The Detroit Red Wings made some big moves during NHL Free Agency. The Red Wings added Vladimir Tarasenko to the lineup while giving contract extensions to Patrick Kane and young forward Joe Veleno. However, both Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond remain without a contract. In saying that, head coach Derek Lalonde isn't panicking.
Detroit's top young stars are restricted free agents as training camp draws near. But Lalonde has dealt with restricted free agency before. And he remains confident that his team will sign both Raymond and Seider before long. He expressed this sentiment on Wednesday while speaking with reporters at a youth hockey event.
“I’m not worried,” Lalonde said of the situation, via the Detroit Free Press. “It’s all part of it. I’ve had a little experience with this in the past with RFAs. It’s all part of the process.”
“I’ve talked with them two to three times during the summer and we don’t even talk about the contract,” Lalonde continued, via the Detroit Free Press. “That’s between Steve and them. With us, it’s just the same message as with the other guys — we want to progress, we want to keep moving, keep building this. Obviously those two guys are a big part of it.”
Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider are Red Wings cornerstones
The Red Wings are currently trying to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after eight years away. Over the last few seasons, Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond have emerged as the team's young cornerstones. Both players have made an impact at the NHL level and led the way for Detroit's resurgence, especially this past season.
Raymond had a remarkable 2023-24 campaign. He scored 31 goals and 72 points this past season, both totals representing career highs. Additionally, his 72 points led all Red Wings skaters. He also had a Goals For Percentage of 53.79% and a Goals For Per 60 Minutes of 4.09, according to Evolving Hockey.
Meanwhile, Seider's numbers look rather bleak on the surface. Offensively, the German defender did well. He scored a career high nine goals while tying a career-high with 42 points. However, his defensive numbers are quite shaky. He had 3.7 Goals Against Per 60 as well as the second-lowest on-ice save percentage (.892) of any Red Wings defender.
Seider's numbers make more sense when put in context, though. The Red Wings rearguard regularly faced the toughest opposition. In fact, he faced the toughest assignments of any defenseman in the entire league. While his usage certainly doesn't completely excuse the poor numbers, it shows that he is being asked to carry the toughest workload one could ask him to.
The Red Wings came within a hair's breadth of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024. In 2025, both Raymond and Seider will be expected to play major roles in taking them back. It'll certainly be interesting to see how both players perform in a crucial 2024-25 campaign.
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