Ben Chiarot and Moritz Seider are having opposite seasons on the same pairing

Call it two sides of the same coin, yin and yang or Ben Chiarot and Moritz Seider. However you want to name it, the Detroit Red Wings are experiencing an odd makeup on their first defensive pairing.

Hockey Stats shared its November 2 best and worst statistical output from players on Twitter earlier this week:

The hockey card illustrates a fact that Red Wings fans already know. We’ve witnessed it since Chiarot arrived in Detroit in 2022-23. On paper, the pairing makes sense. It's a traditional right and left-handed defensive pairing. Both big, physical and imposing players who ideally could play off each other well. 

In reality, no matter how many times the coaching staff tries, things just don’t work when Seider and Chiarot are paired together.

Moritz Seider carries the duties of the top pair

According to Natural Stat Trick as of November 3 at five-on-five, Seider and Chiarot have played close to 170 minutes together. It's the most of any defensive pairing, unfortunately for the Red Wings (and Seider). They’ve recorded a 51.49% Corsi For Percentage and an expected Goals For Percentage (xGF%) of 50.28%. In short, they’re just treading water.

When you break it down by the individual, things get perplexing. 

Chiarot has so far recorded a 52.07% CF% and an expected Goals Percentage (xG%) of 51.81%. It's a bit of an improvement from years prior with the Wings in both categories. Meanwhile, Seider has recorded a 54.13% CF% and an xG% of 52.52%. 

This season, the duo isn’t as far off as they were in season prior, but it still drives home the fact that Seider is the workhorse for Detroit’s blue line.

In addition to the lovely stat card from above, the same group released the Detroit Red Wings Box wins above replacement (WAR). For context, they describe WAR as an "…estimate of the value that a player has added in a given season." That said, it's not an end-all, be-all statistic. In some cases, the WAR and box score may be vastly different. Here’s how the Red Wings performed individually against the Florida Panthers:

As suspected, Seider leads the defensemen by a decent margin—the next closest WAR-wise is Justin Faulk. Chiarot is at a -0.27 WAR. It’s a big ask for both Seider and Chiarot to play the minutes and role they've been asked to undertake. However, the fact that Seider is considered a top defenseman in the league, munching essentially the same minutes (if not harder minutes) than Chiarot, is mind-boggling at times.

Looking at a different source for statistics, Benchrates on Twitter shared the top five-on-five defense contributions, where Seider is listed as the sixth-best defenseman:

Chiarot asked to punch above his weight

In Chiarot’s defense, he’s tasked with too high of a role that he’s just not meant to be in.

It's frustrating, though, to have an un-signed top-pairing defenseman in Simon Edvinsson. Add an injury to Albert Johansson, and things grew even tougher for Seider. That said, Johansson was shifted to the second pairing prior to his injury even though he and Seider had produced much better numbers together than Chiarot and Seider thus far.

With Johansson, Seider exceeded expectations, securing an impressive 63.21% CF% and xGF% of 66.10% (based on the same Natural Stat Trick page and criteria). From my understanding, no reason was given by Todd McLellan as to why Johansson was shifted down the lineup. Perhaps it was a changed meant to stabilize another defensive pairing, knowing Seider could carry any defensive partner he's given. 

However, it’s disappointing for Seider. He’s a clear top-pairing defenseman in the league and is already entering into the Norris Trophy conversation this season. It’s frustrating to see that Seider is required to play with someone in a role they aren’t fit to play in, meanwhile a perfectly good option is sitting somewhere in North America not signed.

Hopefully, Seider can continue to hold down the fort while the Detroit Red Wings get their stuff together.

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