Moritz Seider, Red Wings Agree to 7-Year Contract Extension With $8.6M AAV

Calder Trophy-winning defenseman Moritz Seider is set to anchor the Detroit Red Wings' blue line for the next seven seasons.

The Red Wings signed Seider to a seven-year, $8.55 million deal that will keep him in Detroit through his age-30 season in 2030-31.

The 23-year-old was previously a restricted free agent.

Seider has played 246 straight games since his NHL and Red Wings debut in 2021. He recorded nine goals and 33 assists for 42 points while averaging over 22 minutes of ice time in 82 games last season.

The blueliner previously became the first Red Wings player since Roger Crozier in 1965 to win the Calder after leading all rookies with 43 assists during this 2021-22 campaign.

His shutdown defense was a key reason Detroit came within one point of making the playoffs last spring, which would have marked the team's first postseason berth in eight seasons.

Now that Seider is locked in for the long term, the Red Wings' focus will turn toward settling on a defensive partner to join him on the top pairing this fall.

Seider spent the majority of last season skating alongside Jake Walman, who was traded to the San Jose Sharks in June.

Veteran blueliner Ben Chiarot, who has played alongside Seider for stretches of both his seasons in Detroit, is a likely option. Chiarot finished out the 2023-24 campaign with Seider when Walman was injured.

The Chiarot-Seider pairing has been separated in the past after struggling to limit high-danger chances against, however, so the Red Wings could also test out other options including 21-year-old Simon Edvinsson on the first pairing.

Edvinsson, the 2021 No. 6 pick, will need to earn a roster spot after being limited to 25 appearances through his first two NHL seasons. The 6-foot-6 defender would add even more size and shot-blocking potential to a pairing already dominated by 6-foot-4 Seider, and Seider told reporters in April he hopes to someday get the chance to play with Edvinsson.

The Red Wings could start testing out these pairing options during training camp, which began Thursday in Traverse City, Michigan.

Seider was not present for the first day of camp, which captain Dylan Larkin told reporters was "strange" to see. Now that he is set to return to the ice, the Red Wings can start finalizing the defensive depth chart ahead of next Wednesday's preseason opener on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks.