Seider Carrying on Red Wings Iron Man Tradition

The elite talent playing for the Detroit Red Wings have long held to an iron man pattern, and no, we’re not talking about the character Robert Downey Jr. has made famous on the silver screen.

Defenseman Moritz Seider is the latest member of the team to carry on this tradition. Since joining the Red Wings at the start of the 2021-22 season, he’s played in every game – 246 NHL games in a row. That places him in a tie for ninth among active NHLers when it comes to consecutive games played.

MORITZ SEIDER 🚛 pic.twitter.com/Ur4HpECgZZ

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 23, 2022

From his persepctive, Seider doesn’t seem this as a big deal.

“I want to play for the team, I want to play for that locker room,” Seider said. “And I think everyone else would’ve done the same thing.

“I want to play and if I’m not injured, I think I’m gonna go out there and play.”

Seider Leading The Way In Ice Time

It isn’t merely that Seider plays a lot of games. He’s also playing a lot in those games.

Seider led the Red Wings in time on ice (22:22) and shorthanded time on ice (2:33) per game. He’s logging those minutes in hard situations against the opposition’s best players.

“He’s going to be seeing that the rest of his career,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said.

With 8 hits and 2 blocked shots against Toronto, Moritz Seider became the first player to hit 200+ in both categories in a season since Mike Komisarek did it in 2007-08.

— IcehockeyGifs (@IcehockeyG) April 14, 2024

Seider’s approach to that notion? Bring it on.

“It’s a cool challenge,” Seider said. “I take a lot of pride in that. I want to be out there.”

Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman, who left the hockey world in shock when he made the German defenseman the sixth overall choice in the 2019 NHL entry draft, marvels at how dominant a performer Seider is becoming for his club.

“I think he’s a tremendous young player,” Yzerman said. “We haven’t been a great team in his three years here. He’s been thrown in there and he shows up every game, he battles hard every game. He blocks shots, he gets hits, he makes plays.

“We’re asking him to do a lot and he’s got the mental toughness to weather it all.”

Does Yzerman ever worry that they might be overtaxing their 23-year-old rearguard? No, not really.

“If he was drowning out there I’d be concerned,” Yzerman said. “He ain’t drowning. He’s doing really well and he’s learning from it.

“He’s gonna get better. Is he at the peak of his career? Not even close.”

Red Wings Iron Man Tradition

Looking though the annals of Red Wings franchise history, many of the club’s greatest players were also turning in iron man performance levels.

Seven-time Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom would play 97.08% of his games with the Red Wings (1,564 of 1,611). Mr. Hockey himself, Gordie Howe, would suit up for 96.78% of his games with the team (1,687 of 1,743).

Another Hall of Famer, longtime Detroit captain Alex Delvecchio, holds the Red Wings consecutive games played mark. He skated in 548 games in a row from 1956-64.

Two players who held the NHL consecutive games record – Garry Unger (914) and Johnny Wilson (580) – played a significant portion of those games as Red Wings. Likewise, Glenn Hall, holder of the NHL consecutive games mark for goalies (502 games), launched that stretch in Detroit.

Seider, the 2021-22 Calder Trophy winner, is carrying on this legacy in impressive fashion.

“It’s one to get out there and play and two to be able to handle the minutes against top players,” Yzerman said. “I think he’s been great and we’re asking him to do a lot.”