Dylan Larkin underwent core muscle surgery on Monday, ending his season 10 days before the final game. Recovery is projected to take eight-to-10 weeks, so Larkin will have the majority of the summer to prepare for next season.
Larkin hasn’t been practicing for the past month, a sure indication he was dealing with a nagging injury. He posted a team-high 31 goals and 69 points in 71 games. Larkin served a one-game suspension the second game of the season, missed three for personal reasons in November, and missed a game with an upper-body injury in January.
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This is the second straight year injury has cut short Larkin’s season: In April 2021, he suffered a neck injury when he was cross-checked from behind by Dallas’ Jamie Benn.
Larkin just played in his 500th career game April 9, the same day the Wings were eliminated from playoff contention for a sixth straight season.
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The Wings lost second-line winger Robby Fabbri to a season-ending knee injury March 10, and have been without third-line winger Oskar Sundqvist (undisclosed injury) the last two games. Chase Pearson was called up Monday, a day after Riley Barber was brought up from the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.