After an incredible playoff push by the Detroit Red Wings in their past 5 games, their season has unfortunately come to an end. The Red Wings never gave up and percerviered through a lot of adversity this season. Even though that may seem like nothing in this moment, it represents a huge step in the right direction for the Red Wings. There were many bright spots and some lows this season that have made it clear what they need to make a priority this summer. The priorities should be:
Sign Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond to a long term contract.
Sign or trade for an established #1 Goalie.
Sign Patrick Kane to a 2 to 3 year contract.
Sign Shayne Gostisbehere to a 3 to 5 year contract.
Sign David Perron to a 1 to 2 year contract.
Lucas Raymond had an incredible bounce back season where he set a career high in goals (31), assists (41), and points (72). Raymond had the most points on the Red Wings this season (Gp: 82 G:31 A:41 Pts:72). He also played great in the defensive zone. This is why it will be very important to get Raymond signed to a long term contract. He was very clutch for the Red Wings when they needed him the most. He scored the biggest goals of the season against the Montréal Canadiens.
Moritz Seider had another fantastic season defensively. Seider became the 6th defensemen and overall NHL player to have 200+ Hits and 200+ Blocked Shots in a season. Seider finished this season with 213 blocks and 211 hits. He had the 2nd most blocked shots in the NHL this season. Offensively, Seider will also solid. He had 9 goals and 33 assists for a total of 42 points in 82 games. Seider was never expected to be an offensive defensemen so this is great production for him. He proved once again that he is one of the best 2 way defensemen in the NHL. His durability has also been incredible. He extended his iron man streak to 246 straight games. It will be one of the priorities this summer to get Seider signed to a long term contract.
Patrick Kane was way better than expected for the Red Wings. Kane proved to everyone in the NHL that he can still produce offensively consistently. He gave the Wings a huge boast to their top 6 and on the power play. Kane and DeBrincat's chemistry picked up right where it left off as well.
I really hope that the Wings will find a way to sign Kane to a multi year contract. Also, I think they should sign David Perron and Shayne Gostisbehere to multi year contracts. They were a big part in helping the Wings to take the next step in their rebuild. Their veteran presence and leadership is exactly what the Youngers players need to take the next step.
Hopefully the Detroit Red Wings will bring the momentum from these incredible comebacks into their summer training. The disappointment of not making the playoffs should give them great motivation to make the 2024-2025 season very successful.