Dylan Larkin eyes next level for himself, Red Wings as camp begins

It was Dylan Larkin's most productive season by one measure, his most frustrating in other ways.

The Detroit Red Wings captain averaged more than a point a game for the first time in his career (1.01) on the best team he's played for since his rookie season. But missing 14 games due to injuries and personal reasons and missing the playoffs on the final night of the season fuels his drive for 2024-25.

"Still pushing myself ... I know I have a next level, and I would like to see what I can do," Larkin said. "I'd like to be a dominant player like I have been when I'm healthy. And that's a big thing for me, is staying healthy this year and trying to dominate and not do too much. Just play my game and be a good playmaker, someone that makes everyone around me better."

The Red Wings started training camp Thursday in Traverse City with the customary complement of new faces and optimism that they can take the next step and end an eight-year playoff drought. Having fewer regulation wins than Washington cost them a season ago.

"It stung for a while, and it was extremely hard to get over that," Larkin said. "But I think we found out what we had in our room with our guys. We battled hard. We came up short by one point. And you learn how valuable every point is. We showed ourselves last year through adversity what winning hockey looks like and mucking it up, winning a point when we maybe don't deserve it. And I thought you saw growth in everyone and growth as a team, growth from young players. And then we made some adjustments, some new additions that I think will really complement our team."

The new additions are led by veterans Vladimir Tarasenko, a scoring winger, and Erik Gustafsson, a defenseman who'll man the point on the power play, as well as skilled winger Jonathan Berggren and big defenseman Simon Edvinsson, who unlike last season will be with the club from the start. Cam Talbot is the potential new No. 1 goaltender.

"We got a lot of new faces again, which is always a little bit of a challenge," Larkin said. "But I think that's why Traverse City is so important. And getting the guys together, making everyone feel comfortable and you look at the guys we added, they kind of bring maybe a little bit more youth and a little bit of the same roles of guys we lost. So, I'm expecting that we have a hard October, but we're going to have a great camp and hopefully hit the ground running."

Larkin skated on a line with Lucas Raymond and Alex DeBrincat on the first day while J.T. Compher centered a line with Patrick Kane and Tarasenko.

Coach Derek Lalonde said the combinations are fluid.

"I think we're going to have a lot of different looks going into camp and then into the exhibition season," Lalonde said.

The Red Wings will practice and scrimmage at Centre I.C.E. Arena through Sunday, when camp concludes with a Red and White game (2 p.m., streamed on detroitredwings.com). The preseason opener is Wednesday in Chicago.

"Just try to get the legs going, build chemistry with your teammates, linemates, make everyone feel comfortable as the captain," Larkin said. "Try to get the guys together for golf or dinner, whatever it may be, and just really have a positive day and try to set the example out there. That's been my focus this weekend. Today was a great start."