Thus far into the 2025-26 season, nearly every team in the league is in playoff contention. But for the majority of the campaign has been dominated by the Colorado Avalanche, who look like unbeatable juggernauts so far, as evidenced by them having just three regulation losses through their 41 games played. Due to their strong play, they are not only expected to be the favorites to hoist the Stanley Cup at season's end, but most of their stars are set to leave with individual trophies at the NHL Awards.
When it comes to the Norris Trophy, Cale Makar of the Avalanche has been considered the heavy favorite to win the award for the best defenseman in hockey. While Makar is still likely to win the award, one player who is gaining ground on the Avalanche star is Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider.
Mortiz Seider receiving Norris Trophy consideration from ESPN and The Athletic
ESPN's Greg Wyshynski unveiled his latest NHL Awards rankings, complete with votes from the Professional Hockey Writers Association members. Seider received first place votes and is considered a finalist for the Norris Trophy. Here are
"Seider, meanwhile, is having perhaps his finest season with the Red Wings, with 31 points in 43 games, skating 25:12 on average. 'Seider has taken a big step and it's making a difference in Detroit,' one voter mentioned," writes Wyshynski.
The Red Wings are having their best season in quite some time, and they are looking destined to make it into the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2016, where they were eliminated in the first round by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Through 44 games, Detroit is in first-place in the Atlantic Division with a 25-15-4 for 54 points. Plenty of credit can be given to Seider's play thus far.
ESPN and the PWHA aren't the only ones giving credit where credit is due for Seider. The Athletic's Dom Luszczyszyn broke down the race for each NHL Award, and when discussing the Norris Trophy contest, he said Seider has made it "a lot closer than meets the eye."
"Seider is 16 points behind Makar while playing two fewer games and the same amount of minutes every night. In that realm, it’s not close. But the degree of difficulty Seider faces, combined with his enormous defensive presence turns that gap into a conversation," writes Luszczszyn. "Seider, despite playing on a significantly worse team, currently has a 57.8 percent xG (expected goals) rate that’s 1.5 percentage points higher than Makar’s. The main thing driving that is Seider allowing 0.4 fewer xGA/60 than Makar. Defensively, he’s been an absolute force, enough to make up ground on Makar’s talents elsewhere."
The main argument is that without Seider on the ice, the Red Wings' defense suffers mightily. while Makar is one of the best defensemen of this generation, the drop-off isn't as significant on Colorado's defense as it is with Detroit. Luzczszyn also brings up that Seider is on pace for a plus-13 offensive rating and a plus-12 defensive rating, and that there have only been 11 seasons since 2007-08 where a defenseman has a defensive rating of plus-10. Interestingly enough, no defenseman with a plus-10 defensive rating has ever posted an offensive rating higher than plus-10. Seider is doing something unheard of in recent memory!
There is still a ton of season left to go, but two major outlets have let it be known that we shouldn't hand the Norris Trophy to Makar just yet. Seider is making this competition fascinating due to his incredible play.