Where Red Wings' Moritz Seider Ranked Among NHL's Best Defensemen

Moritz Seider has blossomed into one of the NHL's best blue liners, and now the Detroit Red Wings star has been honored by the NHL.

Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Detroit Red Wings future is currently in flux as the team looks for a new General Manager to clean up the mess that Steve Yzerman made, and with Dylan Larkin wanting out and Alex DeBrincat heading into the final year of his contract, things could change even more under new leadership.

However, even if both were to be moved, the team already has two elite young talents leading the way in Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, and last week, the former was honored by the NHL, being named the 20th best winger in the National Hockey League.

Now, it was NHL Media's turn to name the top-20 defensemen in the NHL, and unsurprisingly, the latter found himself on the list, but just how high was Seider?

Moritz Seider Named the NHL's Ninth Best Defenseman

Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In these same rankings heading into the 2025/26 season, Seider, then 24-years-old was unranked on the top-20 list, but after a career high 10 goals and 60 points across 82 games with a +15 differential for a team that missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he's taken a huge leap this time around.

Making one of the biggest leaps in the NHL on the back of his two-way game, Seider was ranked ninth among defensemen in the league, and while Red Wings fans have expressed their frustration, the following are the list of names ahead of him: Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Zach Werenski, Rasmus Dahlin, Miro Heiskanen, Lane Hutson, Matthew Schaefer and Jake Sanderson.

Mortiz Seider (@DetroitRedWings) is back on the Top 20 Defensemen Right Now list!

📺: #NHLTopPlayers on NHL Network pic.twitter.com/8kIwITCk3H

— NHL Media (@NHLMedia) August 9, 2026

That puts Seider in incredibly favorable company among the best of the best in the league, and given that he won't turn 26 until after the upcoming season, his prime is only just beginning at the highest level.

Can Moritz Seider Take Another Leap in 2026/27?

Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

What that means is, we likely haven't even seen close to the best of Seider in the NHL yet, and with his growing chemistry alongside Simon Edvinsson, with the two playing 64 games together in 2025/26, the belief is that he will get even better as he continues to develop his offensive game alongside the defensive abilities he's already shown.

In the first four full seasons of Seider's NHL career, the German star tallied a combined 29 goals, and last year he took a leap with a career high of 10, and as his offensive game develops, he has become a true star, with many justifying the fact that he should be above both Sanderson and Schaefer on this list.

The most impressive part of Seider's career, though, has been his durability, as he's played 82 out of 82 games in all five seasons of his career to date, and alongside Lucas Raymond, he could arguably be the most important piece of Detroit's future.

Ultimately, for Seider to jump from unranked last year to No. 9 this year shows just how much he's grown as a player, and with another good season, he could be a Norris Trophy candidate, but for now, No. 9 overall is more than respectable for what he's produced in his career to date.