32 Teams, 32 Players: Moritz Seider

We continue to get closer to the start of the 2024-25 NHL season by looking at Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider.

We are inching our way toward the start of the 2024-25 NHL season, and as we get closer we are going to highlight one player on each team that stands out for the season. What kind of player? Well, a player that could make a difference, be an X-factor, be on the verge of a breakout, or just simply be a player under the microscope and needing to have a big season.

Basically — which player do I think is the most fascinating on each team.

We are not going in any particularly order and continue today with Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings.

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If the Detroit Red Wings are going to end their playoff drought this season they are going to have to be better defensively than they were during the 2023-24 season. The bad news? They have not really done much to improve that unit. The good news? They have one of the hardest and most significant pieces to acquire when it comes to building a playoff caliber defense — a legitimate No. 1 defender that is just starting to hit his prime.

That player is Moritz Seider.

On the surface, Seider is everything a team should want in a No. 1 defender.

He has the size for the role, he can play a physical game, he moves the puck well and he has more than enough offensive ability and creativity to be a steady 50-point player in the NHL.

He can do it all.

Every contending team needs a defender that can play all of those roles.

For everything he does well, he tends to take a hit outside of Detroit because his underlying numbers and analytics don’t always align with what you expect to see from a top-pairing defender, and they certainly don’t align with what you expect given the overall hype around his game.

It’s a situation where context matters, and it’s an example of how the Red Wings need to give him more help and do more to support him in reaching his full potential as an impact player.

Both on the ice with him, and when he is not on the ice.

I think it is a case where the numbers are not telling a full story.

Let’s talk about it.