Dylan Larkin is the leader the Detroit Red Wings need

During coach Todd McClellan’s brief tenure in the Motor City, Detroit Red Wings fans have already realized that he is not one to mince words. He doesn't sugarcoat if he feels the team is not performing up to the standard.

The latest example was Thursday’s post-game press conference following a disappointing loss to the Blue Jackets. What made this instance stand out was the coaches blunt criticism of Red Wings’ Captain, Dylan Larkin. When asked about Larkin’s play, McClellan said this:

"I can't beat around the bush — he was missing. He's a big boy, he can handle hearing that. He's going to hear it from me. Just a lot of mishandles, unsure plays that he usually makes."

To be fair, it’s not as though McClellan’s appraisal was wrong. Larkin only generated one shot on goal vs. Columbus, and was a minus-three. According to Dom Luszczyszyn of the Athletic’s GameScore model, Larkin was the team’s worst forward on the ice.

Larkin's leadership

For a Red Wings fan, it might be easy to read McClellan’s criticism and wonder how this might affect the Captain, or the locker room. However, I think it will only bring positive results.

The truth is, Larkin’s strong leadership and maturity are why a hard-nosed coach can make these comments. Like McClellan said, “he can handle hearing that.” Larkin is a trusted leader who leads by example. If he can take strong criticism in stride, it sends a meaningful message to the rest of the team. If our Captain isn’t above reproach, then no player is.

Accepting feedback–no matter the severity–is an admirable quality. Not just for a leader, but for any professional hockey player. We’ve seen all too often players that cannot take the same level of heat without incident. Judging from McClellan’s comments Friday, the coach and player have already moved on as they look toward Saturday's rematch with Columbus at Ohio Stadium. On the pair’s discussion, the coach said:

"It was an easy conversation. He’s our captain, he cares, he’s committed to doing things right. He had an off night, we all do. Coaches have off nights. Other players have bad nights. He’ll be ready to play and I’m excited about watching him do that."

There are also countless examples of star NHL players who are a locker room distraction to their teams’ detriment. Pierre-Luc Dubois, J.T. Miller, and Patrik Laine are some of the most recent examples. I’ll take Larkin’s stoic leadership and maturity any day over players like that.