With the Red Wings’ 2024 training camp underway, all but one player is scheduled to be in Traverse City. Moritz Seider is still an RFA as contract negotiations progress, and today we get a glimpse of where both sides stand. According to Elliotte Friedman in his latest 32 Thoughts, it’s unlikely Seider will get an eight-year deal like Lucas Raymond. That’s largely because Steve Yzerman wants to keep the salary cap below Dylan Larkin’s, which is $8.7 million.

“As for the other remaining RFAs, it’s hard to imagine Moritz Seider getting an eight-year deal if Detroit wants to keep him under Dylan Larkin’s $8.7 million AAV.”

According to PuckPedia, Detroit’s estimated salary cap space is just under $8.7 million.

To be clear, Friedman might be making an educated guess here. As far as I know, no NHL insider had reported on Raymond’s contract before the Wings made the official announcement. That reinforces the notion that nothing is leaving Yzerman’s vault. I really have a hard time imagining Yzerman (and Seider) balking at an eight-year deal with a comparable AAV to Dylan Larkin. Larkin is your franchise center and Seider is your franchise defenseman. Given the NHL’s growing financial landscape, it’s important to sign these types of players to long-term contracts now so you can save yourself some salary cap space in the future.

Still, you have to believe that a deal will be done and that Seider’s visa status will not be an issue. I’m preparing for a term of less than eight years, but I don’t like the idea of ​​that. We’ll see what happens, and now that this article is published, a deal will probably be announced shortly. (Such is my luck!)