What It Means:

"That's our plan going into camp," explained Red Wings general manager Ken Holland. "He's obviously been a center his entire life. We drafted him as a center, but when you have guys like Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk down the middle, guys who are so good 200 feet, it's tougher...Long-term, the plan is that Dylan is going to be a center for us." Detroit wanted to ease the 19-year-old into things during his rookie campaign last season, opting to play him at the wing, but that's now going to change. However, with the departure of Pavel Datsyuk this offseason, Larkin will head back to the middle, which is where he has played throughout his career. There's every reason to believe that the youngster will excel in the new role during his second season.

Larkin recorded 23 goals and 45 points in 80 games during his first year in the NHL. He finished with a 52.5 Corsi For Percentage and 0.9 Relative Corsi For Percentage at Even Strength.