A big domino has fallen for the Detroit Red Wings when the team announced an eight-year extension worth $64.6 million for the striker Lucas RaymondThe deal gives Raymond an AAV of $8.075 million over the life of the contract and he will wear the winged wheel through the 2031–32 NHL season. Pierre LeBrun of TSN later reported that the contract does not include any signing bonuses and that Raymond is granted a no-transfer clause for the final four years.

This ends a summer of uncertainty for Raymond, as the Red Wings waited until three days before training camp to sign one of their most promising forwards. Detroit has yet to sign a restricted free agent defenseman Moritz Seider to a deal before the start of the year and will now have just under $8.75 million in salary cap space to do so.

The Red Wings selected Raymond in his second year as general manager with the fourth pick in the 2020 NHL Draft Steve Yzermantenure. He spent this year and the next with Frölunda HC in the SHL, scoring 10 goals and 28 points in 67 games from 2019 to 2021.

Raymond joined the Red Wings without ever playing a game for their AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids and became their NHL player in the 2021-22 season. Raymond appeared in all 82 games for Detroit, scoring 23 goals and 57 points and finishing fourth in the Calder Trophy voting behind Michael Bunting, Trevor Zegrasand Seider. He quickly became the team’s most effective striker behind Tyler Bertuzzi And Dylan Larkin after finishing third in scoring, third in shot attempts, and third in CorsiFor%.

He took a bit of a step back in his second season, scoring just 17 goals and 45 points in 74 games. Almost every aspect of Raymond’s game was depressed after his rookie season, from the eye test to more advanced stats. Most of the blame could be put on the fact that Raymond played a total of 96 games from 2019-2021 and has now been asked to play 164 against the best hockey talent in the world.

Raymond showed his full potential in the 2023-24 season, scoring 31 goals and 72 points in 82 games, leading the team in the latter category. He finished 21st in the Eastern Conference in scoring and 24th in scoring. His shooting percentage of 19.0% dramatically exceeded his career average of 12.6%, and his turnovers were nearly double his turnovers.

He hasn’t shown much defensive ability so far, but the Red Wings should get good value in this deal if he can get a point per game. He is the second-leading scorer of any player selected in the 2020 NHL Draft, behind Tim Stützle of the Ottawa Senators, and it doesn’t seem like he’s close to losing that position.

Raymond will be in his 30th season at the end of this contract, putting him in a good position to get another payday in the future. The Red Wings are looking to make the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season, and the team is hoping Raymond will play a major role in their resurgence.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.