Red Wings’ Moritz Seider thriving in one of the NHL’s toughest roles

Oct 15, 2025, 13:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 15, 2025, 12:25 EDT

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider (53) looks on during the first period of the game against the New Jersey Devils at Little Caesars Arena.

Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images

TORONTO – Moritz Seider’s first few seasons in the NHL have been a trial by fire.

The Detroit Red Wings defenseman took the hockey world by storm in his rookie season in 2021-22, scoring seven goals and dishing out 43 assists for 50 points in 82 games. His performance made him the runaway choice for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie, as he received 170 of 195 possible votes for first place. He’s one of just four defensemen in the last 15 years to win the award and the first Red Wing to win the award in the post-Original Six era.

It wasn’t just his offensive performance that won over voters in 2021-22, as he also already displayed signs of a solid two-way game in his rookie campaign. His defensive game wasn’t perfect, but he showed such poise and maturity for a 20-year-old at a position which rarely sees those performances at his age.

But the most impressive thing about Seider’s rookie season was how quickly he was handed tough assignments against top competition. According to Evolving Hockey’s Quality of Competition data, Seider typically faced opponents with a regularized adjust expected goal plus-minus per 60 minutes of +0.03 (which was tied for fifth among defensemen with 1,000 minutes played that season), and a goals above replacement plus-minus per 60 of +0.23 (which was tied for first).

Seider was already an anomaly for how quickly he went through the ranks on a Red Wings team that has traditionally let their top prospects marinate in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins before joining the NHL. But he didn’t just make the NHL, he earned the trust of then-head coach Jeff Blashill and was already deployed as their No. 1 defenseman.

“I always want to be out there,” Seider told Daily Faceoff last week. “I always want to be facing top competition and make it hard for them.

“It’s the best feeling out there if you know you chipped in something to hopefully help the team win and make it hard on the opponent’s best line.”

That deployment has since continued, with Seider facing the other team’s top players early every game. There was a point early on in his career where that deployment came at the expense of his production and overall performance on the ice, and it had some concerned his development was being stunted as a result. But last season saw him return to form and truly find his way as a No. 1 defenseman on a team that still struggled defensively.

Season	QoC RAPM xG+/- per 60	QoC GARx/- per 60	Points	5v5 xG share
2021-22	0.03 (t-5th)	0.23 (t-1st)	50 (t-19th)	46.72% (113th)
2022-23	0.037 (t-4th)	0.22 (t-2nd)	42 (t-27th)	46.37% (118th)
2023-24	0.037 (t-3rd)	0.23 (t-1st)	42 (t-32nd)	43.26% (135th)
2024-25	0.033 (t-8th)	0.21 (t-5th)	46 (18th)	50.14% (79th)

In parentheses is Seider’s league rank among defensemen with 1,000 minutes

But Seider welcomes the challenge with open arms, even if he doesn’t always succeed at it.

“You want to be out there against the best competition, and that’s exactly what you trained for in the summer,” he said. “You hope that it works out that you will be a guy that’s trusted. You’re not going to be perfect every night. I think everyone knows that. But it’s just a matter of time. How many times can you do the right thing over and over and over again? And that’s just what I’m trying to do. You want to aim for perfection.

“One split second you’re off, and it might be in the back of your net. I think that’s the kind of approach we were talking about, aiming for perfection. If you don’t show up on time, they make you pay for it.”

It makes sense Seider and the Red Wings want him in such a tough role. He’s a highly coveted right shot, and a smooth-skating, puck-moving defenseman who reads the play on the ice with the best of them. In his own zone, he’s balanced the ability to cover his man while also supporting the defender on the puck carrier, and when the puck is on his stick, there’s zero panic in his game as he moves it up the ice. In the offensive zone, he always seems to be in the right spot when a puck is loose to regain possession, and when it’s on his stick, he has the ability to make his opponents look silly.

Seider is almost exactly what you want in a top-pair defenseman, so of course Detroit is going to play him as much as possible and try to utilize him against their opponents’ top players. It’s his instincts and skillsets that made it so easy for him to transition into that role early on in his career, and it makes the adjustment to top competition much easier than one would think.

“I wouldn’t say you’re thinking about anything else other than just, ‘Win your shift,’ ” Seider said. “If you’re saying you won’t notice a difference between a bottom-six line and Connor McDavid’s line, then you may be lying to yourself, but overall, I think it’s the same approach.

“You just want to be very steady defensively and move the puck up to your forwards. You go in for some offense once there’s a chance, but just take care of your end first, and then I think the chances will come to you automatically.”

Where Seider facing tough competition really helps the Red Wings is how they’ve been able to integrate their other prospect defensemen like Simon Edvinsson, Albert Johansson and Axel Sandin-Pellikka into the lineup. By taking on the top opposition himself, Detroit’s younger defensemen have a bit more room for error in the short term to improve their game for the long term. Only a few years removed from his own rookie season, Seider is familiar with the balance of developing and contributing to his team’s success.

“Just take your risks. Learn. It’s such a mental grind, not only physically, but also mentally. You go into new cities every time you play there now. You don’t know your way around. You want to make a good impression [in practice], so you stay on the ice longer, you work hard,” Seider said. “But I think it also comes down to being ready to go into games, and I think that’s where the focus should be. And sometimes that drifts for younger players more towards practice because you want to stay out there, do your work, but then you may get a little tired for the game. I think that’s something I learned, and hopefully that’s something I can give them along the way here.”

So far, that insulation has worked. Last season saw Edvinsson emerge as a future piece for the Red Wings’ blueline, driving play and defending above the performance of the rest of the team with a +1.61% 5v5 xGF% relative to his teammates and an 8.4 goals above replacement. While Johansson still struggled with a -3.35% 5v5 xGF% Rel and -1.3 GAR in 2024-25, he made his mistakes in less-impactful minutes and has seen his game improve this season with a +7.59 5v5 xGF% Rel through three games.

And then Sandin-Pellikka has meshed well alongside Edvinsson this season with a 46.05% 5v5 xGF% through three games against the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, while mostly avoiding the Nick Suzuki and Auston Matthews lines. That deployment did slip in their first road game against the Leafs on Monday, but Seider is confident his teammates can handle the challenge when it comes their way.

“If I can free them up a little bit, then it’s great, but I think they can all step up and play against the top lines too,” Seider said. “But I’m just thankful and happy to take this responsibility for them and just make the most out of it, and hopefully more than less times help the team get the W that way.”

Seider has also managed to handle this role despite seeing his defense partner change a few times over the years. In his rookie season, he spent 48.1% of his ice time with Danny Dekeyser, and in 2022-23, it was split between Jake Walman (48.3%) and Ben Chiarot (41.2%). It wasn’t until 2023-24 that Seider at least had a consistent partner throughout the season, as he spent most of 2023-24 with Walman (60.1%), and since Walman was dealt in the summer of 2024, it’s been Chiarot last season (57.6%) and this season (77.4%), although Seider did get some time with Simon Edvinsson (32.6%) in 2024-25 as well.

“I like playing with Simon, I like playing with Benny,” Seider said. “It’s felt like I had a different partner every single year so far. I don’t really mind changing it.”

But Seider’s favorite partner to play with so far in his career? Nick Leddy, whom Seider only spent 253:24 with in his rookie season before the Eden Prairie, Minn., product was traded to the St. Louis Blues at the 2022. However, it was less for stylistic reasons, and more due to their bond off the ice.

“[Leddy] lived right across from me. So we would drive to the rink every day and do everything together,” Seider said.” He was my first ‘D’ partner in the league, and that’s always a little more special.”

Seider’s role with the Red Wings will also serve as excellent preparation for the Olympics. While Germany is set to ice its best lineup ever, led by Seider, Leon Draisaitl and Tim Stutzle, the team is still expected to be an underdog in the tournament, especially with the United States in their group. But with Denmark and Latvia making up the rest of the group, the Germans could certainly make some noise, and Seider will be expected to shut down the likes of Matthews, the Tkachuks, Jack Eichel and Nikolaj Ehlers to do so.

“With the past World Championships, we were grown into that role already to play bigger minutes, play heavier minutes against the top lines. Because obviously a lineup from the U.S. or Canada just always looks a little different for the World Championships compared to our lineup,” Seider said. “And that’s always a really good challenge. That would be a great way to know where you stand in the entire league, facing a full lineup of superstars. I’m already excited for that task.”

It’s hard to believe there was a time where many thought the Red Wings reached when they selected Seider at sixth overall in the 2019 Draft. Six years later, he may not be putting up flashy point totals, but he’s proven to be well worth the gamble from GM Steve Yzerman, set to be a stable presence on Detroit’s blue ine for years to come.

All advanced stats provided by Evolving Hockey, except relative stats, which are provided by Natural Stat Trick.

POST SPONSORED BY bet365

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