Red Wings Captain Dylan Larkin: ‘It’s Kind of Scary as a Player’

Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said he was “embarrassed” by the ugly play that temporarily left him motionless on the ice. He was also critical of the NHL standards for what is safe and what is not.

“Watching back, replaying it in your head, it was pretty scary,” Larkin said. “Just pretty tough. Pretty embarrassed by it. There’s a lot of emotions there you kind of replay and live with. You have to see that highlight, you could call it, that will be attached to your name for a while. It’ll always be there and people will always be able to watch it. It’s pretty tough.”

This was the first time Larkin talked about the situation with the Detroit media.

“I was always taught to not lay on the ice,” Larkin said. “There’s not much you can do about that situation. It’s hard to watch. It’s hard to text people about how you’re feeling. It was a weird feeling. I’ve just been pretty down. I’m sure that’s pretty normal. It’s just one of many emotions I’ve had over the last week.”

Mathieu Joseph hit Larkin in the neck and back of the head. At the time, he was being sandwiched between two Ottawa Senators. After he went down, he was sprawled flat on the ice. His mom and dad were at the game and his wife was watching at home.

“It’s not something you want to be a part of,” Larkin said. “…I was not happy with how it went and how the after-effects went. It’s not really a hockey play and it’s just unfortunate that’s how my last week has been.”

Doesn’t Blame Joseph

Larkin said he had no comment about the fact that Detroit’s David Perron was the only player suspended. Nor did he want to talk about whether he had been in contact with any Ottawa player.

This is the second time Joseph has made the Red Wings angry with a hit on Larkin. The first  time it happened, Larkin was suspended for retaliation.

This is what Larkin said about Joseph: “He plays on the line of being in your face. That’s how I’m sure he feels he has to play. That’s how he plays. I don’t have a problem with Mathieu Joseph.”

Larkin said he hasn’t talked to anyone from the NHL. But clearly he thinks the NHL needs to address what’s happening on the ice.

“The last week in the league has been pretty eye-opening,” Larkin said. “It’s been kind of a trend, I guess. This last week has been a highlight for player safety. As a player, I’m closely attached because I just went through something, but I’ve talked to guys on our team, guys on other teams, it’s hard to feel safe out there, it’s hard to know how to protect yourself. I truly believe we have the best refs in the world in the NHL. I just think it’s the message being sent down from the top is what is safe and what it not and how to discipline, there’s a lot of questions there and it’s kind of scary as a player.”

Does Larkin Feel He Needs to Defend Himself?

He has played more physical than he probably should.

“In Boston this year it got physical late in the game and we got in a scrum,” Larkin said. “I probably shouldn’t gave gone in that scrum. I got into a fight this year, I probably shouldn’t have done that. This instance, watching it back, I wasn’t really doing anything. I was trying to make a play on the puck, just standing there. I don’t really have an answer for that. Going back to my last comments, how do you protect yourself? Who’s protecting you? There’s a lot of (unanswered questions) there in our sport right now.”

Safety is now on his mind

“I’m closely related to this,” he said. “It’s been on my mind a lot. You always see what’s going on around the league. Maybe it’s because I’m thinking about it more. I don’t believe so. Because of the things that have gone on. You see Kyle Connor take a knee. (Erik) Gudbranson. There’s a lot going on.”