The Athletic’s Harman Dayal suggests that Lucas Raymond can be a “breakout candidate” this upcoming season…
Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings
Lucas Raymond went through a sophomore slump in 2022-23, scoring just 45 points. There were genuine yellow flags with his play last year. His individual shot rate was down, his play-driving numbers saw a significant dip and industry observers weren’t overly impressed with what they saw.
He’s only 21, however, and we’ve seen many high-profile forwards take a big jump in their third NHL season, including his teammate Dylan Larkin, who went from 32 to 63 points in Year 3.
Raymond could certainly be next. He’s gifted with the puck, an intelligent offensive decision-maker and he fights in the hard areas despite his slight frame. Adding Alex DeBrincat should make the Red Wings’ top power-play unit more threatening, which would it easier for everybody on that unit to collect points, including Raymond.
The big question for Raymond is who he’ll play with at even strength. If he’s inserted on the top line with Larkin and DeBrincat, he’s in a prime position to rack up big numbers. But will the coaching staff deploy two undersized wingers on the same line considering the questions around size, defensive ability and forechecking?
Raymond has shown strong chemistry with Larkin, but if he gets bumped down to the second line in favor of DeBrincat, would he have enough high-end talent to play with? It’s something to monitor but Raymond seems too smart and talented to stagnate for a second consecutive season during his best development years.
Continued (paywall);
And The Athletic’s Max Bultman asks questions regarding every forward who appears to be likely to make the Wings’ roster out of training camp:
Dylan Larkin: What’s next for Detroit’s captain?
Last summer, the questions for Larkin revolved around his contract status, which lasted right up until he signed an eight-year, $8.7 million AAV extension on March 1. He’s here for the long haul. So the question now is: What’s next? He’s coming off his second consecutive season with 30-plus goals and was once again just shy of a point per game. With DeBrincat in tow, surpassing 80 points feels like a strong possibility.
My question, though: Can he do that and take the step toward being an elite defensive center, too? The potential for that kind of two-way impact has always been there for Larkin, and he took a step in that direction last season by logging his most penalty-kill usage in five years. His effort is never in question. But now that he’s proven his high-end offensive performance is a baseline, there’s room to take one more step on the other end of the puck, too.
Bultman also continues, behind a paywall..
