The Red Wings began training camp with a line consisting of Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. While coach Derek Lalonde insisted that the lines were far from finished products, and that the lines will change, the possibility of a DeBrincat-Larkin pairing is tantalizing for the parties involved, as the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan noted:
“He just scores,” Larkin said on the first day of camp. “I’ve known him for a while, skated a lot with him in the summer. I’ve watched him — everyone has watched him — and we all know what he brings and what he can do. His hockey sense is very underrated. His ability and puck skill and to catch the worst passes and turn them into great shots. Those are the things I know he has and I’ve seen it on the ice the past couple of weeks, skating with him in Detroit.”
DeBrincat twice scored more than 40 goals in Chicago before being traded to Ottawa before last season. DeBrincat informed the Senators he was going to test unrestricted free agency this summer, and rather than potentially losing him for nothing, the Senators worked out a trade with the Wings.
“He’s just a good hockey player,” Larkin said. “Everyone knows what he’s done and what he can do.”
Given all the offseason additions by the Wings, the playoffs seem a distinct possibility, given the fact some teams in the Atlantic Division could be slipping. But Larkin isn’t thinking about the playoffs just yet.
