Dylan Larkin missed the Detroit Red Wings season opener against the New York Rangers due to an upper-body injury sustained in offseason training. He was placed on injured reserve retroactive to August 15, while his absence also follows his summer trade request and the loss of his team captaincy.
The Detroit Red Wings opened their regular season at Little Caesars Arena on Friday, October 2, 2026, without their No. 1 center in the lineup. Dylan Larkin watched the game in street clothes from the bench alongside fellow scratches, marking the first time since 2014 that the team began a season without him on the ice. The matchup ended in a 2-0 shutout loss to the New York Rangers.
Larkin Misses Season Opener With Injury
Head coach Todd McLellan confirmed that the center would miss at least the first two games of the 2026-27 schedule. Larkin missed the entire preseason schedule while rehabilitating an upper-body injury sustained during offseason gym workouts before training camp opened on September 17.
The club officially placed Larkin on injured reserve retroactive to August 15 to clear a roster spot for Andreas Englund to return from the immigration non-roster list. While Larkin has recently resumed skating with the team, his recovery timeline kept him sidelined for the home opener against New York and Sunday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets.
Detroit enters the new campaign with a roster that features 14 forwards including Andrew Copp, Mason Appleton, Lucas Raymond, Michael Rasmussen, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, Nate Danielson, Viktor Arvidsson, Carter Mazur, J.T. Compher, Keegan Kolesar, Emmitt Finnie, Dylan Larkin, Marco Kasper, and Alex DeBrincat. The defensive corps lists seven players consisting of Ben Chiarot, Albert Johansson, Anton Johansson, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Moritz Seider, William Wallinder, and Justin Faulk, while John Gibson and Daniil Tarasov round out the goaltending unit.
Entering the 2026-27 season, Larkin maintains a solid three-year offensive profile after recording 69 points across 68 games during the 2023-24 campaign with 33 goals and 36 assists for a 1.01 points-per-game average. He followed that production by producing 30 goals and 40 assists for 70 points in 82 games during 2024-25, before notching 34 goals and 33 assists for 67 points across 74 appearances in 2025-26. Across his career spanning 808 regular-season games, the 30-year-old ranks tenth in franchise history with 643 total points built on 276 goals and 367 assists.
Front Office Faces Trade Request
Larkin asked the Red Wings for a trade following the conclusion of last season, prompting management to strip him of the captaincy he had held since 2021. The physical recovery unfolds against this front-office and locker-room turbulence. The franchise entered the new campaign without a designated captain.
Larkin acknowledged the professional fallout of his decision in September, noting that actions carry consequences while maintaining a professional stance. Under contract through the 2030-31 season with an average annual value of $8.7 million secured via an eight-year, $69.6 million contract signed on March 2, 2023, Larkin holds a full no-trade clause that extends through the 2027-28 campaign. He initially provided the organization with a preferred list of destinations that included the Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, and Vegas Golden Knights. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman subsequently reported that Larkin expanded his list to roughly eight teams, including the Colorado Avalanche, Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars, and Tampa Bay Lightning. Meanwhile, other destinations such as the Boston Bruins have made trade proposals that were ultimately rejected.
The organization faces no immediate salary-cap pressure forcing a hasty transaction. With the Red Wings carrying approximately $16.94 million in reported cap space against Larkin’s $8.7 million cap hit, simplified calculations demonstrate that moving the center without retaining salary or taking contracts back could theoretically open additional room, though actual in-season accounting and roster replacements would alter the final figures.
“Dylan, today, being a part of the team, he wanted to be out there for the ceremony… Dylan’s explanation was, ‘I don’t want the rest of my teammates, the ones that aren’t dressed, to not be out there,’ So, we went out as a team.”
Crowd Reacts to Sidelined Center
Parts of the home crowd responded with loud boos when Larkin’s name was announced during pregame introductions. Later in the contest, as the Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the opening period, portions of the arena chanted for ownership to sell the team, adding to the pressure surrounding Chris Ilitch as Detroit began the campaign carrying the league’s longest active playoff drought following their 2025-26 elimination.
Defenseman Moritz Seider addressed the tense atmosphere after the final horn, defending the paying public’s right to voice their opinions while emphasizing the team’s need to press forward.
McLellan expressed sympathy for his sidelined player regarding the pregame reception, pushing back against television broadcast commentary suggesting the organization orchestrated the group appearance to embarrass the former captain.
“Obviously, he’s got to live with the ramifications of asking for a trade. It’s not comfortable for anybody. I feel bad for him, I do.”
Alongside resolving Larkin's trade request and avoiding negotiations from an artificial position of urgency, the front office faces ongoing roster challenges including contract negotiations with restricted free-agent defenseman Simon Edvinsson, who traveled back to Sweden after attending training camp without a new deal, alongside past departures that saw Patrick Kane sign with the Chicago Blackhawks and winger Alex DeBrincat handle expiring contract talks.
McLellan Outlines Return Timeline
McLellan stated that the training staff is working with Larkin to accelerate his rehabilitation. The coaching staff harbors optimism that he can return for the team’s third game of the season, scheduled for Tuesday, October 6, against the Ottawa Senators at Little Caesars Arena, following their October 2 opener against New York and their October 4 home meeting with the Winnipeg Jets.
Whether Larkin will return to the lineup against Ottawa or remain on the trade block is not yet known.