The Detroit Red Wings have signed Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6M contract extension.
This new deal means Raymond will earn $8.075M per year and stay with the team until the 2031-32 NHL season. Interestingly, there are no signing bonuses in his contract, and he gets a no-trade clause for the last four years. This move ends a summer of uncertainty for Raymond, as the Red Wings waited until just three days before training camp to secure one of their top forwards. Now, they need to focus on signing Moritz Seider, another key player, with just under $8.75M left in cap space.
Raymond was picked fourth overall by the Red Wings in the 2020 NHL Draft during Steve Yzerman’s second year as general manager. He spent two seasons with Frolunda HC in Sweden’s SHL, scoring 10 goals and 28 points over 67 games from 2019-21 before joining Detroit.
In his first NHL season (2021-22), Raymond played all 82 games for Detroit and scored 23 goals along with 57 points. He finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting behind Michael Bunting, Trevor Zegras, and Seider. Quickly becoming one of the team’s most effective forwards after Tyler Bertuzzi and Dylan Larkin, he ranked third in scoring, shot attempts, and CorsiFor%.
Impact on Team Dynamics:
Fans might think this is a smart move by Detroit to secure their future star early on. The extension solidifies Raymond’s role within the team while providing stability for upcoming seasons.
However—life isn’t always straightforward—the Red Wings still face challenges ahead; mainly signing restricted free agent defenseman Moritz Seider before the season starts.
What do you think about this big news?
