The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan ponders the Red Wings’ contract situations with Jonatan Berggren, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider today:
Moritz Seider
▶ Age: 23
▶ Position: Defense
▶ 2023-24 salary cap hit: $863,333
▶ Resume: 2022 Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) winner. Led Wings in ice time (22 minutes 22 seconds per game). Only NHL player with over 200 blocks (212, second in NHL) and hits (211, eighth). Key component on power play and penalty kill.
There have been reports throughout the summer that Seider and the Wings were inching toward a deal. It’s not likely any Red Wings player will surpass captain Dylan Larkin annual average value ($8.7 million), but Seider will come close. Seider faces the opponent’s best players every game, is used in every situation, and will continue to take on a larger leadership role.
“It’s not a big secret I want to be a Red Wing and I’m confident enough that I could be a good asset for this organization, and that really matters to me,” Seider said during his season-ending interview in Detroit. “I want to be part of this team and locker room and want to play in front of those fans.”
Seider had a career-high nine goals with 33 assists, matching his point total (42) from the 2022-23 campaign (he had 50 in his rookie season in ’21-’22).
Seider has shown admirable durability, having not missed a game (246 appearances) in his three NHL seasons
“He battles hard every game,” Yzerman said. “He blocks shots, gets hit, makes plays. We’re asking him to do a lot. He’s got the mental toughness to weather it all.”
Continued (paywall) I believe that it may take until the start of the regular season to re-sign Seider, Raymond and Berggren, but both the Red Wings and the players’ agents clearly want to make a deal happen.
