The Hockey News’s Erik Cruikshank reports that David Alter spoke with Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider during the NHL/NHLPA European Player Media Tour, and Seider weighed in on the NHL’s partnership with Bayern Munich, his durability, and the state of the Red Wings as a franchise.
Seider weighed in on the team’s inconsistency and annual March slides down the standings…
“It’s our common theme for the last past seasons,” Seider said. “We head into March in a really good position and we kind of just toss the season away. Don’t really have an answer for it, to be honest. If we knew what to fix, we would have done it, more than once now.”
While the 25-year-old may not have all the answers for the Red Wings’ late-season collapses, he believes the group needs to find more consistency in order to get to the next level.
“I don’t think we’re far off,” Seider added. “We can beat any team in the league, but we’ve got to do it over an 84-game schedule now, so there’s plenty of opportunity to hopefully be in a great position right from up front, but then just gain that momentum all the way to the end and hopefully be in a good position.”
He said this about the Wings’ managerial flux…
“Obviously everyone knows what’s going on with our team,” Seider said. “But I’m just excited to jump on the plane and represent this organization, see my teammates, see all our staff, all the people in the front office. It’s just up to management,” Seider added. “I’m a player and don’t have to decide all those things. I think there’s a big list of things that need to be addressed, and whoever’s going to be the new person I think will guide us in the right direction.”
And Seider said this about the “relieving of duties” of one Steve Yzerman…
“Obviously you never want anything like that to happen, but then you also start questioning yourself,” Seider mentioned. “ ‘Did the team do enough to make us a proud franchise?’ I think that’s where we can take a little bit of blame.”
Despite all of the uncertainties around the Red Wings, Seider’s love for the team and the city hasn’t wavered.
“There’s so much about this club that makes it so special,” Seider said. “You get reminded every time you walk into that precious building playing in front of great fans that are dying for that sport. I think that’s what I’m most excited about coming back, is playing in front of the fans. Obviously they’ve been with us from good and bad, and hopefully we can continue to do some good.”
