Dylan Larkin celebrated his first goal of the season with his teammates, then pointed toward the stands as he skated back to the Detroit Red Wings bench.
He was looking for Lennyn Larkin, his 16-month old daughter, a friendly face amid a crowd that started out hostile before Larkin quieted that noise and backed up why the organization wants to keep him.
Larkin's season debut on Tuesday, Oct. 6, included a first-period goal and second-period assist (and a near-fight) from the former captain, providing a huge boost as the Wings won for the first time in three games this season, 5-3, over the Ottawa Senators at Little Caesars Arena.
"It was good to be back out there and play some hockey," Larkin said. "We needed a win here, the guys in the room. And
I think for a lot of Red Wing fans, it was important to get this win for our team and organization."
Larkin's first shift, about two minutes in, went from auspicious to awful: Fans booed loudly as soon as he hopped over the boards, and kept it up every time he touched the puck – all the way until the shift ended with the Senators making it 1-0.
Larkin was ready for the reaction, though – how could he not? A hometown, homegrown NHL star, from Waterford, captain of the Original Six franchise from January 2021 until stripped of the 'C' this summer after requesting a trade shortly after last season ended. It was Larkin's choice to be on the bench for introductions Friday; fans booed then, and booed his return, too.
"I mean, I was ready for it on the home opener," Larkin said Tuesday. "That's part of it. I'm trying to be a man and face it. I understand why that's happening. But like I said to you guys at the start of the season, I was going to try and show up with my play. And it was nice to be out there with the guys and get a win.
"We needed this win. You start out 0-2, especially on home ice. You could feel it creeping into the practices and the games and the morning skates. It's good to see some smiles back there after this win."
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Larkin made everything better for the Wings, winning 65% of his faceoffs, playing just shy of 21 minutes, six of that on power plays and more than two helping the penalty kill. He had four shots on net. His skillset, combined with having five years left on a contract with an $8.7 million annual average value, is why the Wings would prefer Larkin change his mind about being traded and stay.
"I don't want to say we're thin down the middle because we have some really good players," coach Todd McLellan said. "But Larks, he slots everybody right. By having Larks play, it just puts people in the right spots, I guess you could say."
Larkin scored on a tip-in at the top of the crease, and his shot set up Viktor Arvidsson for a power-play goal.
Dylan Larkin makes it a 2-1 game👏 pic.twitter.com/ptSLhMVZsZ
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 6, 2026
At the end of the second period, Larkin jumped in to defend Alex DeBrincat, nearly coming to blows as a melee broke out. Larkin was assessed a roughing penalty, missing on the Gordie Howe hat trick.
"I tried to, but I got jumped from behind, so that didn't last too long," Larkin said, laughing.
Greig laid a hit on DeBrincat at the end of the period leading to Larkin to go after him... THEN CHAOS BROKE OUT!!!! 😳 pic.twitter.com/0KVBBsYCOV
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 7, 2026
That Larkin would ever again be standing in the Wings' locker room at LCA laughing seemed in doubt during the summer. But when no team offered pieces that reflect the value the Wings place on Larkin, and training camp drew closer, it became apparent Larkin would remain a Wing.
So he showed up to camp – injured, from an offseason training mishap – and steadily worked to get healthy enough to play and deal with the aftermath of the trade request.
"Dylan in particular handled himself very well," McLellan said. "He's a hockey player. Once he puts the equipment on, he just goes and plays hockey. Had an impact on the game. I think he played with his heart on his sleeve, which is a real good thing for him. He needed to do that tonight and he did it.
"I can tell you on the bench, his teammates were rallying around him. They believe we're a better team with him than without him. The rest of the group was happy for him. It was a team win and Dylan did what Dylan needed to do."
Larkin ended up being named the game's No. 1 star, skating out for a quick lap to cheers mixed with some booing. There was no mixed reaction when he made it into the locker room.
"It was like, why is everyone slow clapping me?" Larkin said. "No, it was good. It's meaningful, you know. There's a lot of people in here that I love deeply and mean a lot to me in my career. It's pretty emotional coming back in."
Larkin, 30, won't publicly say what prompted the trade request, or if reconciliation is feasible. He said he'd "just keep playing and keep trying to help this team win."
There's no better way to quiet critical fans than by the kind of performance he had on Tuesday.
Larkin was 18 when the Wings drafted him at No. 15 in 2014, 19 when he made his debut, 24 when he was named captain, 28 when Lennyn was born last year. All milestones celebrated in the Detroit area.
Tuesday was a different kind of event, but memorable all the same, the rare player to suit up for a team after asking for a trade. Larkin kept his celebration on the ice relatively muted, saying, "I don't want to offend anyone with over-celebrating and with knowing the situation that's going on. But with all that, scoring a goal in the NHL, scoring a goal for this team when we needed it, it felt pretty good."
So did knowing his little girl was there.
"I pointed to my daughter who was here," Larkin said. "She came last year, but I think she's more aware of what's going on. We'll be able to watch that goal tomorrow. That was pretty special. She's 16 months old. So she's going to just want to keep watching it and keep watching it.
"It's good to be a hockey player again, for sure. I mean, for a hockey player, it's the best medicine. It's just to play and just enjoy it and think about the kid that would be killing to be out there. That's really, for all of us, what it's all about."
Contact Helene St. James at Hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Dylan Larkin pointed into stands after scoring goal for Red Wings
