Head coach Todd McLellan praised the balance of leadership style shown by Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin after his hat-trick performance on Thursday evening.
During their glory years, the Detroit Red Wings greatly benefited from having some of the best players in both team and NHL history serve as captains.
Steve Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom, two of the most legendary figures to wear the captain’s “C”, led the way in Hockeytown, combining for seven Stanley Cup championships.
After Lidstrom retired in 2012, Henrik Zetterberg took over as captain, a role he held until his own retirement in 2018.
The captaincy is now held by Dylan Larkin, who was named the 37th captain in franchise history in January 2021.
Larkin, who is doing everything in his power to will the club to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since his rookie campaign of 2015-16, is also doing so while not at 100 percent.
That didn't stop him from registering his third-career hat trick against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday evening as part of a critical 6-3 victory.
Larkin's exuberant reaction following his second goal of the evening in the second period told the story of how badly he wants to see Detroit's postseason drought end.
Following Friday's practice, head coach Todd McLellan specifically highlighted Larkin’s ability to balance his leadership approach between being more exuberant and leading by example.
"I think that Dylan has a real good balance when it comes to that," McLellan said. "I've been around long enough to see your leaders basically be cheerleaders, and you do need some of that energy, or just silent leaders, and it's only by example."
"Dylan does both, and he doesn't overdo it with the cheerleading," he continued. "When he speaks, the team listens, and he uses that time wisely. But he leads more by example, I believe, than the other."
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McLellan’s first season as an NHL assistant coach came with the Red Wings in 2005–06, which also marked the final year of Yzerman’s playing career. During McLellan’s next two seasons behind Detroit’s bench, it was Lidstrom who wore the “C.”
McLellan also highlighted the more calculated leadership styles of both Yzerman and Lidstrom, noting how they differed from the more vocal, outward approach of other players while reiterating Larkin's strong balance of both styles.
“That’s why you have other people on your team, too. So, you can take Steve when he was here, I was lucky enough to be around him as a player for his last year,” McLellan said.
“He was that way, too, but the energy and the ‘rah-rah’ came from Malts (Kirk Maltby), Drapes (Kris Draper), Dan Cleary - those types of guys. And then Lidstrom and Yzerman, they were calculated with their words and led by example.
“Larks has balance with both.”
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