The Free Press’s Carlos Monarrez praises Red Wings coach Todd McLellan for calling out Dylan Larkin after Thursday’s 5-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, as only Monarrez can:
Larkin is a very good — sometimes excellent — player. He’s also the captain, which is a heavy burden on a team that has had very little success during his tenure. I would hope Larkin’s skin is thick enough and his mental fortitude is strong enough to take this kind of public criticism from his coach. If it isn’t, I can think of 69.6 million reasons why it should be.
If the Wings are going to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016, and then do something when they get there, they’re going to need Larkin to be at his best.
But this really isn’t about Larkin. This is about the guiding light the Wings have been waiting for. It’s about a coach who’s more interested in doing his job than keeping his job. The kind of tough love we’re seeing from McLellan — who also wasn’t shy about sharing his reasons for benching defenseman Justin Holl in January — is exactly what this team has needed.
And let me assure you it’s becoming increasingly rare for coaches to publicly criticize any player. The last time I remember a coach in Detroit castigating a high-profile player was when Jim Caldwell benched Matthew Stafford during a game in 2015. Caldwell paid the price when he was fired following the 2017 season, when Stafford refused to support him.
Stafford essentially won a power struggle with Caldwell because he understood he was playing on a Ford Family Scholarship and, thanks in part to his carefully curated image, had more organizational equity than Caldwell.
That’s the question we’re facing now with McLellan and Larkin: Who has more organizational equity?
Is it the franchise player who hasn’t gotten his team to the playoffs since his rookie season? Or is it the guy who’s the hottest coach in the NHL and has led the Wings to 17 wins and 36 points since Dec. 27? No team entered Thursday with more points or wins in that time.
Monarrez continues, and it’s not paywalled…
