"It's Not Necessarily Just Wearing a Letter": Lalonde Patient to Fill Red Wings' Alternate Captain Vacancy
With David Perron's departure to Ottawa, the Detroit Red Wings have an alternate captain vacancy. Detroit coach Derek Lalonde is in no rush to fill it.
When David Perron left Detroit to join the Ottawa Senators, the Red Wings lost one of their most respected leaders outside of captain Dylan Larkin. Perron was a consummate professional, and a player who teammates and coaches wanted to follow into battle. That's why he was an alternate captain as soon as he joined the organization, an embodiment of his leadership.
Now, Detroit has to replace him. And according to Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde, it might take a while to do so.
"I think this might give an opportunity to evaluate all of our (players) with an open spot, if you will," Lalonde said Sunday after the Red & White Game. "We ask guys to lead whether they wear a letter or not wear a letter. We've done a really good job inside that locker room of building our leadership core. Many different guys into it. No rush on that by any means. We'll probably take a look at a lot of different things."
While Larkin wears the "C," defenseman Ben Chiarot and forward Andrew Copp are both remaining alternate captains. They earned their letters the same time as Perron, immediately after joining the organization in 2022. But now, those veterans will be joined by a new alternate captain. The question now is who exactly the new ordained leader will be.
Lalonde didn't specify which qualities he is looking for in his next alternate captain, but the decision comes at the crossroads of a few important roster considerations. Namely, some younger faces are joining the team in the coming years, while many veterans might start to phase out. And while this all happens, younger stars like Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider are entering their prime years as exceedingly important leaders on the team. Earlier this summer, Lalonde spoke of his desire for those two to take on greater leadership roles within the team. Either now or in the coming years, it might make sense to bring a representative of the younger generation into the official leadership contingent.
Meanwhile, Detroit has a number of other respected leaders in the locker room, including some with ample leadership experience. There are many candidates who could wear a letter, and that makes deciding who exactly gets the official promotion a difficult decision.
"A couple emerging, special players in Seider and Raymond, obviously some nice free agents, guys that have worn letters in different organizations in the past," Lalonde said. "So we're in no rush on that. But again, we worked really hard on our leadership, and it's not necessarily just wearing a letter."
Those experienced letter-wearers include Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane, who were both alternate captains with the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks, respectively.
For the former, a promotion in his first year with the Red Wings organization would be surprising. When Perron, Chiarot and Copp earned letters immediately, this was more so a product of a less experienced roster around them. Now, there are more entrenched options to consider. Tarasenko is a respected leader, but giving him a letter right away might be too soon.
In the case of Kane, his leadership has been praised by many, including Larkin who suggested that he should captain Team USA at the next Winter Olympics. He was an alternate captain of the Chicago Blackhawks from 2015 to 2023. He is also an integral part of the Red Wings' room, a player who teammates look up to. Kane is even one of the reasons Tarasenko joined Detroit. In his Chicago homecoming last season, the Red Wings gave Kane an "A," and there's a chance he could earn a more permanent one by replacing Perron.
[More on Kane and Team USA: Notebook: Odds and Ends from the First Half of Red Wings Training Camp]
But Kane's leadership resume has important blemishes. It is especially tarnished by the case of Kyle Beach, who was sexually assaulted by a Chicago Blackhawks team staffer in 2010 while Kane was with the team. Kane never expressed knowledge of the assault, but he was a member of the team during the time, and Beach reported that Blackhawks teammates harassed him about the incident. Kane also diminished Beach's experience by defending the former Blackhawks brass to media back in 2021. He later expressed regret at this initial response, but he still did it. Kane's fault in the situation can be debated, but in any event it's not an example of fine leadership.
Other current Red Wings who have worn NHL letters in the past include winger Alex DeBrincat with the Blackhawks and defenseman Jeff Petry with the Montreal Canadiens. Seider and Michael Rasmussen have also worn an "A" before in a game.
In the case of Rasmussen, his position as the second-longest tenured Red Wing might put him into consideration. Especially when lots of intangible leadership skills are considered for the promotion, Rasmussen's example as someone who has been through the highs and lows of the organization in the seven years since he was drafted might be an important role model.
To Lalonde's point, it doesn't take a letter for a player to be a leader. In a veteran group like that of the Red Wings, not every leader can be rewarded with a marker of their leadership. It takes more than four players wearing letters to lead a team forward, and it's no indictment of anyone in this group if they don't wind up wearing the available "A."
Whoever earns Perron's old letter, they will have earned a massive honor. But if Detroit is being patient about the promotion, it might take a while to decide whose leadership is enshrined in an "A."