Training camp has begun for the Detroit Red Wings in Traverse City, Michigan, before the 2024-25 NHL season. Defenseman Moritz Seider signed a new, seven-year contract with an average annual value of $8.55 million. This contract was signed just days after the team signed left-winger Lucas Raymond to an eight-year, $64.6 million contract. These two players will be part of the Red Wings’ corps moving forward.
Both Seider and Raymond’s contracts are excellent pieces of business done by general manager Steve Yzerman. There was speculation before these signings that the Red Wings wanted to keep the AAV of Seider and Raymond’s deals below that of captain Dylan Larkins. As the NHL’s salary cap is expected to increase, these two contracts will represent less of a share of said salary cap. The salary cap for the 2024-25 NHL season is $88 million and is projected to rise to $92 million for the 2025-26 season.
The Red Wings’ defense behind Seider leaves a lot to be desired. Seider started the 2023-24 Red Wings season with veteran defenseman Ben Chiarot. This was quickly changed to Seider being paired with Jake Walman, who was traded to the San Jose Sharks for future considerations. In 63 games played for the Red Wings during the 2023-24 season, Walman scored 12 goals and added nine assists.
Defensive prospect Simon Edvinsson will get his first chance to prove that he can play at the NHL level, as he has only played in 25 games for the Red Wings in his young career. According to The Hockey News, “A player is considered a prospect if he has played less than 25 games in one NHL campaign (regular season and playoffs combined), less than 50 NHL games total in their career, and is 25 years old by Sept 15.”
Edvinsson was drafted by the Red Wings with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NHL entry draft out of Kungsbacka, Sweden. During his draft year, Edvinsson scored two goals and added 17 assists in 44 games played for Frölunda HC of the SHL. In his first season in the AHL for the Griffins Edvinsson scored five goals and added 22 assists in 52 games played. At 6’1” tall, Edvinsson is a smooth skater who can handle the puck.
Seider has lobbied to be paired with Edvinsson on the Red Wings blueline in the past. “I think that could be a pretty cool D pair for Red Wings’ fans,” Seider said. Both defensemen are over six feet tall, which is not a rarity in today’s NHL. Given that Seider struggled when paired with Chiarot at the beginning of the 2023-24 season, this pair is unlikely to return this season, but it is still a possibility.
Chiarot was not the only veteran on the Red Wings’ blueline during the 2023-24 season. Jeff Petry, son of former Detroit Tigers pitcher Dan Petry, played in 73 games last season. In those 73 games, Petry had three goals and added 21 assists. Beyond these statistics, Petry has provided the young Red Wings with valuable experience. Pairing Edvinsson with a veteran such as Petry can only benefit the Red Wings in the long run.
Edvinsson added muscle to his 6’6” frame during the offseason. This is something that any young hockey player would do to withstand an 82 game NHL season. The most games Edvinsson has played in his professional career is 54 with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2023-24. When asked how he was able to do this, “It was just a lot of avocados,” Edvinsson said. “So, a little bit heavier, and I feel good about that.”
Yzerman is not willing to give Edvinsson a spot on the roster. Not every new NHL defenseman is going to have the rookie season that Seider did in 2021-22 when he won the Calder Trophy. Seider has not missed one game in his three-year NHL career. “He’s not going to be handed anything, and Simon needs to know he’s going to have to work for it and earn it every shift,” Yzerman said. “He has the ability to do it, and it’s up to him to do it.”
Head coach of the Red Wings, Derek Lalonde, seemed to echo these sentiments. Lalonde needs to strike a balance between getting Edvinsson playing time to grow as a player and getting the Red Wings to the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons. In two seasons as the head coach of the Red Wings, Lalonde has a record of seven games over .500. The Ilitch family must feel like they want to host playoff games at Little Caesars Arena, which opened in 2017.
“With his overall play from Grand Rapids last year to what he gave us down the stretch, where he slotted with our push at the end last year, we foresee him in a similar role,” Lalonde said about Edvinsson. “I foresee him in a top-four [role], and we’ll kind of let it play out from there. Hopefully, he can even eat minutes if he’s got it going one night, it might be a little fluid with our top-four even. If he earns more minutes, he’ll get more minutes.”
Edvinsson will have every opportunity to play for the Red Wings during the 2024-25 NHL season. Despite him being only 21 years old, the Kungsbacka, Sweden native can use his large frame to improve the team’s defensive abilities. That Edvinsson added muscle to his frame during this offseason will help him withstand what will be his first season in the NHL.
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