Red Wings coach urges star to start ‘firing the puck’ more

Detroit Red Wings coach Todd McLellan wants right wing Lucas Raymond to become more self-centered. Raymond is currently ranked 90th in the NHL in shots with just 143 on the season. His head coach wants him to shoot much, much more.“He shouldn’t be there,” McLellan said, as reported by The Hockey News. “He should be in the top 50 at least, top 40, in my opinion.”

McLellan praised Raymond for his good shot, but he emphasized that Raymond's ice time, coupled with his opportunities, should encourage him to shoot more. Raymond, in McLellan's eyes, is not selfish enough. He has just 119 goals in his opening 386 career appearances in his career.

Detroit Red Wings need Lucas Raymond to shoot more

During Monday’s 5-2 victory over the visiting Calgary Flames, Raymond skated into the offensive zone on an odd-man rush early in the first period. Instead of releasing a shot at vulnerable goalie Dustin Wolf, as his coach likely would have preferred, he passed to teammate David Perron, who failed to connect. 

Something has to change if the Red Wings want to snap their nine-season postseason skid.

 “He spends a little bit too much time sometimes trying to improve the angle,” McLellan said. “I think he can just beat goaltenders by shooting it from where the open ice is. But it’s a hard thing to get into a player. The top scorers, (Alex DeBrincat’s) got (234). I don’t think Lucas Raymond should be 100 shots behind him by any means.  

“We’ve got to get him firing the puck.” 

With the injury riddled Red Wings next scheduled to host two Atlantic Division playoff rivals – Montreal Canadiens tonight and the surging Boston Bruins this Saturday – they need all the help they can get. Raymond averaged 2.17 shots per outing. Last season, Raymond's 2.34 average marked a career high. 

With 14 regular-season games remaining, the Red Wings are making every effort they can to stay afloat in an already overcrowded Atlantic race.

Raymond's production could prove to be a key. He drew a secondary helper on rookie Emmitt Finnie’s second-period tally Monday, improving his team-best total to 46. While has 21 goals on the season, McLellan continues to push Raymond. He aims to get more production from the skilled forward. 

In his 18th NHL campaign, McLellan previously coached a series of elite facilitators, including former San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton. Like Raymond, he often complained the Hall of Famer competed too unselfishly. Like Thornton, he wants the 2020 fourth overall draft pick to play a more egocentric game. Raymond’s generous style should become a bit more self-absorbed.  

“I’ve been lucky enough to be around some of the best passers,” McLellan said, alluding to Thornton. “We used to always ask Jumbo if he could shoot a little bit more because he had a pretty good shot. But he really got joy out of setting up his teammates. So, there’s guys that hang their hat on a certain part of the game.  

“But I think Razor’s got both of those elements and he can use it more. I’ve talked to him and he knows that. It's just trying to get it to come out a bit more."