Entering his fifth National Hockey League (NHL) season, Moritz Seider has already established himself as one of the best defensemen in the game today.
With his big hits and defensive prowess, Seider routinely locks up the opposing teams' top lines and leads the penalty kill. He does all this while logging heavy minutes. His 25:04 minutes per night was the eighth most in the league last year and his 2,055 total minutes was third. He has also not missed a single game since his debut in 2021-22.
Seider may be the most valuable defensemen in the NHL when considering the Wings’ blue line deficiencies and how bad the team would perform if Seider missed a game or was not on the ice as much.
However, a negative result of Detroit’s lack of depth and Seider’s high-usage is that his offensive production has declined. Mo still shows flashes of the 50-point scorer he was in his rookie season and he anchors the power play, but the effort and discipline he must have defensively has negatively impacted him offensively.
The main way that Seider’s point total increases is by the Wings adding more defensemen around him, so he can take more risks in the opposing end.
The Wings added some intriguing options this offseason like Jacob Bernard-Docker and Travis Hamonic, but it is unlikely that either will revolutionize the blue line. Seider is still relying on the continual development of Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson to give him reprieve, along with the hope that Ben Chiarot has one more steady season in him.
Moritz Seider's 2025-26 point total will be...
Will Seider ever put up 80 to 100 points like Cale Makar or Quinn Hughes? Maybe not, but he clearly has the ability to at least eclipse 70 points and approach 80-to-90 points.
Unfortunately, Seider is not going to reach those marks in 2025-26. Detroit did not add enough in the offseason and Mo will still need to cover a lot in his own end that will hinder his offense. I project Seider to have 55 points, which is still a nine-point improvement from 2024-25.
If Edvinsson and Johansson take another step, Chiarot is serviceable, and Bernard-Docker surprises, then maybe Seider can sniff 70 points this year. It is far more likely, though, that 2026-27 will be Seider’s offensive breakout because the young guys will have a little more seasoning and highly-touted Axel Sandin-Pellikka makes his NHL debut.