Could there be a change in on-ice leadership coming for the Detroit Red Wings?

Although Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman has had a rather active summer, the two most important transactions have yet to fall. Yzerman hasn't been able to come to terms on contract extensions with the two pivotal restricted free agents. Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond still remain unsigned now, well into August. What's the holdup?

Earlier this summer, Yzerman cleared up a bunch of salary cap room by trading defenseman Jake Walman and a second-round pick to the San Jose Sharks for future considerations. Yzerman also sent forward Robby Fabbri packing to Anaheim for virtually a bag of pucks. The Red Wings allowed a few key free agents to walk, like David Perron, who signed with Ottawa. Offensive specialist Shayne Gostisbehere signed a three-year deal that averages just $3.2 million annually with Carolina, and Daniel Sprong signed a one-year deal for less than $1 million fairly late into the free agency period with the Vancouver Canucks.

Detroit replaced Perron with forward Vladimir Tarasenko on a two-year deal worth $9.5 million. Yzerman also hopes to replace Gostisbehere with veteran defenseman Erik Gustafsson, who signed a two-year $4 million deal. The Red Wings also elected to move on from veteran backup netminder James Reimer in favor of free agent Cam Talbot. The biggest deal to date was bringing back star forward Patrick Kane on the eve of free agency. Kane signed a one-year deal with a base salary of $4 million; he also has a total of $2.5 million of built-in incentives, which are all very achievable. Here is the breakdown: Ten Games Played: $1.5M.
60 Games Played: $250,000
. Playoff Berth: $500,000.
60 Points + Playoff Berth: $250,000.

Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde recently hinted toward a possible shift in leadership.

The Detroit Red Wings currently sit with roughly $17.6 million in salary cap space but have yet to strike a deal with Moritz Seider or Lucas Raymond. Also, let's not forget about Jonatan Berggren.

Seider figures to absorb between $8 and 10 million annually, while Raymond's number is expected to be around $7-8 million. That doesn't leave much for Berggren, which may eventually lead to another minor cap-clearing move by Yzerman if necessary.

Recently, Derek Lalonde spoke about the pending restricted free agents and assured everyone that he's not at all worried and is confident something will be completed sooner rather than later. "I’ve talked with them (Seider and Raymond) two to three times during the summer, and we don’t even talk about the contract," Lalonde said. "That’s between Steve and them. With us, it’s just the same message as with the other guys — we want to progress, we want to keep moving, keep building this. Obviously, those two guys are a big part of it."

Lalonde is excited about Raymond's progress and expects big things from the top-six winger this upcoming season. "He found something in his offseason last year, he came back, and he just looked like a different athlete," Lalonde said. "A little of that was just him maturing — he’s still a very young player, and naturally, his body matured a little bit. But just keep building on what he did last year."

Regarding Seider, Lalonde mentioned that he wants the budding star to continue to build as he is set to enter his fourth NHL season. Seider, Raymond, and Patrick Kane are prime candidates to join Detroit's alternate captain rotation this season. Andrew Copp, Ben Chiarot, and David Perron have rotated the 'A' over the past couple of seasons, and now, with Perron gone, there is an opening. I wouldn't put it past Lalonde to completely change things up with respect to the alternate rotation next season. "Those two (Raymond and Seider) the role they’ll play on our team, I think it will be a little increased role with our leadership, too," Lalonde said. "That’s something we talked about with those two over the summer." As pictured in the story, Raymond recently served as an alternate captain for Team Sweden at the World Championships this past spring.