Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond spoke with NHL.com/sv’s Sebastian Noren regarding his 2024-2025 season and his expectations for the upcoming year. Here’s a rough translation of the article:
2024-25 in the rear-view mirror: Lucas Raymond
The Red Wings forward continued his journey toward elite status in the league: “A complete player”
From the shooting star Leo Carlsson to the experienced Victor Hedman, NHL.com/sv takes a look at the biggest Swedish stars’ rear-view mirrors as we go through the seasons for nine of the biggest Swedish pros in the league during 2024 2025.
Today: Lucas Raymond
Lucas Raymond continued his journey toward becoming one of the league’s best right wingers in 2024-2025. The 23-year-old native of Gothenburg posted a new personal best in assists (53) and points (80) this past season, and he topped the Detroit Red Wings’ points league for the second year in a row.
He finished in third place among the Swedish scoring league, behind Jesper Bratt (88 points for New Jersey) and William Nylander (84 points for Toronto). Even so, the main character is far from satisfied.
“I want to take further steps forward in my game,” Raymond told NHL.com/sv. “I think that I took a step already this past year, but I also feel that I have a lot left to develop. You always try to develop some specific things every summer, and it isn’t any different for me now. I will put in the work that’s required and hopefully I will earn a dividend.”
Raymond got up to steam a lot after the Red Wings made a coaching changes on December 26th, when the team sacked Derek Lalonde and replaced him with Todd McLellan. Raymond became the second Red Wings player in the last decade to account for at least 50 assists, behind team legend Henrik Zetterberg (2016-2017).
“Of course, it’s fun. It’s a big part of my game, to have a positive impact on games. Look at everything Henrik did, it’s impressive and to mention my name with is is very fun. But I’m just focusing on myself and on developing my own game and taking steps forward,” Raymond said.
McLellan paid tribute to Raymond on several occasions during the season, drawing parallels between Raymond and Zetterberg.
“He’s such a complete player. I’ve said it before, that Lucas reminds me of Zetterberg, and you could write a whole book with adjectives that describe Zetterberg…it’s very easy. And I can do it with Lucas, too. He’s a complete player, he plays just as well and hard over all three zones, he values everyone as equally important. It’s hard to find a player like him, and when you do, you stick with them,” McLellan said.
Raymond was one of the main reasons why the Red Wings remained in the race for a playoff spot until the final part of the regular season. However, the team would not reach all the way toward the playoffs, but instead, they finished sixth in the Atlantic Division with 86 points, 5 points behind the Montreal Canadiens, who secured the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.
“We had a clear goal for this past season. As close as we were last year, it was to get to the playoffs, so it was the only step we wanted to take. We were very determined to get there. Obviously, we didn’t do it, we know about that. We have to look at ourselves and see what we need to do as a team to take the next step. I’m looking forward to it, and I think a lot of other players are, too. We’ll have to reload, find our team’s identity, and stick with it,” Raymond said.
Detroit has missed the playoffs for 9 straight seasons, but despite that, Raymond pays tribute to the turnout of fans who continue to flock to Little Caesars Arena, and he says the main goal is to break the drought next season.
“Obviously, it shows, the team’s history with all its success, it’s huge. It’s not just because I’m Swedish and consider all the fantastic Swedish players who’ve been on the team. And even though we haven’t been in the playoffs for so long, the fans and the city are setting up for this. Once we go to the playoffs, and if we do it next year, then it’s going to be even more crazy. So I’m looking forward to it,” Raymond said.
Raymond also had a prominent role for the Tre Kronor this past season. He accounted for 3 assists in 3 games during the NHL’s Four Nations Face-Off, and he was then involved in playing for a bronze medal at home in the Ice Hockey World Championship after posting 11 points (5 goals plus 6 assists) in 10 games, and he finished second in points behind Elias Lindholm’s 14.
“I’ve coached Lucas Raymond in three tournaments now,” Swedish federation coach Sam Hallam said at the Four Nations tournament. “He was really good in the first, he raised himself further in the second, and now he looks even better than before. He continues to take steps toward being an elite player in the NHL. He adds a lot to the offensive game but he also works hard in all three zones. I had him out in defensive situations against this edition of Canada’s team, and he didn’t disappoint at any point.
