Red Wings Defenseman Sets Club Record

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider probably doesn’t realize that it’s been 16 seasons since an NHL defenseman was able to dish out over 200 hits and block more than 200 shots in the same season.

It’s a certainty, though, that he knows well the most recent guy to do it. This is because that guy is him.

This season, Seider was accounting for 211 hits. He was also sacrificing his body in front of 212 pucks, finishing second in the NHL in blocked shots. Seider wound up eighth among NHL blueliners in hits.

When Seider missed morning skate with a bug that was going around, he said he was in the hospital that morning. Mo played that night. Another full 82 game season. #LGRW

— Daniella Bruce (@daniellabruce_) April 18, 2024

“He shows up every game, he battles hard every game,” Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman said of Seider. “He blocks shots, he gets hits, he makes plays.

“We’re asking him to do a lot and he’s got the mental toughness to weather it all.”

Red Wings Seider Delivering A Payload

No NHL defenseman has reached this lofty level in both categories since the 2015-16 season. It was former Michigan Wolverine Mike Komisarek who did so with the Montreal Canadiens in 2007-08. Seider is just the sixth NHL defenseman to get to 200 in both departments since the league began tracking this data. He’s the first Red Wings rearguard to do so.

Seider was certainly ramping his game down the stretcth during Detroit’s ultimately futile playoff drive. In a 5-4 home-ice win over the Canadiens on April 15, he dished out 15 hits. Seider delievered six hits while blocking 10 shots during a 3-1 triumph over the Buffalo Sabres on April 7.

“I feel like he does that every game almost,” teammate Lucas Raymond said. “He’s a big boy, he’s a huge part of our team, just sacrificing his body, throwing it on the line for the guys like that.

“That means a ton and it sends all the right signals to us as well. He’s huge for us.”

Moritz Seider has completed his ELC:

246 GP (no games missed)
134 points (22nd most among NHL D-men)
5,631 minutes played (10th most in the NHL)
563 blocked shots (2nd most in the NHL)
569 hits (24th most in the NHL)

A warrior since his first NHL game. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/HxrCNlX3K9

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) April 17, 2024

An RFA up for a new contract in the offseason, Seider would be making this sacrifices every night without fail. He played all 82 games again, as the 2021-22 Calder Trophy winner has done in each of his two previous NHL campaigns. And he was logging 22:22 in time on ice per game, playing each night against the other team’s best players.

“We asked a lot of him,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde admitted. “That’s where we’re at.

“Probably why we improved so much is not only how he handled those matchups but how well he did within those matchups.”