Lucas Raymond: "I Feel Like We're Building Something Really Good"

Red Wings winger Lucas Raymond gave an illuminating interview to 32 Thoughts on his state of mind entering the '23-24 season. Here's what he had to say

On Monday, 32 Thoughts: The Podcast—hosted by Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman—released an interview with Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond, conducted at the NHL's European Media Tour late last month in Stockholm.

Though brief (not quite ten minutes in duration), the interview proved revelatory with respect to Raymond's head space entering the 2023-24 season.

By most accounts, Raymond's '22-23 was disappointing.  After an outstanding rookie campaign placed him fourth in Calder voting, Raymond scored 12 fewer points in his sophomore season than he had the year prior.  His goal total dropped from 23 to 17.  Instead of playing a full 82 games, Raymond played just 74.  Even his average ice time went down, from 18:09 as a rookie to 17:23 in year two.

Against that backdrop, you might expect to find Raymond defensive, eager to re-cast his sophomore season as something else.  Instead, the interview's obvious through line was Raymond's excitement at the prospect of competition to come.

Raymond didn't downplay last season's challenges or disappointments, but he didn't dwell in them either.  Instead, the Gothenburg-born winger embraced what lies ahead for the rebuilding Red Wings.

When Marek asked him what goes through a player's mind when his team brings in the likes of Alex DeBrincat, J.T. Compher, and Jeff Petry over the summer, Raymond said, "You're excited. I feel like we're building something really good. If you look at my first year, which is only two years ago, compared to now coming into this season, I feel like it's a huge difference. I think every player and also the city is very excited for the season."

At this point, Friedman jumped in, rewinding to Steve Yzerman's end-of-season press conference.  Friedman recalled Yzerman's admiration for the way Raymond handled the arrival of David Perron, a player whose profile and arrival represented a direct challenge to Raymond's role and ice time.

"You can look at it from a lot of different perspectives," said Raymond, with a maturity well beyond that which you might expect of a 21-year-old. "For me, I feel like we took a step last year in a lot of areas, and I want to develop as a player, but mostly I want our team to move in a direction that is fun. 

"It created a lot of competition in our team in a lot of different spots, which was good for us. It made everyone want to take a further step, want to play better and develop, and I think that benefits everyone. I think competition is good; I think it drives you forward. That was kind of my mindset."

To many Red Wing fans, the arrival of forwards like Compher, Daniel Sprong, or Klim Kostin and defensemen like Justin Holl or Shayne Gostisbehere raised a certain measure of concern.  Would those players crowd out promising prospects like Marco Kasper or Simon Edvinsson?

With his response, Raymond made the opposite case: Bringing in better players up and down the roster will force young players to raise their level to earn a call-up and then crack the lineup each night.  

"You don't get anything in the National Hockey League," Raymond followed up. "That's the same as me coming in my first year. You're not given a spot...you gotta earn it, and I think that's the way to do it."

When Marek asked just how close Detroit is to making the playoffs, Raymond's response reflected a similar maturity. 

"I would love to say that we're very close, which I think we're getting there," Raymond answered.  "That's our goal for next season.  For us, it's about taking it one game at a time and not jumping ahead of ourselves.  Last year was a step in the right direction [but] still not where we want to be.  We had a tough stretch right before the deadline, which hurt us a lot, but we were right there if you look at it at the end of the season.  We're learning.  It's my third year, it's another two years of experience, and you just keep learning, which is a lot of fun."

Raymond isn't in a rush, and he sees no utility in the bravado of self-aggrandizing predictions.  Instead, once again, one senses a genuine excitement at the prospect of pushing forward with the group Detroit has assembled thus far.  

With that said, his excitement isn't tied to an outcome so much as a journey.  Raymond didn't wax poetic about what it would mean to play in the postseason, much less bring a Cup back to Detroit.  Instead, he expressed a simple pleasure at the prospect of continued progress.

Marek then asked what it was like to compete with Ottawa and Buffalo as ascendants in the Atlantic Division.  Once again, Raymond expressed his eagerness to meet the challenge those divisional rivals pose.  

"I think that has kinda built up a little bit," he said. "We felt it last year, which in my opinion is a lot of fun. It's good for hockey, it's good for us playing with that competition. Us, Ottawa, and Buffalo have a lot of good young players...it's gonna be fun."

As the interview concluded, Raymond joked with both hosts about how he will wind up comfortably in the red over the Wings' November trip to his home country to take on Toronto, because of all the friends and family who he will need to supply with tickets.  Despite that financial duress, Raymond said (more earnestly), "I'm looking forward to it.  It's going to be fun—showing the guys some Swedish traditions and stuff like that."

Then, to wrap, Raymond affirmed an assertion Friedman (ear always to the ground) had heard that people from Gothenburg (Gothenburgers?) have better senses of humor than those from Stockholm.  

In mid-September, on the precipice of the blank slate brought about by a new season, Red Wing fans would be wise to embrace Raymond's mentality.  

After another offseason renovation, there's no reason to temper excitement around this team, but that excitement ought to remain in the context of a longer journey than just a single season.  The goal in 2023-24 is of course the postseason, and failing to reach that goal would sting.  

Nonetheless, before the season begins, there is no need to get bogged down in its eventual end point.  Instead, excitement at the progress that's been made and the competition to come feels a wonderful jumping-off point for a fresh campaign.

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