t think there’s anyone that would ever question his work ethic or competitiveness in any game that he plays," Yzerman said. "I would never come home from a game thinking, 'Dylan didn’t bring it tonight.' He’s a really good person, he really cares about the Red Wings. He’s driven. So overall, his numbers statistically aren’t great, but I think he played well and I think he played hard. His leadership, his work ethic, his determination are very, very important, even when the numbers aren’t there. I think as the talent level of our team improves, as we get more balanced, I’m not too worried about the production."
So, should the Red Wings be worried about their captain? No, and that comes from The Captain.
"It’s huge coming from a guy like him," Larkin said Wednesday. "Someone that’s won and so-well respected. His words carry a lot of weight. I always tell him, 'You don’t have to tell me things twice.'"
It's not to say Larkin doesn't have to be better. He does, and he'd be the first to admit it. The offensively-challenged Wings need a whole lot more from their best offensive player. But in a year where Larkin was focused on becoming a better two-way player, both he and Yzerman believe he made progress.
"Whenever we talk, it’s a lot about the defensive side of the puck and playing the right way, and it’s something I’ve tried to focus on," Larkin said. "When you do that as a centerman, it doesn’t hurt your offense but you’re thinking defensively and you’re not cheating, which is good. With saying that, yeah, you’re out on the ice and you want to score and there’s times we needed big goals … but whether it’s overtime or five on five, you can’t cheat in this league. I’m still a young guy and still learning, but I thought I took some strides toward that this year."
Larkin turns 25 this summer. If it feels like his older, it's because he just finished his sixth season in the NHL. On Wednesday he pointed to two veterans he tries to emulate, a pair of centers with a combined 29 years of NHL experience and exactly one season of point-per-game production.
"I want to be quicker playing defense so I can be fresh playing offense. You watch guys like (Patrice) Bergeron and Ryan O'Reilly, they always do the right things. They’re hard on the puck and they battle hard so they can get it and play offense while they’re fresh," Larkin said.
Bergeron and O'Reilly produce plenty of offense -- notably more than Larkin this season. They're just not defined by it. It's not the primary reason they've also combined for seven All-Star Games, five Selke Trophies, two Stanley Cups and the Conn Smythe Trophy won by O'Reilly as MVP of the playoffs in 2019. That's the kind of resume Larkin is seeking, with Yzerman as his guide.
"We’ve had some good conversations and some conversations where he’s told me I have to be better. And I know that," Larkin said. "I have a lot of respect for him, and I feel he has respect for me as well."