Red Wings Defenseman Sets Club Record

“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.”

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.”