It’s time for another edition of NHL rumours. We’re in the dog days of summer and some think this is a dead period for the NHL. However, there’s still plenty to discuss on the hot stove front. Most of the mid-summer time in the hockey world is talking about restricted free agents. We’re nearing the end of arbitration, but some RFAs remain unsigned. Two of the higher-profile RFAs that have yet to ink a new deal are on the Detroit Red Wings. This edition of NHL rumours deals tries to offer an update on where negotiations are.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Status of Talks with Detroit Red Wings RFAs
Rumour: Sportsnet’s Luke Fox and Rory Boylen looked at the status of the current crop of unsigned RFAs. We look at Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond in this edition.
Analysis: Both players figure to be key parts of the “Yzerplan” of General Manager Steve Yzerman. Seider is a rock on the back-end and Raymond has started figuring into the offence more for Detroit.
The Red Wings have over $17.6 million in salary cap space according to Puckepedia. Detroit already inked one of their RFAs in Joe Veleno and have yet to find a deal for Jonatan Berggren. However, the main signings left are that of Seider and Raymond.
Let’s Make a Deal – Seider
Fox and Boylen toss out an $8.6 million number for Seider as a potential dollar amount. It would give the German blueliner a deal comparable to some of his contemporaries. Players like Owen Power, Jake Sanderson and Rasmus Dahlin each got similar deals after their entry-level deal expired.
This deal allow the Wings to have Seider for a good number of his prime years and give him good compensations. The $8.6 million cap hit would allow some room to get a deal for Raymond.
Barring anything disastrous, the salary cap will go up and this deal will seem like a bargain if Seider continue to trend in the right direction. He’s likely to play into the team’s plans for seasons to come.
Let’s Make a Deal – Raymond
Another thing Yzerman wants to do is give Seider some term so the defender’s contract won’t be an issue for a while. Fox and Boylen speculate that a deal for Raymond would either be a bridge or a middle-term deal.
Detroit probably doesn’t want to burden itself with a lot of long-term deals. Too many big contracts is what handcuffed former General Manager Ken Holland. Yzerman has given some questionable deals in his tenure in Hockeytown, so he probably wants to get these two contracts right.
Raymond getting a long-term contract may be a victim of the numbers game and he may have to settle for a deal of just a few seasons. However, he could always cash in if he continues to trend upward.
There may be some struggles in getting a contract done, but the Sportsnet duo thinks an agreement will be reached. It might take some time, but things shouldn’t drag on too long.
Main photo by: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
