Moritz Seider and Lucas RaymondRick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports This is the latest edition of THN.com’s continuing series examining the key issues facing each NHL team. Today, we’re analyzing three key issues facing the Detroit Red Wings. 1. Will the delays on new contracts for RFAs Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider affect their start to the season? Raymond and Seider are two cornerstone components for the Red Wings moving forward, but thus far, GM Steve Yzerman has not been able to get either player’s signature on a contract extension.
There’s still time to get a deal done before training camp begins, and Detroit currently has more than enough salary cap space ($17.6 million) to sign both youngsters. But if the contractual staredown bites into the regular season, there’s a very real risk it will put a damper on the contributions Seider and Raymond make this year. Related: Will Other Notable NHL RFAs Sign Offer Sheets? Certainly, we’ve seen examples of such a thing happening to other young players embroiled in prolonged contract negotiations. If you’re not in camp with everyone else, you’re almost assuredly going to have trouble getting your game caught up to those of your teammates.
We’re not suggesting that’s definitely going to happen to Raymond and Seider, but the clock is ticking on them, and Yzerman needs to avoid this potential predicament by signing each of them at least for the coming year. 2. Can they stop the skids, play with more consistency and move the needle enough into a playoff spot? Consistency was a gigantic issue for the Red Wings in 2023-24, and the fact they missed out on a Stanley Cup playoff berth by just one point in the Atlantic Division has to haunt Yzerman and the team. The problem for Detroit – and fellow Atlantic teams in Ottawa and Buffalo – is that the division is arguably the strongest in the NHL.
And the teams that finished ahead of the Wings – Florida, Tampa Bay, Toronto and Boston – all are almost assuredly going to be playoff teams again this coming year. That means Detroit is either going to have to squeeze out a Metropolitan Division team from a post-season spot, or miss the playoffs altogether for the ninth straight season. For a team that once was the gold standard for the NHL, that would be especially devastating. But unless Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde can get his team winning on a more regular basis, that potential ending is very real. 3. Which goaltender takes the starting duties? The Wings have gone through a slew of goalies in recent years, including veterans James Reimer, Alex Nedeljkovic, Thomas Greiss, Calvin Pickard, Jonathan Bernier, Ville Husso and Alex Lyon.
But their netminding group changed again with the signing of 37-year-old journeyman Cam Talbot. Along with Husso and Lyon, Talbot is part of a three-headed goaltending monster in Detroit, and Talbot’s .913 save percentage in 54 appearances last year was considerably better than Husso’s (.892) and Lyon’s (.904). For that reason, we suspect the starter’s job is going to be Talbot’s to lose, though he could be in a pure 50/50 split tandem with either Husso or Lyon.
Who knows, though, maybe Yzerman believes he’s going to give one-third of the regular-season action to each of Talbot, Lyon and Husso. Goalie insurance is a very good thing to have, and that could wind up being a major positive for the Wings. But if nobody steps up to claim the No. 1 spot in net, Detroit’s ability to contend for a playoff spot will be severely hampered. The Wings’ defense corps is hardly one of the better ones in the league, so Detroit’s goalies will need to do much of the heavy lifting on ‘D’.