Dylan Larkin was back with his Detroit Red Wings teammates for an NHL game at Little Caesars Arena.
His presence in the lineup against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, Oct. 6, was greeted with boos when he first took the ice a couple minutes into the game.
But teammates were thrilled to have him back.
"I think he's going to help us, hopefully a big spark," Moritz Seider said after the morning skate at LCA. "He's great in the circle, he can kill and he's playing on our power play as well. He helped us win a lot of hockey games in the past, so hopefully we can flip the switch tonight and he helps us get two points."
The BOOOOOOOOO birds are out for Larkin 😳👎 pic.twitter.com/3K6n65iarP
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 6, 2026
It was Larkin's first game since requesting a trade at the end
of last season in April. He was soundly booed by fans when he was introduced during opening night Friday.
"It's never something you want to hear but this this is their opportunity to express their feelings," Seider said. "We're just prepared for everything and the better we play, I think the easier it is to eliminate noise."
Dylan Larkin injury
Larkin, 30, suffered an upper-body injury while training in mid-August, and missed all four exhibition games and the first two games of the regular season, both losses. His presence around the team, though, was a huge focal point because of the bombshell he dropped shortly after last season ended.
Steve Yzerman, who was general manager until pushed out in mid-July, said in late June he'd made it clear to Larkin there was no guarantee he'd be traded. Larkin's value to the Wings is immense: He is their No. 1 center, a position at which they lack depth, and he's a regular 30-goal scorer.
Dylan Larkin contract
Then there's his contract. Larkin is under contract through 2030-31, at an $8.7 million annual average value, and the Wings already have paid out $31 million in actual salary on the eight-year extension Larkin signed on March 1, 2023.
Why did Dylan Larkin request a trade?
Larkin, 30, has a no-trade clause, so he has a say in where he ends up. But the fact is, the Wings haven't received any offers matching Larkin's value to them. The preference all along has been to see if the situation – Larkin would not say what triggered the request – can be resolved, and Larkin remain part of the Wings' lineup. Maybe a trade eventually happens, but the Wings have leverage, too, in that Larkin is under contract.
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: Dylan Larkin booed in first game with Red Wings after trade request
