From The Silky Mitten State: The case for signing Lucas Raymond to a long-term extension this summer, rather than a bridge deal
From The Silky Mitten State: The case for signing Lucas Raymond to a long-term extension this summer, rather than a bridge deal
For Steve Yzerman and the Detroit Red Wings, the most important business of the summer will come in the form of two RFA contracts: one for Lucas Raymond and the other for Moritz Seider. Both Raymond and Seider are graduating from entry-level contracts (which are largely standardized based on draft position), and now the question becomes whether they will sign long extensions (i.e. five-to-eight years) or shorter 'bridge' deals (i.e. one-to-three years).
“The term and the dollars have got to work for both parties,” GM Steve Yzerman said at his end-of-year press conference. “You have to pay a player enough that he's willing to lock up long (term and) give you eight years. But also it can be dangerous if you're paying an extreme premium for potential because a lot of times it can be difficult. If you don't have a cap issue or any concerns then you don't need to worry about them as much, but those deals make you have cap issues as well. So again, I'm certainly open to it but the term, the dollar amount has got to work for both parties. And that can be a challenge.”
While Raymond himself made clear that he has no thought of signing anywhere but Detroit: “What I do know is that I love this team. I love the city and I want to be here. But as far as the other things, it's kind of out of my control.”
On the most recent episode of The Silky Mitten State, my co-host Connor Earegood and I discussed the pros and cons of a short- vs. long-term extension for Raymond. There is a risk in signing any player coming off a career best season (as Raymond is) to a long-term deal; perhaps their value will never be greater than the exact moment you're committing to a long-term deal. However, we concluded that, from the Red Wings perspective, the bigger risk lies in the possibility that Raymond scores even more than this season's 72 points, suggesting that his potential cap number could continue to grow if you put yourself in the position of needing to sign him to another extension in two to three years.
You can see a sample of our conversation in the video above. For the full episode, check out Apple Podcasts or Spotify:
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