The fact that Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider are still unsigned worries nothing, according to Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde.
Neither Raymond nor Seider have signed a contract with the organization; they are both RFAs. Given that they are two of Detroit’s finest players, it has led to some Red Wings supporters to take notice.
Nevertheless, Lalonde is unconcerned that neither of them has a contract, despite the fact that training camps will start in a month.
As Lalonde told The Detroit Free Press, “I’m not worried.” It everything becomes a part of it. I’ve worked with RFAs on a few occasions in the past. Everything is a part of the process.
Lalonde claims he has continued to communicate with both of them despite the fact that Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is the one who is responsible for negotiating the contracts.
Lalonde stated, “I’ve spoken with them two or three times this summer, and we don’t even discuss the contract.” “That is only between them and Steve.” We simply want to go on, to keep creating this, and we want to convey the same message to the other men as well. Those two people are obviously very important to it.
Raymond participated in 82 games during the previous season, scoring 72 points with 31 goals and 41 assists. Detroit selected the Swede fourth overall in the 2020 draft.
Seider, on the other hand, skated in 82 games last season, scoring 42 points with 9 goals and 33 assists. In the 2019 NHL draft, the defenceman was selected sixth overall.
Coach Heaps of the Red Wings praises Raymond
Since his debut in the 2021–2022 season, Raymond has been an important member of Detroit’s offensive.
But Raymond had a breakthrough season last year, setting career highs in points, assists, and goals. Last season, Raymond led Detroit in points scored with 72.
Lalonde claims that Raymond put in a lot of work in the winter to significantly improve his skills.
“He seemed like a different athlete when he returned, having discovered something in his offseason from the previous year,” Lalonde said. “Some of that was simply him growing up; he’s still a very young athlete, so his body naturally advanced in age. But just keep improving upon his work from the previous year.
It is anticipated that Raymond would sign a contract for between $7 and $7.5 million.
Lalonde thinks that Seider and Raymond will lead them.
Despite bringing back Patrick Kane and signing two-time Stanley Cup winner Vladimir Tarasenko, Lalonde believes Raymond and Seider will both be leaders for Detroit.
“I believe that those two will have a slightly bigger role with our leadership as well as on our team,” Lalonde stated. “We had a conversation about that over the summer with those two.”
Detroit hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2015–16 campaign, which is why the Red Wings were unable to qualify for them last year. But according to Yzerman, the squad will be fighting for a postseason berth this year.
“I believe we’re in that group of teams that we may advance to provided we maintain our health, have strong goaltending, and certain guys perform above expectations. Or you could just miss the season’s last game by a point,” Yzerman stated.
On October 10, Detroit will play the Pittsburgh Penguins at home in the first game of the 2024–25 NHL season.
For Heavy.com, Cole Shelton writes about hockey. Since 2016, he has covered collegiate and professional sports for a variety of publications, including BJ Penn, USA Today, Rotowire, SB Nation, and Canadian Baseball Network. Additional information on Cole Shelton
