The Red Wings are holding back their most important player

Which in turn is holding back the entire team to some degree

After missing the playoffs in each of the previous six season the Detroit Red Wings entered the 2022-23 season with what should have been some real optimism for the first time in years.

Not only because they had a very productive offseason that saw them bring in some very strong veterans (including Ville Husso, David Perron, Dominik Kubalik, and Olli Maatta) but because they also seemed to have found two cornerstone players in forward Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider.

But now that the Red Wings are approaching the halfway point of the season, they still find themselves on the fringes of playoff contention and not really taking the type of step forward that should have been expected given where they are in their rebuild. One of the biggest reasons why is the two young cornerstones have taken a bit of a step backwards.

I want to focus on Seider’s play this season, mostly because I am not sure what the Red Wings are doing with him.

Seider was the NHL’s Rookie Of The Year last season and looked to be a rising superstar on defense (and he still should be). This was a huge development because any team that wants to be a Stanley Cup contender needs to have that No. 1 defenseman that can play big minutes in every situation, not only as a shutdown defender but also a player that can help drive the offense.

Seider demonstrated all of that as a rookie with a fantastic performance as a 20-year-old with no prior pro hockey experience in North America. A player that good, at that age, at that position is the type of stuff that should make the team’s fans drool with anticipation.

But as of Thursday his 2022-23 season has been a massive disappointment. His offensive production has been cut in half from what he demonstrated a year ago, while his underlying possession numbers have fallen off the map.

One big potential factor in this might be one of Detroit’s most questionable offseason moves, and the follow-up decision that came from it.