Updated at 5:04 PM: Earlier today, Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde took part in a “Street Hockey in the D” event sponsored by the Red Wings organization in Detroit, and both the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton and Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff took note of Lalonde’s remarks at said event.
This afternoon, the Free Press’s Helene St. James and MLive’s Ansar Khan share their commentary on Lalonde’s remarks. St. James took note of Lalonde’s take on both Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider’s expected roles increasing this upcoming season…
“I’ve talked with them two to three times during the summer and we don’t even talk about the contract,” Lalonde said. “That’s between Steve and them. With us, it’s just the same message as with the other guys — we want to progress, we want to keep moving, keep building this. Obviously those two guys are a big part of it.”
Raymond came in last season about a dozen pounds heavier and it showed in his play, as he went on to lead the Wings with 72 points in 82 games.
“He found something in his offseason last year, he came back and he just looked like a different athlete,” Lalonde said. “A little of that was just him maturing — he’s still a very young player and naturally his body matured a little bit. But just keep building on what he did last year.”
Lalonde’s message to Seider was also to keep building. Seider is entering his fourth season and Raymond his third, and given their importance, each is a prime candidate to join the rotation of alternate captains after David Perron’s departure in free agency.
“Those two, the role they’ll play on our team, I think it will be a little increased role with our leadership, too,” Lalonde said. “That’s something we talked about with those two over the summer.”
As did Khan, who noted that Lalonde didn’t want to discuss the contractual negotiations with Raymond and Seider per se:
“Those two, the role they play on our team I think will be increased with our leadership, too,” Lalonde said. “It’s something we talked about with those two this summer. Very comfortable with where the situation is exactly. I sound like a broken record, but this is why coaches coach and managers manage, players have agents. We can avoid the layers of what’s going on (with) the contract.”
Yzerman and both players spoke after the season about their desire for long-term contracts (maximum eight years). If they can’t agree, bridge deals (2-3 years) are possible.
The Red Wings have roughly $17 million in cap space for Seider, Raymond and Jonatan Berggren, another RFA.
The players are expected to be in the fold by the start of training camp in mid-September.
Lalonde, meanwhile, spoke of the importance of exposing other kids to the game at the Red Wings’ fourth annual “Street Hockey in the D Summer Series.”
“You got to start somewhere,” he said. “It was a blast to see the kids into it. I was going to be a teacher back in the day. I’ve got an undergrad in education. I like kids. This is a really good event that I’ve gotten to enjoy over the past couple of years.”
We can expect something of a recap of the “Summer Hockey in the D” event tonight on Bally Sports Detroit:
Had a blast this morning at Street Hockey in the D, hosted by the @DetroitRedWings.
— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) August 7, 2024
Stay tuned for the full recap tonight on Tigers LIVE at 9:00PM. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/vnxmUngfss
Update: Here’s more from the Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan:
▶ Lalonde on the importance of forward Patrick Kane re-signing with the Wings on a one-year contract: “It speaks volumes of what we’re doing. Patty had a lot of options as far as term also, and in my conversations with him, his heart was here. That speaks volumes on Patrick and also speaks about what we’ve grown and built here, too.”
▶ Lalonde on the free-agent signing of forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who has won two Stanley Cups (including with Florida in June) and has been a consistent 30-goal scorer: “These guys are at points in their career where they’ll come if they see something, an exciting team that maybe has a chance and is maybe building something. That’s what we’ve done over the last couple of years. We need a little bit more and keep building and it’s exciting they want to be part of it.”
▶ Lalonde on the likelihood of having eight defensemen, the same as last year: “I like the depth. We were real fortunate last year to stay healthy on the back end. All eight are very capable. I’m very excited about Simon (Edvinsson), and his play toward the end of the year was exciting. I’m excited about Albert (Johansson), too. I was able to see him at the end of the year in the (AHL) playoffs (in Grand Rapids) and he is ready for the NHL. He’ll have to show us in camp but we’re excited about what he brings.”
▶ Lalonde on the Wings’ goaltending, which is likely again to begin with three goaltenders — Ville Husso, Alex Lyon and newly signed Cam Talbot: “That’s going to be a healthy competition. Speaking to all three goalies, Steve did a pretty good job of explaining to them the situation. It’s going to be a competition. All three goalies the last couple of years have proven to play at a high level.
“It’s unique to the league and not ideal in some situations when you talk about practice time and games (played) but it literally saved our season and we’ll start with that same mentality this year.”
