Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman and recently re-signed forward Lucas Raymond both spoke with the media this morning, and this early afternoon produced a wealth of articles which reacted to the comments made in the morning.
Here’s a second crop thereof, starting with the Free Press’s Helene St. James, who discusses Raymond’s re-signing:
The Swedish forward, deftly plucked with the fourth selection in the 2020 draft by general manager Steve Yzerman, has a few details to deal with now that he’s been brought into the fold with an eight-year, $64.6 million deal: Namely, he needs to get to Detroit, his work visa needs to be renewed, and then he needs to get to training camp, which begins Thursday in Traverse City. This will be a whirlwind of a week, but it puts to an offseason to end that had grown increasingly tense as negotiations for the restricted free agent went the distance.
“It’s a special feeling, for sure,” Raymond said Tuesday. “Very excited. You go around, you look at your phone a lot. A lot of screen time. You spend a lot of time on the phone, and to be able to move on from that, I feel like that’s a huge relief.”
The massive contract, second among Red Wings forwards only to captain Dylan Larkin’s $8.7 million annual contract, reflects the value Raymond added especially down the stretch last season, as the Wings chased a playoff spot all the way till Game 82. Raymond had 21 points the last 18 games, and wrapped things up with a six-game point streak (six goals, five assists).
“He certainly took his game to another level, production-wise,” Yzerman said. “We didn’t base everything on the last 20 games, but it certainly has an impact. But I felt throughout the season he continued to get better. There was a significant growth from Year 2 to Year 3. He had a very good offseason last year and came in and played really well and took off down the stretch. We were not shocked by that. We were very pleased with the way he finished the season and showed that he has the ability to play at a higher level, and he did that in all aspects.
“I expect him to be one of our top players again, I expect his game to continue to grow this year. But yeah, it helped his case a lot – I think he had 13 goals the last 20 games. He really helped his cause and we were thrilled to see him play that well.
The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood asked Raymond whether being part of the contract negotiations was difficult for him…
“It was a little bit different, for sure — just the uncertainty of everything and when it would get done,” Raymond explained. “Also just planning the summer with my trainers and on-ice and stuff like that. It feels like we came up with a with a good plan to treat it as a regular summer.”
Meanwhile, Raymond left the specific details of negotiations to his agents, J.P. Barry and Matt Williams of CAA. Barry ranks third among all NHL agents by contract value, and he’s known across the league for getting his clients the deals they want. As a rookie to the game of contract negotiations, having two experts to turn to made it easier for Raymond to approach negotiations without as much worry. That’s why top-end players get top-end agents.
“It was all new to me, right?” Raymond said. “Like, I’ve never been been in those kind of situations. So it was a lot of new stuff. And I think from the start, the big thing for me was that I wanted long term, I think I’ve been been pretty vocal about that, how much I like Detroit, how much I like the city, the team, and the direction we’re heading. So that was, for sure, a big thing for me, and I’m very happy we got it done.”
…
In the end, Raymond got his contract done, and he got his wish. He’ll be a Red Wing for the foreseeable future as he’s signed until he’s 30 years old, through the majority of his prime years.
“It’s a weird feeling, for sure, but a very exciting feeling,” Raymond said about being signed for such a long term. “I think I’ve been clear from the start, when I think about Detroit, I’m extremely excited and obviously very honored as well to be able to be a Red Wing for at least eight more years.”
As for one Moritz Seider, the GM said this, as noted by MLive’s Ansar Khan:
“I’m hopeful we can get a deal done at some point. Obviously, sooner than later would be better for both parties,” Yzerman said. “I don’t think we’re terribly far apart. Hopefully, we can progress to getting him here as soon as possible.”
Yzerman was speaking on a media conference call one day after signing Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million extension ($8.075 million average annual value).
Seider figures to have a higher AAV than Raymond. The Red Wings, who signed Jonatan Berggren to a one-year, $825,000 deal on Monday, have roughly $8.7 million in cap space.
Yzerman also answered questions about Jonatan Berggren’s place on the team, and whether he’ll help fill the offensive holes left by David Perron, Shayne Gostisbehere and Daniel Sprong, as noted by the Hockey News’s Sam Stockton…
After some generic words about defensive solidity and the importance of special teams, Yzerman said, “We lost David Perron, Daniel Sprong, and Robby Fabbri. Simply couldn’t afford to keep all three of them. We’d like to think Vlad Tarasenko offsets one of those losses. We think Jonatan Berggren get offset another of those losses.” The first replacement is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with 293 career goals to his name. The second is a 24-year-old whose career games played (79) don’t yet add up to a full season. So why is this the company Berggren keeps?
…
“With one player remaining unsigned [Moritz Seider] and knowing what the salary cap is, [we] probably weren’t in a position at this time to do a two-year deal,” Yzerman explained of his negotiation with Berggren. “So both parties are comfortable with a one-year deal, and Jonatan goes out and has a solid season, he’s in a very good spot to renegotiate after one year.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean success, or even a roster spot, is assured for the young Swede. “What he needs to do?” Yzerman asked himself. “Just be a good hockey player in all aspects of the game offensively, defensively.” It’s that last prepositional phrase that holds the key. Detroit knows Berggren can thrive offensively, but to stick and to fit into the team’s emphasis on defense heading into a new season, he will need to provide more.
“He’s got a lot of talent,” Yzerman continued. “We’re really pleased with how he played down the stretch. It was a tough year for him, up and down a little bit, but he worked hard every time he went back to GR and seeing him here in Detroit in the preseason, he looks like he’s worked really hard this summer. He’s in good shape. He’s a smart hockey player. He’s got good skills. And it’s just the ability to do it at the NHL level, and he’s shown in some of his call-ups and brief periods that he’s called up that he has the ability and the hockey sense to play in the NHL. He’s worked hard, he’s been patient, and he’ll get a good opportunity this year.”
Yzerman spoke with the media regarding Michael Brandsegg-Nygard’s presence at training camp, too, as noted by the Hockey News’s Eargood…
“We’ve talked with Skelleftea in Sweden, we’ve talked with his his agents as well and to Michael to at least come to training camp,” Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said. “He’s played in Men’s World Championships. He was a very good player at that level. We said we’d like to bring him over and get a little bit more experience over here in North America. Be around our staff, work with our coaches a little bit, skate with our teams.”
…
“Really, the idea of bringing him over is to work with our coaches, work with our staff on his skating, on his strength and conditioning and get a little bit of experience in the preseason and go from there,” Yzerman explained.
…
Notice that Yzerman said his team wanted Brandsegg-Nygård to “at least come to training camp.” That implies that there’s another layer to this opportunity, i.e. a spot he might earn at another level. “At most,” if you will, is probably a spot with AHL Grand Rapids sooner than one with the NHL club. No rush doesn’t mean no stakes.
And Detroit isn’t just bringing over anybody for training camp. Case in point, defense prospect Axel Sandin Pellikka, a fellow first round pick who plays for the same Skelleftea team, didn’t get an invite. The difference is that Brandsegg-Nygård’s game is closer to NHL readiness that Sandin Pellikka, in part because of their positional and stylistic differences but also just based on sheer size and strength.
“The one thing that obviously we’re real impressed about is (Brandsegg-Nygård’s) size, strength and certainly the way he can shoot the puck,” assistant general manager Kris Draper said Saturday in an intermission T.V. interview during the prospect games. “I think that’s something that people and fans are going to see. Michael’s got, it’s a different release, the way the puck jumps off. You can just kind of tell that he has a great shot. He has a knack to shoot, knack to get open, knack to score some goals.”
Finally, Yzerman addressed his expectations for the entire team this upcoming season, as noted by DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills:
Looking ahead, Yzerman wants the Red Wings to improve defensively this season after ranking 24th in goals against per game (3.33) last season.
“We need to be a better defensive hockey club top to bottom,” Yzerman said. “Our special teams has to be good. Our special teams both improved last season and we scored more goals. We gave up too many to make the playoffs, but you have to be solid in those areas. You can get by with not having the best power play or penalty-killing unit, but you better be solid in other areas. The key, ultimately, to long-term success is being a good defensive hockey team.”
For the Red Wings, the first step towards achieving that goal, among many others, begins on Thursday.
“I want to see progress in our team as a whole in all the areas we’ve talked about and individually from our younger players,” Yzerman said. “As long as we’re moving in the right direction, I think it’s positive.”
