Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin to miss final six games after core muscle surgery

Detroit — Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing core muscle surgery, the team announced Monday.

The Wings, who didn't practice Monday, have six games left in the regular season.

The team says Larkin's timeline is expected to be between eight and 10 weeks for complete recovery and he should be ready in time for training camp. The procedure was performed at McLaren Hospital in Lansing by Dr. Troy Ferguson.

Larkin, 25, played 71 games this season, scoring 31 goals and 38 assists for 69 points. The final goals and points total will be just short of his career highs established in 2018-19 (32 goals, 73 points).

The individual success — Larkin was the Wings' representative in the this season's NHL All-Star Game — has been admirable considering Larkin has had to overcome a string of difficulties.

It began last summer when Larkin went through a rigorous rehabilitation after getting cross-checked in the neck by Dallas forward Jamie Benn in a game last April.

Larkin got through training camp and the exhibition season, but in the first game of the regular season, he threw a retaliatory punch at Mathieu Joseph (then with Tampa), which earned Larkin a one-game suspension.

In early November, Larkin missed three games, when he left the team because of a family-related emergency.

Larkin has been dealing with the issue for approximately the last month or more, missing numerous non-gameday practices. Still, Larkin had not missed any games.

The Wings' second-half slide in the standings appeared to take a gradual toll on Larkin, especially one-sided losses over the weekend to the New York Rangers and Florida.

Larkin called missing the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season "brutal."

“Yeah, I take it personally. This is — it’s brutal, you know?” Larkin said after Sunday's loss against Florida. "I’ve been here all six years (that the Wings have missed the playoffs) and it’s no fun packing your bag at the end of the year, going to play in world championships or do whatever. It just isn’t. You want to play playoff hockey.”

Larkin, 25, will enter the last season of a five-year contract, worth $30.5 million — with a cap hit of $6.1 million —  next season. 

The Wings called up forward Chase Pearson from Grand Rapids to replace Larkin on the roster.

ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tkulfan