Raymond, Seider ‘happy to be back’ in Detroit following Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026

DETROIT  -- Both back with the Detroit Red Wings after representing their respective countries at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider each had nothing but good things to say about their international experience and shared just how excited they are that the club’s regular-season slate is set to resume in a few days.

“You work all season to be in that spot, and now we’re in a great position to hopefully do some more damage along the way,” Seider said following Tuesday morning’s practice at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center. “I think everyone is looking forward to it. Obviously, you want to stay in the moment, and you really enjoy Milan, but you’re counting the days to get back with your boys in that locker room. I’m happy to be back, and I think we just want to take care of business. We have a great challenge in front of us.”

Tuesday’s practice marked Detroit’s seventh since returning from the NHL’s Olympic break, but first for the two alternate captains. The Red Wings have one more on-ice session at BELFOR Training Center scheduled for Wednesday afternoon before a three-game road swing, which begins with a key Atlantic Division clash against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday night.

“You’re seeing videos of them practicing,” Raymond said. “I saw them doing some board battle thing, and you kind of start missing the guys and all the people around us. You kind of get pumped up to get back, and I think that kind of brings it up a notch. We’ve had a couple of tough [months of] March here, where maybe we haven’t been playing to our standard. I feel like that’s a big motivation for us right now as well. We’re in a great spot in the standings, and we want to keep it that way. That’s motivating enough.”

Donning the Winged Wheel once again was a good feeling for both players, but so too was sporting their national colors in what they’ll remember as a highly competitive men’s ice hockey tournament.

“It was great for the sport,” Seider said of NHL players participating at the Olympics for the first time in 12 years. “I think we showed everyone that it’s a very fun sport to watch. And hopefully, we can make it even bigger than it is. I think it was a great showcase.”

In five games, Raymond recorded nine points (one goal, eight assists) with Team Sweden while Seider dished out two assists and led Team Germany in average ice time (26:16). 

“I was happy with my play,” Raymond said. “Obviously, there are always things you want to do better and especially in a short tournament like that, but you try to build off that. You want to come back from a break like that energized, and I feel like that. I feel ready to go here. Obviously, it leaves a little bittersweet taste leaving like we did in the quarterfinals, so I kind of want to get going here. I’m excited to be back here. I feel good, and I’m ready to go.”

Raymond noted that the hectic schedule made it tough to spend extensive time with Seider or Dylan Larkin in Italy, but is thrilled that Detroit’s captain won a gold medal with Team USA.

“We saw each other around the village and stuff like that,” Raymond said. “Obviously, with a lot of practices and games you can’t really interact with each other, but you keep an extra eye on them and their games. Didn’t play against Mo but played against Dylan, and that was an awesome game even though it didn’t end the way we wanted to. Super pumped for him to be able to go over there and win gold. That’s big time, so very happy for him.”

Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said having Raymond and Seider back in the mix made Tuesday’s practice feel “about as normal as it could with the numbers and players that we had here.”

“It was a good day for us,” McLellan said. “They’re still getting their wits about them, their time change, fatigue and getting themselves organized. We’ve been skating the last four or five days. They’ve been flying all over the world, so they’re not going to be at their best but tomorrow they’ll be up and running.”

On the topic of Wednesday, that’s when McLellan anticipates Larkin to be back with the group.

“If all goes well, and weather and flights and everything cooperates, I think he can sleep in his own bed late tonight,” McLellan said. “So, we’ll have him around the arena tomorrow. I’m not sure if he’ll skate. Expect him to be on the plane and be a factor in Ottawa on Thursday night.”