Lucas Raymond, Todd McLellan Morning Skate Media | Dec. 2, 2025

Lucas Raymond, Todd McLellan Morning Skate Media | Dec. 2, 2025

Um it’s the last of a a stretch of I think 10 out of 13 at home before you go on the road for quite a few games. How important is it just to take advantage of home ice? I know there’s a couple of games here at home recently where you felt you let him get away. Just how important is it going to be this game just to to go on the road at a high? Yeah, big um you know we we want to take care of home ice. We haven’t really done that lately. And um like you said, we’re going to be a fair away for a while. So, um you know, tonight’s big for us against uh you know, divisional opponent. So, uh you got to take care of home ice and then, uh you know, give something back to our fans as well. What What are some of the adjustments you’re looking to make on the power play? Um you know, I think it’s uh it’s always tough. I think for us right now, we just got to start shooting the box starter with the simple stuff and then kind of let the the plays come to us. I think uh you know we have a lot of skill and and we have a lot of hockey and and we’re good players. We’re going to score goals, but I think right now for us it’s it’s probably going back to the basics. Start shooting the puck, start doing the easy things first. Yesterday Todd said that the team is still somewhat searching for an identity. What would you say the identity in this game is right now? Do you agree that it’s still something you’re still kind of collectively looking for? Yeah. Um both yes and no. I think uh for sure uh I think whatever our identity is, we haven’t been playing up to it lately. Um I think for us, I think we’re we’re really a good hockey team. When we play fast, we we get after teams on the for check. We shoot a lot of pucks and and retrieve it and create chances off of that. I think that’s when we we play our best hockey and create the most. So, uh you know, for sure I agree. And uh it’s about we’ve been doing it for for periods during this year and it’s about finally getting back to that. That’s right. Uh Todd, a few guys didn’t skate today. Is besides Appleton, is everybody a Everybody should be available for the game tonight. Yeah. Okay. It was optional today. So, yeah. And uh uh Gibb or uh Tal it look like starting in that? No, Gibson starting tonight. Gibson. Okay. And uh any further update on Apple on uh how long you might be out? Um he’s got a lower body injury. He’s probably going to be a week to 10 days right now is what we think. Just over the last couple of games since Patrick Kane has come back from his injury, obviously he’s had several good chances that just unfortunately didn’t go in. What have what have you liked the most about his game um even though he hasn’t found the back of the net recently? Well, I think exactly that, the chances. Um, you know, if I was a betting man, I I certainly would have bet on him finishing some of those, but for for some reason, they haven’t gone in and players can go through that. Even Patrick Kane can go through that at at times. So, uh, the simple fact that he’s still creating chances. Um, you know, when the power power play is is going well, it’s usually going through him. Um, and we’ve had some segments of really good power play time and then others that aren’t real good, but um, you know, the the offense, that’s what he’s here for. He gets a little bit of leeway defensively, uh, but he’s, uh, he’s still providing it. It had two unrelated subjects. First is Mo Cider. His underlying numbers have really improved. How do you measure him internally and where do you think he’s made a leap this year? Well, we, you know, we can look at analytics and uh look at numbers, which we do, and uh you obviously as well, his his numbers have improved in that area. Uh but his overall presence on the ice, both offensively and defensively, I think he’s taking strides. Um his um I guess if you want to call it messes or or or mistakes are are being minimized. Um he has some very tough competition that he faces on a nightly basis. um you know, not just every second game, but every night for for a good 25 27 minutes. And uh he handles that well. And I I really think he’s he’s um you know, he’s a diesel engine. He just never turns off and he he just keeps going. His stamina is is remarkable in my opinion. And sorry for the curveball, but Joe Povvelski is going to the US Hockey Hall of Fame. Obviously, you coached him for many years. So, how did he make himself the player that he became and what do you think his legacy is? Whoa. Um, remarkable player, good human being. Um, he took what he had, he worked on it, he expanded it, he knew how to to apply it in a game. Um, I I’ve talked I think to this group in the past about what a good practice player he was, how he picked moments um that he knew he would need in the game and practice and and work on it. He was an incredible teammate. Um, I think he did that right till the end. He he mentored uh some of the young stars that were were coming up now and they they look a little like him to tell you the truth. Um you know so and and when you watch him I’ I’ve been lucky enough to golf with him or be around him some other sports um his approach is so calculated in everything. He’s he’s he knows what who he is in in every sport. Golf as well and he’s calculated. He thinks things through and he finds ways to get the most out of himself. Um, you know, so, uh, very deserving. He should be in that hall and maybe someday talked about the other one. Um, I wasn’t going to ask about this, but no, I will just because Nick brought up Pavvelski. How did you keep up with him in golf? I know he’s pretty close to scratch. So, like how how well did that go for you? It would have been an honor to carry his clubs. Let’s put it that way. Actual on follow up on this other question. When it comes to Mo and then for Lucas as well, we’re about 27 28 games in. made a big deal about making them the alternate captains, making What have you kind of seen about their leadership, their their stepping into that role? Just kind of from that that perspective, the growth there? Yeah, we uh we didn’t make a big deal out of it. We sat back and we looked at where we’re at as a club right now and where we would be in the future. We feel that we have real good um supporting people um to help them evolve in in those positions and um you know I think they’ve done a good job. Uh the very first thing you have to do is lead by example. You have to be um uh a difference maker on the ice. you have to at least be playing to your abilities before you can go I don’t know if it’s called flexing your muscles but um you know sticking your chest out in the locker room and and they’ve been able to do that for the most part and uh there’s been times where they’ve needed some some help and some guidance. There’s been other times where they’ve been really uh proactive and like their uh skill set when they put the equipment on. They’re still working on that part of it, but they’ve they’ve done a good job. And then last one for you. When you look over at Boston, what kind of stakes about the prep for them tonight and everything? Well, I don’t think we’re going to get anything different. Um, uh, I think I called it a swampy type game in in Boston where um, you know, the sticks are heavy, the pucks are bouncing around, there’s tight checking. Both both teams checked real tight. Um, for us, we we’d hope to get a better result out of our special teams. Power play penalty kill shootout. We won the six on five. that was the only uh part of it that went our way. So, um hopefully we can change it, but I don’t think the game is going to change at all. Hey Todd, going back to like Kainer and then Pavvelski, Thornton, McDavid, those type of guys, when they’re in a slump, do you do you approach them differently than you would a a third or fourth lineer, rookie or something like that? Not necessarily. Um, you know, there those types of players, some of them are done already, some are winning heart trophies, some have won heart trophies, uh, knowing how to do it. And um, you know, I never had that skill set. I I can help them with things or we not I we as a staff can help them with things but um you know that open net or that that moment where you got to make a quick decision. Um shootouts for prime example. I’m not going to tell Patrick Kane where to go on a shootout. That would be uh a disaster. So we have to know our limits as coaches and they have to know their limits as players. We got to work on it together. And um yeah, so that’s Do you find those guys are easier to deal with or to work with or whatnot? Um just depends on the moment and and the situation. Uh it really does. It’s sometimes you have to have hard conversations with Hall of Fame type players and they’re not easy to have, but you have to have them. And um my experience is for the most part they’re quite quite respectful and uh they understand and they they sometimes know before you even do. Along those same lines, I talked to both Patrick Kane and Marco Casper just about going through the scoring slumps and uh Kaner kind of brought up Marco and the way that he’s helping him through it, but for a guy like Marco to see one of the best in the game going through something like that, like how valuable is it for him to have a guy like Kainer kind of coaching him through it? Yeah. Um it’s not valuable at all really because we don’t want them to be going through it. So I know what you’re asking me but there’s Yeah. Yeah. We don’t want it to we don’t want to look like we’re enjoying that. Um but you know as a 20 21 year old who had the world by the tail last year and and uh things were just going in for him and everything was happening uh positively. um to look over and and know this guy’s going to the Hall of Fame and he’s got cups and he’s got all that other stuff and to see him sometimes not putting it in the net, I don’t know if it’s satisfying. Uh but um you know, Kenor will work with them and maybe Marco can offer Kaneer something too. But um yeah, we we’d like to see both of them break through.

Lucas Raymond and Todd McLellan speak with the media following Detroit’s morning skate on Tuesday December 2, 2025 at Little Caesars Arena.