Todd McLellan Reveals How Red Wings Players Reacted to Dylan Larkin Behind the Bench

Dylan Larkin could hear exactly how some Detroit Red Wings fans felt about him Tuesday night. What he couldn’t necessarily see was what was happening behind him on the bench.

As Larkin navigated an emotional season debut that included boos, cheers, a goal, an assist and a confrontation with the Ottawa Senators, his teammates apparently made their position clear. According to Todd McLellan, Red Wings players weren’t distancing themselves from their former captain — they were rallying around him.

That revelation provides an important piece of context to the ongoing Larkin saga. Whatever damage his offseason trade request may have caused, McLellan says the players sharing the ice with Larkin still believe Detroit is a significantly better hockey team with No. 71 in the lineup.

Todd McLellan Reveals What Happened on Red Wings Bench

The hostility from portions of the Little Caesars Arena crowd was unmistakable early Tuesday. Larkin was booed whenever he touched the puck during his opening shift, creating an uncomfortable soundtrack for his first game since requesting a trade during the offseason.

McLellan, however, revealed afterward that the reaction from Detroit’s players was much different. While the crowd wrestled with how to receive Larkin, his teammates were apparently making sure he knew they had his back.

“I can tell you on the bench his teammates were rallying around him. They believe we’re a better team with him than without him, and the rest of the group was happy for him, so it was a team win, and Dylan did what Dylan needed to do,” McLellan said.

That is a significant statement coming from Detroit’s head coach. McLellan wasn’t simply saying teammates tolerated Larkin’s return; he described a group actively supporting him during one of the most uncomfortable nights of his career.

Larkin Gave His Teammates Plenty to Rally Around

It didn’t take long for Larkin to provide a reminder of why his teammates value having him in the lineup. After Ottawa opened the scoring, Detroit responded before Larkin put the Red Wings ahead with his first goal of the season late in the opening period.

The moment immediately changed the building. Fans who had been booing Larkin suddenly had reason to cheer, and his teammates mobbed him near the net before returning to the bench.

Larkin wasn’t finished contributing. He later picked up an assist and became involved in a second-period scrum after Ridly Greig delivered a hit on Alex DeBrincat, showing that the former captain wasn’t going to spend his return trying to avoid conflict.

That response appeared to resonate with McLellan. The coach said Larkin “played with his heart on his sleeve” and praised the veteran center for throwing himself completely into the game despite everything happening around him.

Actions May Matter More Than Words

Larkin has consistently acknowledged that repairing relationships following his trade request will not happen through interviews. He has said that trust must be earned through actions, and Tuesday provided his first real opportunity to demonstrate what that looks like.

That is why his response after the hit on DeBrincat mattered almost as much as his goal. Larkin didn’t have to involve himself, but he immediately stepped into the confrontation after seeing a teammate take a hit he didn’t like.

For teammates evaluating whether Larkin remains emotionally invested in the group, those moments matter. Scoring goals helps Detroit win, but standing up for another player sends a different kind of message about how Larkin intends to conduct himself while he remains with the Red Wings.

McLellan’s description of the bench suggests the message was being received. Instead of teammates dwelling on Larkin’s offseason request to leave, they appeared focused on supporting a player who was helping them win a hockey game.

Red Wings Locker Room Reaction Was Just as Meaningful

That support apparently continued after Detroit completed its 5-3 victory. Larkin was named the game’s No. 1 star, producing a much warmer reaction from Red Wings fans by the end of the night than he received during his first shift.

The reception inside the locker room carried even more weight for Larkin. He described returning to the room and seeing teammates waiting for him, joking about their slow clap before acknowledging how meaningful the moment actually was.

“It’s meaningful, you know. There’s a lot of people in here that I love deeply and mean a lot to me in my career. It’s pretty emotional coming back in,” Larkin said.

Those comments help explain why McLellan’s revelation about the bench is so important. The relationship between Larkin and parts of the fanbase may remain damaged, but the relationship between Larkin and the men inside Detroit’s dressing room appears far more complicated than simply assuming everyone felt betrayed by his trade request.

McLellan Says Detroit Knows It Needs Larkin

Strip away all of the offseason drama and there is also a straightforward hockey reality here. The Red Wings are a more dangerous team with Larkin occupying a top-six center role than they are without him.

Detroit entered Tuesday night winless and had scored only two goals through its first two games. With Larkin back in the lineup, the Red Wings generated five goals and finally secured their first victory of the season.

That doesn’t mean one performance repairs every relationship or ends every question about Larkin’s future. His trade request remains unresolved, Detroit is still operating without a permanent captain, and the fan reaction showed there are plenty of people who haven’t moved past what happened.

Inside the Red Wings bench, though, McLellan saw something very different. He saw players rallying around Larkin, celebrating his success and recognizing that their chances of winning improve substantially when he is playing alongside them.

For all the noise surrounding Larkin right now, that may be the reaction that matters most.