Detroit Red Wings: Dylan Larkin “graduated” with his 2022-23 performance

The Detroit Red Wings 2022-23 season has come and gone. It’s officially the off-season. It’s time to look back on this past season and see which players really stood out and which might need to make some improvements.

For the Detroit Red Wings, it was a big year for forward Dylan Larkin. He was able to get locked down in Detroit on his eight-year contract extension to remain with the Red Wings organization. It was a big day for the Red Wings organization and for Larkin himself.

With his play during the 2022-23 season, he surely deserved the contract extension, and his level of play in 2022-23 was genuinely indicative of good things to come and a bit of transformation for the team’s center.

He’s taken over as the leader of this team after being named captain and has been in the league for eight seasons now and had taken a significant step forward. He graduated, some may say, with his performance in 2022-23.

Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin reached a new level in 2022-23.

The Red Wings fan base and media outlets are big fans of their captain. There’s an outpouring of love and affection for Larkin, as there should be. But there’s also been criticism that he’s nothing more than a 1B type of center.

The suggestion being that he was better served in the backseat role, being a second-line center with a true Connor McDavid/Auston Matthews-type talent on the first line. But in 2022-23, Larkin put up a career-high in points.

He actually looked like that guy who can score goals when needed, put together offense, lead a comeback, and be that 1A guy. Maybe it’s just an over-excited version of myself talking, but Larkin graduated to 1A status in my book.

Over 80 games played, Larkin scored 32 goals and tallied 47 assists for 79 total points on the year. He tied his career-high in goals and was just one point shy of the 80-point threshold on the season.

He’s not as good as McDavid, Matthews, MacKinnon, etc., and I’m not trying to suggest that. But he proved something this year, and the fans should be excited about things moving forward. Especially if he can continue this type of play as the Red Wings enter a time of competition.

The Red Wings have to be proud of Larkin’s efforts in 2022-23, as he really took some steps forward. Not even in his abilities on the ice but also as a leader and the captain of the team.

There’s a lot to like with the direction this team is moving, and having Larkin around for the next eight seasons is exciting.