MLive’s Ansar Khan spoke with Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde, one Moritz Seider and fellow defenseman Jeff Petry regarding the potential of a Simon Edvinsson-Seider defensive pairing, which will be employed during the Red Wings’ game vs. Toronto this evening (7 PM EDT on Bally Sports Detroit/Sportsnet One):
“If they run with it and they have some chemistry and they’re really good, we might see more of it,” Lalonde said. “But it’s a really hard ask of a young D to play top-two minutes with the type of matchups they’re going to face. But we’d love to hopefully see if (Edvinsson) can handle it. Mo wasn’t too far from this a few years ago, too, and obviously he flourished in it.”
Seider is excited about the opportunity.
“I think we had some good chemistry out there,” Seider said. “I think tonight will be a good challenge for us. Long and big bodies, and I think we can cover a lot of ice and hopefully make it work.”
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“I think (Edvinsson) is a top-four talent,” Lalonde said. “You’re still getting a feel for partners. We want to be long; we want to be hard to play against. A lot of times that partner relationship, a lot of it is just puck support, chemistry. I think our top four is going to be fluid. We have the luxury of what we feel is eight NHL D-men.”
Seider has noticed a difference in Edvinsson, who bulked up a little in the offseason.
“I think he’s gotten a lot stronger in the gym,” Seider said. “I think he’s slowly growing into his body, still young. I think he can be a big force for us when he’s ready to take those big minutes, which I think he’s ready for.
