Key Challenges for the Detroit Red Wings: Raymond and Seider’s Contracts, Consistency, and Goaltending…
This is part of THN.com’s ongoing series that delves into the major challenges each NHL team faces. Today, we focus on three crucial issues confronting the Detroit Red Wings.
1. Will contract delays for RFAs Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider impact their season start?
Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider are pivotal players for the Red Wings’ future, but so far, GM Steve Yzerman hasn’t secured their signatures on contract extensions.
Although there’s still time before training camp starts, and the team has ample cap space ($17.6 million) to sign both players, any delay that extends into the regular season could hinder their performance this year.
Historically, prolonged contract negotiations have caused young players to struggle when they miss part of the training camp, falling behind their teammates. While it’s not guaranteed this will happen to Raymond and Seider, the pressure is on Yzerman to finalize deals for at least the upcoming season to avoid this risk.
2. Can the Red Wings find consistency, stop losing streaks, and secure a playoff spot?
Consistency was a significant issue for the Red Wings in the 2023-24 season, with the team narrowly missing a playoff spot by just one point in the Atlantic Division. This near-miss likely weighs heavily on Yzerman and the squad.
However, the challenge is that the Atlantic Division is arguably the NHL’s toughest, with teams like Florida, Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Boston likely to secure playoff spots again. Detroit must either displace a team from the Metropolitan Division or miss the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season—a devastating outcome for a team that once set the NHL standard.
For this not to happen, head coach Derek Lalonde needs to ensure his team wins more consistently.
3. Who will secure the starting goaltender role?
The Red Wings have seen a revolving door of goaltenders in recent years, including James Reimer, Alex Nedeljkovic, Thomas Greiss, Calvin Pickard, Jonathan Bernier, Ville Husso, and Alex Lyon. The situation has shifted again with the addition of 37-year-old veteran Cam Talbot. Talbot, with a .913 save percentage in 54 games last season, outperformed both Husso (.892) and Lyon (.904).
Therefore, it seems likely that Talbot could earn the starting spot, although a 50/50 split with either Husso or Lyon is possible. Alternatively, Yzerman might plan to rotate all three goalies throughout the regular season.
Having multiple goalies is beneficial, but if no one steps up as the clear No. 1, Detroit’s playoff hopes could be severely compromised. With a defense that’s not among the league’s strongest, the goalies will need to bear much of the defensive burden.
