Though the 2020-21 Detroit Red Wings showed a great deal of improvement from the previous season, it was no surprise at all that they finished with one of the worst records in the NHL.
The main reason the Red Wings struggled this past season is rather obvious. They could not score goals.
In fact, the Red Wings were second to last in the entire NHL during the 2020-21 season with only 126 goals scored.
But according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, the one-piece the Red Wings can add that will help them the most is an elite defenseman.
In a piece published on Sunday, St. James talked about Red Wings defensive prospect Moritz Seider, who dominated the Swedish Hockey League this past season.
Seider is a 6-foot-4 207-pounder who shoots right and projects to be a No. 1 D-man in the NHL. This month he finished his season with Rögle in the Swedish Hockey League with 28 points in 41 games, followed by five points in 13 playoff games. He’s currently playing for his native Germany at the World Championships in Latvia, recording three points in the first four games.
Time will tell whether Seider, 20, can become a player who moves the needle on the rebuild. More immediately, the draft lottery is June 2, when the Wings have the sixth-best odds, or a 7.6% chance, of landing the first pick in the draft. They have a 15.4% chance of landing in the top two spots, and while they cannot select third, fourth of fifth, they can fall back as far as eighth.
So far, Seider has shown signs of greatness. His next step will be to bring that greatness to the NHL.
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