Detroit Red Wing fans have become well-accustomed to seeing Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond do their thing on a nightly basis. Larkin, the Red Wings’ captain and longest-tenured player, is the team’s top center and is on pace to record his fourth-straight 30-goal season. Raymond, the team’s top pick in the 2020 draft and a constant fixture on the top line next to Larkin, leads the Red Wings in point production this season after breaking out in the second half of last season.
Fans from around the NHL are not as privy to what Larkin and Raymond bring to the table – and understandably so. The Red Wings have not made the playoffs since the Obama administration, and it becomes easy to tune a team out during a stretch of mediocrity that long. However, the NHL’s decision to host the 4 Nation’s Faceoff this year instead of the traditional All-Star weekend has put a spotlight on underappreciated players like Larkin and Raymond.
While Red Wings fans beam with pride, Larkin and Raymond have reintroduced themselves and recalibrated the public’s perception of them. By putting themselves on the map, they’re putting Detroit on the map too.
Raymond a Stand-Out for Team Sweden
When line combinations for each team participating in the 4 Nations tournament started to trickle out, Raymond found himself as low in the lineup as he has ever been since joining the Red Wings in the 2021-22 season. Of course, when it comes to an international best-on-best tournaments, you really get to see the depth of talent these nations produce.
Raymond joined Jesper Bratt of the New Jersey Devils and Joel Eriksson Ek of the Minnesota Wild on Team Sweden’s third line. By the end of the Swedes’ first game, their third line was noted as the team’s most effective. Raymond even earned recognition as Sweden’s lone “star of the game” thanks to his two-assist effort. Even though Sweden ultimately finished last in the 4 Nations Face-Off, Raymond held his own throughout the tournament, finishing tied with Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson for the team lead in points.
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Red Wings fans have known what Raymond is capable of, especially coming off of last season. This season, combined with his stint with Team Sweden, has put the hockey world on notice: he is for real, and he’s not even in his prime yet. Also, he seems to be establishing a signature move, having pulled…
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