Answers on why Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider don't have contracts so far

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William Austin
August 2, 2024 (9:29)

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There's plenty of time to get new contracts with Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond since the Detroit Red Wings are seven weeks away from training camp.

But it's been over three months since the season ended and four weeks since general manager Steve Yzerman last provided an update, and the restricted free agents remain unsigned. This is causing some fans to get a little anxious, as seen in the latest mailbag:

"It's been really quiet over contracts for Mo Seider & Lucas Raymond. Yzerman at his post-UFA presser, said he/they were working on it. Is there any reason to think/evidence an impasse has developed? There seems to be no sense of urgency. Is it possible training camp will open in late September and those two will still be unsigned?" � Mike

A: It often takes much of the offseason to agree on money and terms with high-profile RFAs. The urgency sometimes isn't triggered until shortly before training camp. The team and players would prefer to sign for the maximum term of eight years. Seider, 23, will get more than Lucas Raymond, 22, but probably not more than Dylan Larkin. Larkin sort of set the bar with his eight-year deal at an average annual value of $8.7 million. The Red Wings believe Larkin deserves to be their highest-paid player. He's the longest-tenured Red Wing (nine seasons), the captain, and has been the face of the franchise during a rough stretch. Perhaps Seider comes in at around $8.5 million. Once Seider is signed, it will set the bar for Raymond, whose cap hit will probably be around $1 million less, in the $7.5-$7.7 million range.

The trend around the league has seen teams locking up their young talent to seven- and eight-year contracts. If the sides can't agree on long-term deals, they'll sign bridge contracts (two or three years) for less AAV, maybe in the $6 million range.

"Could Mo and Lucas hold out and miss the start of the season? I don't like our playoff chances to begin with after this underwhelming offseason, but this would absolutely destroy any hopes. Is this possible?" � G.D.

A: It would be surprising if deals aren't done before training camp or at least before the regular season opener. For what it's worth, Seider hasn't missed a game in three seasons, appearing in 246 consecutively, including a key April 9 contest against Washington after spending time in the hospital earlier that day. He seems like the type of player who will do whatever it takes to be in the lineup on Oct. 10, even if it means signing a bridge deal and then revisiting talks on a long-term extension in the future. And, as stated above, once one is signed, the other is bound to come to terms in short order.

"The longer Seider and Raymond remain unsigned is there any concern a team might make them an offer sheet that the Wings can't match or will disrupt their salary structure?" � Leo

A: History tells us that's highly unlikely. Why the NHL even has offer sheets as an option for RFAs remains a mystery because teams seldom go this route. Since Sergei Fedorov signed a six-year, $38 million offer sheet with the Carolina Hurricanes in 1998, which the Red Wings matched, only 10 tendered in 26 years. A club declined to match only twice, including during the most recent offer sheet in 2021. Montreal didn't match Carolina's one-year, $6.1 million offer to Jesperi Kotkaniemi and received first- and third-round picks as compensation. In the unlikely event this happens, the Red Wings would match. They have roughly $17 million in cap space reserved for Seider, Raymond, and RFA Jonatan Berggren.

Source: MLive
Red Wings mailbag: Any concern that Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond still unsigned?