Simon With Mo? Red Wings May Make It Happen

This season, the Detroit Red Wings might just be giving the fanbase something they’ve been longing to witness.

A playoff berth?

Well, that, too.

However, in this instance we’re talking about a defensive pairing of Moritz Seider with Simon Edvinsson. Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde is hinting that it could very well be happening at some point during the 2024-25 NHL campaign.

“I still think our top four, even some of our D pairs, will be fluid,” Lalonde said. “Probably like to see Simon and Mo together a little bit.”

Edvinsson 🚨 #LGRW pic.twitter.com/Jm9hbV9h0H

— Red Wings Prospects (@LGRWProspects) September 22, 2024

Seider, the sixth player chosen in the 2019 NHL entry draft and Edvinson, chosen sixth overall in 2021, are going to be the cornerstones of the Detroit defense going forward. And Lalonde appears ready to cement that status sooner rather than later.

As Edvinsson prepares for his first full season in Detroit, the coach is opening up the opportunity for him to be one of the players driving the bus for the Red Wings.

“I see him in a top four (role) and we’ll kind of let it play out from there,” Lalonde said of Edvinsson. “Hopefully, he can even eat minutes. If he’s got it going one night we might be a little fluid with our top four.

“If he earns more minutes, he’ll get more minutes. We’re going to play to win and if he is the guy that earns those minutes to help us out down the stretch, he’ll get those minutes.”

Pairings Likely to Start Out The Same

To start out with, it’s likely that Detroit’s top two defensive pairings will look the same as what finished out last season. Seider will be with Ben Chiarot and Edvinsson with Jeff Petry. However, that, much like the TV listings, will be subject to change,

“Benny and Petry have had some experience together,” Lalonde said. Chiarot and Patry were a tandem during Montreal’s drive to the 2021 Stanley Cup final.

“I think that top four will be fluid, and if anyone else can play their way into that conversation, we’d be happy to see that, too,” Lalonde said.

Seider Back For Red Wings On Tuesday

The first order of business will be getting Seider back up to speed. Fresh from signing a seven-year pact that will pay him $8.55 million per season, he’ll be arriving from Germany and back on the ice with the Red Wings in time for Tuesday’s first practice in Detroit.

Even missing four days of work in Traverse City is enough to set Seider back in comparison to the rest of the group.

IT’S MO-TOWN, BABY 🙌

The #RedWings have signed Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract with an AAV of $8,550,000. pic.twitter.com/WuZRSGRC3z

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 19, 2024

“You can see obviously 100% you saw the intensity of our first three days,” Lalonde said. “There’s value to that. Probably even some science to that.

“You know, you kind of get your workloads elevated a little bit that you’re probably going to work off throughout the year, so he’ll have some catch up to do. But I’m sure we’ve got a couple eager assistant coaches that would love that assignment.”