Elliotte Friedman spoke on the 32 Thoughts podcast about the Detroit Red Wings negotiations with forward Lucas Raymond. Friedman had used recently signed Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis as a comparable contract for Raymond stating that his $7.42MM cap hit was likely what Raymond’s camp was using in negotiations. However, Friedman informed his audience that a player agent told him that Raymond’s agent is more than likely using a higher comparable and mentioned Senators forward Tim Stützle and his eight-year $66.8MM contract.
Friedman added that there is little chance that Yzerman would accept that comparison and Stützle’s $8.35MM AAV. Stützle signed that contract extension after posting 58 points in 79 games, which was a good season, but not worth that number. At that time the Ottawa Senators were desperate to show their market that they were ready to contend and gave Stützle an above-market deal that now looks like a bargain. Friedman thinks that the Jarvis comparable is probably too low at this stage, which likely means that a Raymond extension will fall between the cap hits of Jarvis and Stützle.
In other morning notes:
- Greg Wyshynski of ESPN is reporting that Braxton Whitehead of the Western Hockey League’s Regina Pats has received a verbal commitment from Arizona State University that would open the door for him to play in the NCAA in the 2025-26 season. Whitehead is the first Canadian Hockey League player to receive a commitment from the NCAA since a class action lawsuit was proposed against the NCAA and 10 universities last month that claimed the eligibility rules around the league violated antitrust laws. The class action suit is looking to allow players to play hockey in college as well as major junior, something that would be a massive change from the current paradigm.
- NHL player agent Allen Walsh also tweeted in regard to Whitehead’s news saying that he’s heard from several NCAA head coaches who expected that there will be former CHL players dressing in the NCAA as early as next season. The current NCAA eligibility rules don’t allow any player who has played a major junior hockey game to play college hockey in the United States, however, the aforementioned class action lawsuit could turn that rule on its head depending on how it plays out.
Raymond needs to settle at $8M x 8. or trade him to CBJ for Jirasek and Sillenger. Then CBJ can give him 8 x $8.4M and be above the cap floor when they add another player on an ELC and reach the 23 man roster limit.
Somewhat surprised the Seider and Raymond camps are attempting to get the maximum dollars possible. It’s likely their contracts will handicap the Wings for awhile from obtaining other quality players. Yzerman should consider bridge deals at lesser AAV’s. I don’t think either of them are worth $ 8 million but it’s an over priced market. The Wings could get a really good player + a 1st round pick for either of these guys.