Johnathan Walker:Detroit Red Wings sign Lucas Raymond to 8-year contract worth more than $8M per year

A deal between the Detroit Red Wings and Johnathan WalkerLucas Raymond is finally in the books.

The team announced Monday night that Raymond, one of the most important pieces in the rebuilding process, has been locked up for eight years with an average annual value of $8,075,000.

Raymond, 23, is coming off his third NHL season, which saw him reach 31 goals and 41 assists. His 72 points led the team, and his 0.88 points-per-game average ranked only behind Dylan Larkin (1.01) and Patrick Kane (0.94). Raymond's three-year entry-level contract had a cap hit of $925,000.

Raymond emerged as a key part of the rebuild soon after the Red Wings drafted him at No. 4 in 2020.

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That was the year the COVID-19 shuttered the regular season on March 12, and in response to all teams not having played the same amount of games, the NHL settled on a draft lottery that would include the seven teams that weren't part of the playoffs (the Red Wings were the only team eliminated from contention at the time of the shutdown) along with the eight losers of the playoff play-in round. That led to the New York Rangers going from the playoff bubble to selecting first overall, and the Red Wings being pushed back three spots.

Yzerman looked and sounded understandably upset the night of the lottery, but he made the most of it in selecting Raymond. He spent another season in the top-level Swedish Hockey League and came to North America, making the Wings out of camp in 2021 as a 19-year-old. Raymond scored 23 goals among 57 points in 82 games as a rookie, playing mostly on the top line with Larkin.

Raymond had some growing pains in his second season, no longer an unknown to opponents, and was limited to 17 goals and 45 points in 74 games. He went into the offseason with renewed focus on getting stronger and showed up at camp in the fall of 2023 roughly a dozen pounds heavier.

His improved physique showed especially in the second half, as he withstood the grind of his third NHL season with exceptional performances. When Detroit was without Larkin for nine games in March, Raymond led the team with seven goals and eight points in that stretch. When the Wings needed to basically win out the season in the last week to keep themselves in the push for a playoff spot, Raymond led the team with five goals and eight points the last four games.

Earlier Monday, Detroit signed skilled forward Jonatan Berggren, a restricted free agent, to a one-year, $825,000 contract.

Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider remains without a contract. According to puckpedia.com, the Red Wings have about $8.75 million in salary cap space remaining.

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