Evaluating Moritz Seider’s Leadership for Red Wings Captaincy

Why Moritz Seider Can Be the Next Red Wings Captain

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dylan Larkin is the current captain of the Detroit Red Wings until he is traded. Being the captain of the team comes with a lot of responsibility.

Not everyone who wears the letter "C" on their chest is captain material. Organizations need to evaluate who they will choose as their captain to represent their franchise.

The Red Wings have a few players on their staff who could be future captains, but there's one player we could envision carrying the title.

Moritz Seider's Mentality Suits for Captain Material

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The 25-year-old has earned the respect of the franchise and fan base due to his physical play and strong effort. Seider has emerged as a star defenseman for Detroit. 

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The Red Wings selected Seider as the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft. Once he stepped on the ice, he quickly proved to the team how good and reliable he is. Seider won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 2021-22.

His performance was rewarded as he and the Red Wings signed a seven-year, $59.85 million contract extension. Seider has leadership qualities. He doesn't like losing. It hurt him and the team to fail to make the playoffs last season. At the end of the season, Seider said what a true captain would say. 

"You take those emotions and hopefully put them into motivation and fuel for next season," Seider said. 

Seider doesn't make excuses. He goes out there and lets his game do the talking. As a professional hockey player, he knows what's expected of him and doesn't come across as a player who has a victim mentality. We hope he can keep this mindset. Seider had a career-high 60 points (10 goals, 50 assists) last season.

"Collectively, we just got to play better," Seider said. "There's nothing but putting the blame on ourselves." 

Seider will enter his sixth season with the only franchise he's played for. He hasn't been to the playoffs yet, and we think he will be more aggressive and tenacious than ever to help the Red Wings make the playoffs. Seider has been saying the right things about Larkin. It will be hard to deny that he's telling the truth because it's going to be an awkward locker room if Larkin comes back at the beginning of the season.

There's no fixing between Larkin and the Red Wings at this point. Seider can only focus on getting the rest of the guys to stay focused on the task. Seider has 240 total career points in 410 games. He's played 82 games in every season.