The Red Wings’ management has three final tasks to complete over the course of the summer–presuming that the team doesn’t buy anyone out this upcoming week (thanks to Joe Veleno filing for arbitration and coming to a 2-year, $4.55 million contract agreement with the team on Friday), or make a trade for that shut-down, right-side defenseman that the team needs to spell Moritz Seider.
Now taking advantage of the team’s salary cap space to do one or the other of those optional tasks (buying somebody out or making a trade for a shut-down d-man) would be ideal, but it’s not necessary, nor is it likely that the team’s going to really address its overloaded but slightly undermanned defense.
Right now, it’s about re-signing the team’s three restricted free agents in Jonatan Berggren, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, and utilizing most of the team’s $17.648 million in cap space (per PuckPedia) in order to ensure that Raymond and Seider are locked up long-term.
Berggren, who turned 24 on June 16th, is coming off his 3-year, entry-level contract at a rookie max of $975,000 per season, so he’s probably not going to get much of a raise over his ELC given that he spent all but 12 games of the past season in the AHL;
Raymond, 22, is coming off a spectacular 72-point season (via 31 goals and 41 assists), and, coming off his entry-level deal, he’s likely going to command in excess of $7 million. He’s represented by the powerful J.P Barry;
Seider, 23, has played in every game this past season, posting 42 points (9 goals and 33 assists), and, like Raymond, we’re looking at a $7+ million contract, maybe even in the $8 million range (thanks, Buffalo Sabres, for overpaying Rasmus Dahlin with an $11 million-per-season contract). He’s ironically represented by Claude Lemieux of 4Sports Hockey, so that should be an interesting negotiation for Yzerman, Kris Draper and the rest of the Red Wings’ management team.
I’m not AFP Analytics, so I’m going with my gut here in terms of contract numbers, but I should note that it wouldn’t surprise me if the Wings ended up coming to a middle-term (see 3-5 years) “bridge deal” contract with one of or both of Raymond and Seider if the organization can’t utilize its 8-year team-max term to lock the players up until they’re hitting 30.
Why a “bridge deal?”
Well, if the contractual terms for Raymond or Seider aren’t up to their respective agents’ liking, it’s going to be because the salary cap is projected to shoot up once the full effects of the NHLPA paying off its escrow debit to the NHL, and the new TV deals with Sportsnet and ESPN/TNT, kick in over the next couple of seasons.
We could be talking about a $95 million cap instead of an $88 million one in 3 to 5 years, and with that kind of cap space, the “haves” in the NHL, like Detroit, are going to spend to the upper limit. We might see a two-tiered system of big-market teams who can spend to the cap, and smaller-market teams who can’t get near it return…
But regardless of whether the NHL shifts back toward a system where teams like the Red Wings have a cap advantage, Raymond and Seider’s representation are going to want contracts whose ascending contractual numbers eventually exceed $10 million, ensuring that both players become incredibly well-paid when it’s time to negotiate their next deals.
What’s going to happen? Well, we know from the Dylan Larkin contract negotiations that the Red Wings’ management group is hard-charging when it comes to negotiating with restricted free agents, and it will probably take the balance of the summer to sign Raymond and Seider to somewhat similar contracts.
At this point, I can’t imagine either player having to hold out into training camp, however, as the organization and the players’ representation will be expedient in coming to terms in an orderly time and fashion.
Bottom line: those of us who follow or cover the Wings in some way, shape or form are going to be awakened by an alert at some point this offseason, most likely later this month or in August, informing us that the Wings’ most important young players have been re-signed. And Johnny Burgers, too.
I am curious as to where you think Berggren, Raymond and Seider will end up in terms of contract pay and term. Let me know in the comments, if you’re interested.
