Oh yes, Gordie Howe’s all-time record among Red Wings scorers seems immortal, almost like it’ll never be broken. But I’m here to tell you that won’t be the case about 17 years from today. Mark me.
Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record was seemingly unbeatable, but as recent events proved, even The Great One isn’t immune to watching his milestone drop. And if you remember it right, Gretzky surpassed Howe to stand at No. 1 for three decades. So, it won’t surprise me when there’s a player on the Red Wings who could edge past Howe.
Yep, these Red Wings. The underperforming group that’s given us nothing but a massive migraine over the past few months has a player who could become the second in franchise history to surpass 800-plus goals. But who is that player and what makes them such a legitimate threat to edge pass Mr. Hockey?
One Red Wings player who will do the impossible if he plays long enough
The Red Wings player in question is Lucas Raymond, who, as I write this, is completing his age-22 season. Through four years, Raymond has 97 goals and should be at 100 by the time the 2024-25 season ends. Yep, just less than one-eighth of the way there, so why in the world would I think Raymond is capable of such a feat?
Well, for one, he’s in his age-22 season and won’t be entering his ‘prime’ until roughly the 2026-27 season. Therefore, expect his average number of goals scored to increase exponentially over the next two campaigns, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he averaged 40 per year, if not more. Hitting that average would speed things up, and Raymond would surpass Howe 18 years from today.
Yeah, most of us would probably rather stick around in the present as opposed to speeding the process of time 18 years into the future. Still, Raymond would go down as one of the best ever if and when he does this, and there are a few ways that such an accomplishment would occur.
Lucas Raymond has a legitimate chance to pass Gordie Howe if…
We already covered that he’d need to play about 18 more seasons, but every single one of those seasons must occur in a Red Wings uniform. Remember, we’re talking franchise records here, not all-time records in general. For another, Raymond would need to be on the ice for all or close to all 82 games, year after year.
Three, and perhaps the most important prerequisite, is that Raymond needs great teams around him. That won’t happen every year, and it hasn’t yet since he’d first taken the ice with the Red Wings. And he’s proven to handle the fact that there’s yet to be a solid Red Wings team out there capable of taking his play to the next level rather well.
But even now, without a great or even a good team, Raymond’s more than held his own. Get a great team onto the ice, and watch him wreak even more havoc when he’s in the offensive zone.