Yzerman on Seider Negotiations: "We Continue to Talk"
In his pre-training camp press conference, Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman provided an update on his negotiations with star defenseman Moritz Seider
On Tuesday morning, Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman held his pre-training camp press conference on the heels of the announcement of an eight-year extension for Lucas Raymond. That extension brought excitement and relief to Detroit fans, but it wasn't an end to the summer's business, with budding star defenseman Moritz Seider still unsigned.
On Tuesday, Yzerman was asked directly about the state of his negotiations with Seider and said, "We continue to talk," before adding "I don't think we're terribly far apart." It might not be the complete resolution Red Wing fans are yearning for, but it's a (mildly) encouraging update.
Detroit presently has about $8.75 million in cap space left over with which to Seider, and chances are the German defenseman's new deal will eat up just about all of that. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman has reported that Seider's extension will likely be richer annually than Raymond's. With Raymond's AAV now in at $8.075 million, something around an $8.5 million AAV would seem to make sense for Seider's extension. There certainly hasn't been any indication that Seider will not be with the Red Wings when the regular season opens.