Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin recalled his mishap last week and took the opportunity to take a dig at the National Hockey League's (NHL) player safety department.
“The last week has been pretty eye-opening,” said the man whose comments were reported by The Athletic.
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“There is kind of a trend. […] Of course I'm dealing with what just happened to me, but I've spoken to people from my team and other clubs and it's hard to feel safe. It’s hard to know how to protect yourself.”
On December 9, Larkin was seriously shaken by an accusation from Ottawa Senators players Mathieu Joseph and Parker Kelly. After briefly losing consciousness on the icy surface, he went to the locker room with the help of the trainers. He then had to miss four games.
“Looking back, I really didn’t do anything,” Larkin added. I was just trying to pass the puck and I was standing there, really… How were we supposed to protect ourselves? Who protects us? There's a lot [questions sans réponse] in our sport at the moment.”
The Sens players were not sanctioned by security, while Red Wings forward David Perron received a six-game suspension for his retaliation against his teammate.
Larkin returned to action on Monday following a 4-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. He collected one assist.