Moritz Seider on the Red Wings season, the hospital stay and the new contract
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider, April 18, 2024 in Detroit.
The big questions about Moritz Seider before the season break were: “How much and for how long?”
The Detroit Red Wings finally answered those questions on Thursday, agreeing to a seven-year deal worth $8.55 million per year. Seider’s three-year entry-level contract had an annual salary cap hit of $863,334.
Although it took longer than anyone would have liked – training camp began when players arrived in Traverse City on Sept. 18 – to reach an agreement, general manager Steve Yzerman has secured the services of a 23-year-old Calder Trophy winner who has established himself as a mainstay of the rebuild in three years. Seider is the team’s workhorse, playing on the top defensive pair where he is tasked with keeping opposing superstars in check. He will also run power plays as well as guard a penalty kill.
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Seider was the first player Yzerman drafted since returning to Detroit in April 2019. Due to his outstanding performances for the Adler Mannheim in the top ice hockey league in his native Germany, he was selected sixth overall in 2019.
Seider made an immediate impact with the Wings when he arrived in Detroit for the 2021-22 season, scoring 42 points in 82 games and earning NHL Rookie of the Year honors. By that point, he had already played one season in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins (2019-20). Because of the pandemic, he spent the 2020-21 season in the Swedish Hockey League, where he was a league and team standout with Rögle BK.
Seider again scored 42 points in the 2022/23 season. Last season, he increased his number to 50 points. In each of his three seasons, he averaged about 23 minutes per game.
Seider was a restricted free agent with no arbitration rights. That the deal took so long shows that Yzerman is juggling budgets as he continues to try to turn the Wings into a team that can make the playoffs again on a regular basis. The less money Yzerman can persuade Seider’s camp to give him, the more money will be left for improvements elsewhere.
The first max contract Yzerman signed during his tenure as Wings coach was Dylan Larkin’s $69.6 million contract extension on March 1, 2023.
Contact Helene St. James at [email protected]Follow her on Twitter @helenestjamesRead more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings NewsletterHer latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies are available via email.
