Moritz Seider has shown his iron-man value to Detroit Red Wings; now they have to ante up
Through his first three seasons, Moritz Seider steadfastly has proved his value to the Detroit Red Wings.
Doing so means a great deal to the 23-year-old defenseman. One example: On the morning of April 9, as the Wings had a home game against the Washington Capitals (who they were battling with for a playoff sport), Seider was dealing with a flu bug that had made its way through the team, sidelining several of his teammates.
Seider missed the morning skate — but come evening, he was suited up in his red and white No. 53.
"I had a rough night, I was in the hospital the next morning, but we sorted things out and I was ready to go," Seider said a couple days after the season ended. "I want to play for that team, and I want to play for that locker room, and I think everyone else would have done the same thing.
"If I’m not injured, I want to play."
NET MATTERS: Ville Husso says he'll be healthy for next season, but Red Wings have to be smart
Play he has: Since his Calder Trophy-winning rookie season in 2021-22, Seider has not missed a game, with his streak reaching 246 games. During that run, he has 21 goals and 113 assists; 53 of his 134 points have come during power plays. This season, he reached a career high with nine goals among 42 points; he was also the only NHL player with at least 200 blocks and 200 hits.
Seider's dominance has been especially gratifying for Steve Yzerman, whose first major impact after being named general manager on April 19, 2019, was using that summer's first draft pick, at sixth overall, on Seider.
"He battles hard every game," Yzerman said at his season-end review. "He blocks shots, gets hits, makes plays. We’re asking him to do a lot. He’s got the mental toughness to weather it all.”
Seider's résumé puts him in line for a major pay raise from his entry-level contract, which paid $863,333 annually. Try a ten-fold increase, easily: It would be a boon for the Wings — freeing money to spend elsewhere this offseason — if Seider, most likely on an eight-year deal, comes in on around the same $8.7 million salary cap hit as captain Dylan Larkin.
But 24-year-old Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, the No. 1 pick in 2018, has a contract with an $11 million cap hit (starting next season). Dahlin has 185 points in 239 career games. If the Wings get Seider in single-digit millions, consider it a financial victory.
"I get both sides," Seider said. "In the end, it’s a business. I think it’s not a big secret I want to be a Red Wing, and I think I am confident that I could be a good asset for this organization. That really matters for me. Then you can talk as long as you want about numbers and how long a contract should be, but if those two first parts fit well, and they do, then I’m pretty confident we’ll get something done.
"I think it’s always a big dream for every player to be with a franchise for a long time. Either way, you just want to be here. If that’s multiple contracts, then that’s fine with me, too, but I just want to be part of that team and that locker room and play in front of those fans. That's what really matters to me."
Seider established how much he matters to the Wings in his first season, emerging as their No. 1 on the back end, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound right-shot defender who excelled in all roles. He hasn't matched the 50 points he produced as a rookie, but he has reached 42 in each of the past two seasons, and his plus-minus rating improved from minus-11 in 2022-23 to minus-7 in 2023-24
"There’s a lot more to my game that’s going to be growing in the next few years," Seider said. "You just want to take another step for next season. But I’m confident enough to say that I’m pretty happy with the outcome of my personal season."
Seider's 2023-24 season included his first-ever fight, on March 23 against the Nashville Predators. In the second period, a battle with Filip Forsberg for a puck along the boards turned to a shoving match, and then fisticuffs that saw Seider throw punches with ambidextrous efficiency.
"I think it was just emotions, crunch-time of the season," Seider said a few days after the event. "I think it’s a little more emotional than it used to be. We both got the best of our emotions. We shook hands after, and everything was good.
"I don’t think it’s anything to be proud of, to be honest. I think it was part of the game, and we needed a little spark, and maybe I could have done that with that. I wouldn’t describe that as my daily business."
Seider's daily business is to help the Wings win: Since his arrival in 2021-22, they've risen from 74 points to 80 to 91 in 2023-24. In that time, no other Wing has played every game.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Moritz Seider stands to gain huge new contract with Detroit Red Wings
