The Free Press’s Helene St. James wrote a subscriber-only article this morning, discussing five “top questions” which the Red Wings face heading into training camp. Among them:
Seider time: The other SHL alumnus is defenseman Moritz Seider, the sixth pick in 2019. Seider had a terrific 2020-21 season — he was loaned to Rögle, and played so well he was named defenseman of the year. Seider, 20, recorded seven goals and 21 assists in 41 games, followed by five points in 13 playoff games. He contributed five assists in 10 games for his native Germany at the World Championships. He’s a lock to make the Wings — the question is how many minutes he can handle, and whether he plays both special teams. At the very least he should be running one of the power play units.
The letter A: The Wings lost their alternate captains when Luke Glendening signed with the Dallas Stars in free agency and Frans Nielsen was bought out. Veteran defenseman Marc Staal wore an A at times last season, and served as an alternate with the New York Rangers for a decade. Veteran forward Sam Gagner is also an option; like Staal, he’s great in the locker room and an excellent role model for the young players. Veteran defenseman Danny DeKeyser could also be a fit. The Wings could opt to have three alternates and rotate one of the ‘A’s’, like Nielsen and Larkin did in 2019-20.
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