The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan spoke with Dylan Larkin via an NHL promotional tour on Monday night, and Larkin said that he’s a little tired of the grind that has been attempting to keep oneself motivated while not playing hockey for over ten months:
“Absolutely, it’s been hard,” Larkin said, noting the Wings haven’t played a game since March 10, two days before the pandemic shut down the NHL regular season. “That’s probably an understatement with our team, it’s been hard for us because so we’ve been off for so long. We’ve been really quiet. But the hunger, a lot of guys are back in town and skating at (Little Caesars Arena), and guys are ready.
“It’s been a long time, a challenging time. You go through periods of motivation, you feel good and excited, and there was a (potential) start date of mid-October, I can’t even remember, and it got pushed back and it seemed to get pushed back and you get upset about it. It’s been harder mentally than physically.”
The Wings had the league’s worst record (17-49-5) last season, were outscored by a whopping 122 goals, only won five of 34 road games, and were near the bottom of every team statistical category.
But general manager Steve Yzerman addressed needs in every position group through free agency and trades this off-season — and might not be done yet — making the Wings’ roster much deeper and experienced on paper.
“The moves we’ve made, it’s exciting,” Larkin said. “Most of the guys we’ve added are skilled guys that can make plays and can play with the puck. As a player that likes to do that, too, it helps. I really enjoy it.”
