Bleacher Report’s Lyle Richardson suggests that Lucas Raymond is the Red Wings’ best forward going into the 2025-2026 season, and that Raymond is the 23rd-best forward in the NHL overall:
23. Detroit Red Wings: Lucas Raymond
Chosen fourth overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, Lucas Raymond has steadily worked his way into becoming the best forward on the Detroit Red Wings. While the rebuilding club struggled to end a franchise-worst nine-year playoff drought, the 23-year-old winger tallied a career-best, team-leading 80 points last season.
A talented, smart, swift-skating play-maker, Raymond made significant strides during his previous four NHL seasons, sitting second among Red Wings scorers with 254 total points. That includes a career-best 31 goals in 2023-24 along with last season’s career high in points.
Entering his fifth NHL campaign, Raymond has yet to reach his full potential as a scoring winger. He could reach 90 points, which could help lift the Wings into the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Continued; Raymond, Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat would all be good choices here…
While I really enjoy reading of Raymond’s increased recognition around the league, what I don’t understand is the continued description of his skating abilities as swift. Fedorov was swift, McDavid is swift; Raymond is an NHL skater but rarely makes highlight reels by burning defensemen with speed. He more than makes up for a few lost mph with top-rate vision and compete, lucky for us!
Raymond isn’t a smooth skater by any means, but his choppy strides get the job done. He’s no glider, but he has very good short bursts of acceleration.