Detroit Red Wings
Raymond Gets Paid by Red Wings
Detroit pays leading scorer $8.075 million
Lucas Raymond will be a Detroit Red Wings player for the next eight seasons. He’s in agreement with the team on an eight-year deal with an AAV of $8.075 million.
It’s undoubtedly more than GM Steve Yzerman was originally expecting to be paying to the 22-year-old left-winger. However, in the long run, it may pay dividends.
RAY IS HERE TO STAY 🪒
The #RedWings have signed Lucas Raymond to an eight-year contract with an AAV of $8,075,000. pic.twitter.com/Z0QHtO9K1R
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 16, 2024
By getting Raymond to lock into a long-term pact, if the NHL salary cap keeps climbing as anticipated, then at some point in the duration of this deal, it’s going to seem like Raymond is underpaid.
Looking at comparables, already, his cap hit is lower than Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stutzle ($8.35 million) but higher than Seth Jarvis of the Carolina Hurricanes ($7.42 million).
No one can debate that Raymond didn’t do his part in order to get paid. As Detroit was battling for a playoff spot down the stretch of the 2023-24 NHL season, he was stepping up and delivering the goods.
The man the Red Wings call Razor was razor sharp. He was accounting for seven goals and five assists in Detroit’s final eight regular-season games. He would score 14 goals over the last 18 Red Wings games.
“Now do the Lucas Raymond tweet.” 😏 pic.twitter.com/lvuTLHorYL
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 16, 2024
In his third NHL season, Raymond led the club with a career-high 72 points. He also ascended to the 30-goal plateau for the first time, netting 31 times.
How Much Will Red Wings Pay Seider?
Now the final question left for Yzerman to answer is what will he be paying his remaining restricted free agent, defenseman Moritz Seider?
Earlier in the day Monday, the Red Wings were locking up forward Jonatan Berggren on a one-year pact with an AAV of $825,000. Add in Raymond’s $8.075 cap hit and that leaves Detroit with $8,748,194 in cap space.
The speculation is that no one will be given a salary higher than the $8.7 AAV of captain Dylan Larkin. So that probably slots Seider, the 2021-22 Calder Trophy winner, in at around $8.6 million.