Ryan Whitney hypes up $69,600,000 Red Wings star's contract as one of the best bargains in NHL

The Detroit Red Wings' 2024-25 season has been a whirlwind thus far. At the Christmas break, Detroit was 13-17-4, which led to the firing of head coach Derek Lalonde. But everything has changed now that Todd McLellan has taken over behind the bench.

Under their new head coach, the Red Wings have gone 14-4-1, saving their season and jumping back into playoff contention. With 59 points, the Wings hold the first wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

Captain Dylan Larkin, who is in his second season of an eight-year, $69.6 million contract, has been a major factor in the drastic turnaround. Since the coaching change, the 28-year-old has racked up 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 19 games. He has recorded 49 points (23 goals, 26 assists) in 53 games played this season.

Former NHLer Ryan Whitney praised Larkin and his bargain of a contract on the latest episode of the "Spittin Chiclets" podcast.

"Dylan Larkin has been an absolute steal," Whitney said (2:07:06 onwards). "His contract, the fact we spent a couple episodes before he signed that deal, talking about what he's worth, he's worth way more than what he signed for. He ended up looking like it's going to be a great bargain."

Detroit Red Wings are on a heater

No team in the NHL is hotter than the Red Wings at present. They are on a six-game winning streak and has accumulated points in seven straight games, going 6-0-1 during that stretch.

The winning streak has included impressive wins over the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Tampa Bay Lightning and Calgary Flames. Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond and goaltender Cam Talbot have been carrying the load with excellent performances.

They'll need this to continue should they hope to snap their eight-year postseason drought and bring playoff hockey back to Detroit for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

The Red Wings will look to make it seven in a row on Tuesday when they face the Kraken. The puck drops at 10 p.m. EST at Climate Pledge Arena.