A deep look at predicting the full Detroit Red Wings roster for opening night
By Bob Heyrman
The Detroit Red Wings projected defense pairings.
Moritz Seider and Jake Walman will headline the Detroit Red Wings’ backend.
The top pairing for the Detroit Red Wings should remain the same as last season. Moritz Seider will anchor the group and will be paired with Jake Walman. The two quickly built up some tremendous chemistry last season. Walman began the year on Detroit’s third pairing yet cemented his role alongside Seider shortly after.
Seider, 22, averaged over 23 minutes per night for the second straight season, and while his offensive production slightly dipped, he’s far and away Detroit’s top defender. Seider recorded just five goals and 42 points last season, down from 50 points as a rookie. In addition to his offense, Seider does far more to impact the game on a nightly basis. Last season he recorded a whopping 207 hits and blocked 190 shots; both numbers had significantly increased from his Calder-winning season.
Walman, 27, enjoyed a career year recording nine goals and 18 points while maintaining a plus-10 rating averaging just under 20 minutes per night, all career bests. Walman is a fluid skater and compliments Seider nicely. He also blocked 121 shots last year and recorded 47 hits, both underrated facets of his game.
The Detroit Red Wings second pairing- Ben Chiarot-Justin Holl
I know many of you are underwhelmed, but I seriously don’t believe Ben Chiarot is as bad as he performed for the Detroit Red Wings last season. Chiarot played exceptionally well paired with Shea Weber a couple of years ago, playing nearly 30 minutes a night during Montreal’s Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Chiarot averaged over 20 minutes per game last season, and while many fans continued to criticize his effectiveness, head coach Derek Lalonde continued to lean on his veteran defenseman. Chiarot recorded five goals and 19 points over 76 games but was an awful minus -31 on the season. Chiarot’s 42.3 Corsi For Percentage was also poor and far off from his career average of 49%. Chiarot should pair well with newly signed Justin Holl.
Detroit’s potential second pairing each play with an edge and are both 6-foot-3. Holl didn’t exactly perform as expected during his tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he fills a void left behind by Filip Hronek on the right side of the Red Wings lineup. Holl scored a pair of goals last season and totaled 18 points over 80 games with the Leafs while maintaining a plus-15 rating. Holl had 139 blocks and 151 hits last season.