Insurance Secured, Red Wings Raymond to Play at Worlds

As recently as a day ago, it seemed unlikely that Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond would be playing for Sweden at the upcoming IIHF world hockey championship.

Today, a smiling Raymond was informing Swedish fans via a video posting that he’ll be donning the three crowns of the Swedish national team next month in Prague.

🚨🚨 💣💣
Det kom en videohälsning…. 😉 pic.twitter.com/EYJftMd3jo

— Tre Kronor (@Trekronorse) April 27, 2024

“It will be fun to put on the Tre Kronor shirt and I’m really excited,” Swedish website Aftonbladet.se reported Raymond as saying. “Hope to see you down in the Czech Republic.”

Raymond will be a restricted free agent who will be out of contract as of July 1,. The chance of suffering an injury at the worlds and perhaps jeopardizing his NHL future was weighing on Raymond’s mind as he was weighing the option of playing at the worlds for a second year in succession.

“It’s a tough situation with not having a contract for next year and the insurance and stuff that comes with that,” Raymond said. “I want to keep playing.

“I don’t feel like I’m done playing for this year but obviously there’s other factors that play into it.”

Swedes Obtain Insurance For Red Wings Raymond

That dilemma was reaching a resolution and a positive outcome for everyone. The powers that be are assuring Raymond that the proper insurance for his protection is now in place.

All sides involved are offering vague explanations of how the obtaining of that insurance came about.

“It was resolved through various types of international insurance,” Raymond’s agent Claes Elefalk informed Aftonbladet via text message.

“It is done according to the regulations from the IIHF (international confederation),” added Swedish national team manager Anders Lundberg. “I’m not going to comment on it in detail, but as always, it applies that all players are insured and we have that in place.”

Once Raymond was expressing a strong desire to play in the tournament, Swedish national team management set the wheels in motion to make it happen.

“From the first moment, Lucas really expressed his wish to come and play in the WC,” Lunberg said. “He is charged and we are just as charged.

“It’s nothing strange. It’s the same for Victor Olofsson this year and it was the same with Fabian Zetterlund last year. We have a dialogue with the players and now we have managed to find a solution so that Lucas can participate.”

Sweden Deep In NHL Talent

Adding Raymond to their mix will bolster an already deep Swedish roster. Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and Minnesota Wild forward Joel Eriksson Ek are among others on board with the squad.

Raymond, 22, was enjoying a career year this season with the Red Wings. He was the team’s scoring leader with 31 goals and 41 assists for 72 points. All are career highs for him.

You want to play meaningful games to find out what your players are made of.

Lucas Raymond's last 32GP: 18G, 13A, 31PTS

Raymond in April: 8GP, 7G, 5A, 12PTS, +8

Safe to say the Red Wings have learned something about Raymond. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/Ybkvxue1gs

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) April 17, 2024

“Emotionally, physically, he did it all down the stretch for us,” Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said. “He was in it and wanted to win. He willed us to win.

“The experience down the stretch was great for me. It’s great for Lucas as well, and that’s great for our team. Seeing what he’s made of in these big games was very impressive to me.”