Saying that Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider is good at his job is like saying the sky is blue.
It's abundantly obvious to anyone that's watched Seider for more than a shift that he's one of the premier blueliners in the NHL. Seider finished off last season with 10 goals and 60 points, finishing fifth in Norris Trophy voting in his best season to date.
Fortunately, this impressive season didn't go unnoticed.
The Hockey News awarded Seider with the Rod Langway Award for best defensive defenseman in the NHL in the 2025-26 season, beating out Jaccob Slavin of the Carolina Hurricanes. Seider
"Seider beat out a strong group of finalists for the award with Carolina's Jaccob Slavin finishing as the runner-up, followed by Dallas' Esa Lindell in third and Miro Heiskanen in fourth, giving the Stars two representatives among the top five," writer Jake Tye said. "Minnesota's Jonas Brodin rounded out the list at fifth."
How Seider became the best defensive defenseman in the NHL
Perhaps no other player in the NHL had a harder job than Moritz Seider last season. The bruising blueliner played all 82 games last season, averaging around 25:40 a night in the process. Only two players in the NHL averaged more ice time: Norris-winner Zach Werenski and Quinn Hughes. Seider played a higher quality of competition than anyone in the NHL, facing off against the league's top stars every night.
On top of all this, he's accomplished this impressive season with inconsistent partners. Simon Edvinsson, when healthy, was and remains the best partner in Seider's career and a fantastic addition to the lineup. But once Edvinsson got hurt, the only solution head coach Todd McLellan could find is stapling Ben Chiarot to the top pairing. Despite all this, Seider outperformed expectations.
He even made shutting down Nathna MacKinnon look easy:
pic.twitter.com/hUT6fdE5Sq Seider HUMILIATED MacKinnon last night wow
February 3, 2026Despite what naysayers at the NHL Network may say, Seider's output, quality of competition and Norris voting clearly show Seider as a top-five defenseman in the league.
Where Seider can go from here
The question isn't if Seider can win a Norris trophy: it's when. As the Red Wings slowly improve (whether that's now or in the future), Seider's teammates will improve. Eventually, the lineup will be built to contend. In an ideal world, the star defenseman will have already won several Norris trophies, but, if he hasn't, he'll have a much easier go of it with a better roster around him.
It seems almost inevitable that Seider will be named captain. In fact, the Red Wings have made it known that they plan on moving on from disgruntled forward Dylan Larkin's captaincy sooner rather than later.
When that happens, Seider will be celebrated as the most talented captain on the Red Wings since Henrik Zetterberg.
Add us as a preferred source on Google