Moritz Seider may be the Detroit Red Wings best blueliner, but he knows neither he nor the team are finished products. While you can say that nobody, not even Sidney Crosby in his prime or Connor McDavid, is ever really finished, Seider’s consistency speaks for itself, and he knows it.
Recently, Seider said, “You want to be better on the penalty kill and power play. Other than that, 5-on-5 you don’t want to get scored on. If it’s always that easy, then I think nobody would make mistakes. Overall, I can be happy with the season. In the D-zone, there are still some things to improve – try not to think ahead too much, try not to cheat the game, play honest, stay underneath people. Just really be a dominant force out there against the top lines.”
It’s always refreshing to see a player talk like this about themselves. They can easily state otherwise and believe that their play in the defensive zone is close to picture-perfect. This is more than the case with Seider, who landed 212 hits, 181 blocks, 25:04 of average total ice time, and a minus-5.
Moritz Seider’s right about improving defensively, but…
In my own assessment of Seider, I laid this one out, but he needs to consistently put up 50-60 points per season. If you want to be a star defenseman not just on this team, but in the league, it’s more than imperative to be that go-to, regardless of the situation.
This isn’t to say Seider hasn’t done his part to create sequences and chances. He neared a 50 percent Corsi For at 49.4 percent, despite just 44.9 percent of his starts occurring in the offensive zone.
As for taking shots, Seider’s through rate sat at 44.0 percent, the second-best among all Wings blueliners who played in at least seven games. That said, he’s doing his part offensively. He just needs to capitalize on that production a little more in 2025-26.
The buck stops with Moritz Seider starting in October
Unless Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman pulls off a massive trade in the coming weeks, I’ll go ahead and assume Seider’s the No. 1 blueliner moving forward. If and when that’s the case, elevating everyone’s play in all three zones is a must, especially for a durable player who doesn’t miss time.
Seider’s also emerged as a leader, and one that a defensive rotation growing younger in 2025-26 can look to. Guys like Simon Edvinsson and Albert Johansson have already made the leap.
Then, you got Axel Sandin-Pellikka making the same jump sooner than later. Maybe it happens in camp, or maybe he’ll kick things off in Grand Rapids before he gets a recall. Either way, Seider will be an integral part of his growth.
So, Seider knows his play, and the entire team’s, must step up if he plans on breaking Detroit’s playoff drought. But it’ll be more than that. Seider also needs to emerge as a leader in the locker room, especially among the blue line.
More from Octopus Thrower