Bleacher Report’s Adam Gretz offers one prediction for each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and here’s his prediction for Detroit’s 2023-2024 campaign:
Detroit Red Wings: Moritz Seider Has Huge Year: Moritz Seider burst onto the scene for the Detroit Red Wings during the 2021-22 season and became the rare defenseman to take home the Calder Trophy as the league’s Rookie of the Year.
That set sky-high expectations for him going into the 2022-23 season, and he seemed to take a little bit of a step backward. He was not necessarily bad, just not quite what was expected. At least early in the year.
The biggest source of those struggles was that the Red Wings spent the first part of the year asking him to play next to Ben Chiarot as his partner, and it simply did not work. Chiarot is a favorite of NHL coaches and general managers for his physical play and apparent defensive prowess, but it never actually shows up in the numbers, and he has a tendency to hold back his teams when he is on the ice.
Sure enough, when Seider was moved away from Chiarot, he started to again resemble the player he was as a rookie.
There is a stark difference in his performance with Chiarot versus without Chiarot, in terms of goals scored, goals allowed and scoring-chance differentials.
Putting him in a better position to succeed, as well as a second year of experience in the NHL, should help Seider have a true breakout year and reestablish himself as one of the best up-and-coming defenseman in the NHL.
Continued; Walman. Jake Walman. That’s the reason Seider had a good second half, his own talents excluded. And yes, he should have a “big year.”
