DETROIT -- Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider each may not have a new contract with the Detroit Red Wings before each becomes a restricted free agent on July 1, Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said Friday.
“I’m just going to work around that -- we can’t force anything,” Yzerman said. “They will get done in due time, but to be quite honest, I don’t anticipate that happening at this stage.
“We’ll have to make decisions along the way based on that.”
Raymond, the No. 4 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, was Detroit’s leading scorer this season with 72 points (31 goals, 41 assists) in 82 games. The forward completed a three-year entry level contract he signed on April 16, 2021.
Seider, the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, has not missed a game in three seasons in the League. The defenseman had 42 points (nine goals, 33 assists) this season, playing 22:22 per game against some of the toughest matchups in the NHL. He has completed a three-year entry-level contract he signed on July 14, 2019 that began with the 2021-22 season.
Seider, the Calder Trophy winner as NHL rookie of the year in 2022, turned 23 in April, shortly after Raymond turned 22. Each is expected to be key members of the Red Wings for the next several seasons, so their new contracts will take up a significant part of the salary cap, which could affect how Detroit approaches the free agency period, which begins July 1.
“I understand the process, and I’ve had very good dialogue with both of their agents,” Yzerman said. “I’d love to have deals done now to make things clearer, but I can’t control that. We’ll plan accordingly, but we might have to adjust our free-agency plans on the fly.”
Yzerman also said captain Dylan Larkin had surgery after the season to address an upper-body injury. The 27-year-old center led the Red Wings with 33 goals and was second to Raymond with 69 points in 68 games.
“He was dealing with it late in the season, and at the end of the season, when they get all their scans and X-rays, he had to address it,” Yzerman said. “He had -- I don’t want to say minor surgery -- he had to have surgery.
"He’s training -- I don’t think he’s skating or shooting pucks yet -- but I expect him to be 100 percent ready to go for training camp.”
