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Moritz Seider

Atlantic Notes: Cozens, Seider, Sogaard

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With the never-ending rumors of Jack Eichel’s eventual trade on top of the departures of several other core Sabres this summer, its fair to wonder who will fill the leadership vacuum in Buffalo. However, young standout Dylan Cozens is more than ready to take on that role. Appearing on WGR 550 in Buffalo, the 2019 seventh overall pick stated that he is confident in his ability to lead this next generation of Sabres. “I think definitely I could go out and be a leader on this team,” Cozens said. “Just by the way I play, leading by example and being a voice in the room. I think it’s something I’m ready to do. I want to lead by example and be a guy that guys can look to if they need anything or look to to inspire them. That’s what I’ve always been growing up – the guy that wants to lead and do things the right way.” Part of what makes Cozens a great candidate to lead Buffalo for years to come is an optimism that has been missing from other core members through a dark stretch for the franchise. “I think that we’re going to surprise a lot of people this year,” Cozens believes. “Everyone’s doubting us because we’re a young team, but if you look at the second half of last season, we were beating those veteran teams. So I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people and we’re going to have a good year.”

    • The Detroit Red Wings are looking forward to prodigious defenseman Moritz Seider developing into a leader for their club in the future. Yet, he was nowhere to be found on the team’s roster for the upcoming Traverse City Prospects Tournament. However, Red Wings Director of Player Development Shawn Horcoff tells The Athletic’s Max Bultman that this is actually an endorsement of Seider’s position in the organization rather than an indictment. Although Seider has yet to see any NHL action, Detroit is so confident in his ability to make the roster this season that they did not feel they needed to use a roster spot on him in the development tournament. “With Moritz, he’s played two years of pro now – he spent a full year in Grand Rapids, spent a full year over in Europe playing,” Horcoff explained. “Frankly, there’s some younger players that we wanted to see on the (Traverse City Tournament) roster and we just wanted to make sure that Mo was ready to go for main camp.” Fear not, Wings fans; the team clearly has no concerns about their top prospect stepping into the NHL lineup and making an impact this year.
    • The Ottawa Senators could face a difficult decision with young goaltender Mads Sogaard this season. As Bruce Garrioch details for the Ottawa Sun, the impressive prospect keeper could very well be in line for a roster spot at the Olympics for Team Denmark, making their first men’s hockey appearance at the Winter Games. Sogaard served as the team’s backup in qualifying tournaments this summer and while the those contests were played without presumptive starter, the Carolina Hurricanes’ Frederik Andersen, Sogaard is still likely to be the Danes’ first choice at third-string behind Andersen and qualifying starter Sebastian Dahm. The problem is that the AHL does not have an Olympic break like the NHL. While Ottawa’s players will have full flexibility to attend the Games if selected, Belleville’s may not. Garrioch points out that the farm team has ten games during the NHL’s Olympic break and, depending on how the organization’s goalie depth plays out this season, that could be a number of missed starts for Sogaard and a detriment to Belleville as well. The massive 6’7″ keeper had a strong first pro season last year and if fellow promising youngster Filip Gustavsson cracks the Ottawa roster, Sogaard could be the starter for Belleville. Will the Senators allow him to leave the team for an extended period in order to ride the bench for his country?

Expansion Primer: Detroit Red Wings

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Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.

The last time we gathered here to determine the Detroit Red Wings’ expansion draft considerations, the team was in a steep downward decline. Yet they still ended up losing a bit of a diamond in the rough, as the Vegas Golden Knights selected forward Tomas Nosek. Nosek’s been a contributor in a bottom-six role every season in Vegas’ history, robbing Detroit of some quality depth. Now, with Detroit having hit the rock-bottom of their rebuild, their expansion situation looks fairly clear-cut this time around. With a lot of young talent exempt (and no Jimmy Howard/Petr Mrazek goalie controversy), the Red Wings and general manager Steve Yzerman are in a good position coming into 2021’s Seattle expansion draft.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:
Riley Barber, Tyler Bertuzzi, Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen, Richard Panik, Vladislav Namestnikov, Michael Rasmussen, Givani Smith, Evgeny Svechnikov, Hayden Verbeek, Jakub Vrana

Defense:
Dennis Cholowski, Danny DeKeyser, Christian Djoos, Filip Hronek, Gustav Lindstrom, Troy Stecher

Goalies:
Kaden Fulcher, Thomas Greiss

Notable Unrestricted Free Agents

F Valtteri Filppula, F Sam Gagner, F Luke Glendening, F Darren Helm, F Bobby Ryan, D Alex Biega, D Marc Staal, G Jonathan Bernier

Notable Exemptions

F Joseph Veleno, F Filip Zadina, D Jared McIsaac, D Moritz Seider, G Filip Larsson

Key Decisions

The key decisions start with Detroit’s young forward group. They’ll undoubtedly be going with the seven forwards/three defensemen protection scheme. Four of those forward spots are relatively clear-cut, with Larkin, Bertuzzi, Fabbri, and recent acquisition Vrana being protection locks. That leaves three spots remaining, but with a mix of four veterans and young forwards competing for them.

The veteran of those candidates is Namestnikov. Signed to a two-year, $4MM deal prior to 2020-21 to provide some veteran presence during their rebuild, Namestnikov had his worst offensive season to date with just 17 points in 53 games. His defensive metrics were mediocre, which is on-brand for the versatile Russian forward. Detroit was Namestnikov’s fourth team since the beginning of 2019-20, and if left unprotected, Seattle could be his fifth.

However, there’s a trio of three younger forwards who could also vie for those spots. Erne, Rasmussen, and Svechnikov all looked good with the Wings this season. It was an especially important season for Svechnikov, who’s struggled with frequent injuries. He rebounded this year for eight points in 21 games while posting incredibly impressive possession metrics. Erne had a nice rebound season after a ghastly 2019-20 performance, scoring 11 goals and 20 points in 45 games. While his 15.5% shooting rate doesn’t scream sustainability, the 26-year-old showed nice flashes this season. There’s also Rasmussen, who’s still a developing project despite already playing in over 100 NHL contests. Drafted ninth overall in 2017, Rasmussen’s now totalled 30 points in 102 NHL games, including 12 points in 40 games last season. He’s consistently posted decent possession results, suggesting that the goal-scoring touch he had in juniors could be coming.

Detroit faces a similar quandary on defense with three names fighting for two spots. Hronek’s protection is a foregone conclusion, but Stecher, Cholowski, and Lindstrom are names that could fall into those last two spots.

Stecher sits as effectively a more impressive Namestnikov. Joining Detroit as a free agent prior to this season, Stecher settled nicely into a top-four role, posting admirable defensive metrics considering the hacked-together situation that was Detroit’s defense. However, like Namestnikov, he’s under contract for just one more season and there’s no guarantee that he stays. There’s also a pair of younger defenders in Cholowski and Lindstrom. Cholowski was a first-round pick in 2016 and showed great potential in his 2018-19 rookie season, but has stagnated at all levels since then. Detroit is willing to play the wait-and-see game with the young defender, who may see a full-time role again next year after just 16 games played in 2020-21. Lindstrom’s a year younger and doesn’t have as much upside, but he’s cobbled together four assists in 29 NHL games and could have third-pairing potential.

Projected Protection List

F Tyler Bertuzzi
F Adam Erne
F Robby Fabbri
F Dylan Larkin
F Michael Rasmussen
F Evgeny Svechnikov
F Jakub Vrana

D Dennis Cholowski
D Filip Hronek
D Troy Stecher

G Thomas Greiss

Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist

When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined.  Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined.  In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.

Forwards (3): Vladislav Namestnikov, Frans Nielsen, Richard Panik
Defensemen (1): Danny DeKeyser

There are very few pickings here that the Kraken would be interested in, and Detroit is likely to emerge from the expansion draft unscathed. While Detroit will have some depth forwards exposed, Seattle can likely find cheaper and better options elsewhere. Seattle could end up taking an AHL skater with limited upside like Lindstrom or Smith, or take a pending UFA like Glendening if they really don’t like any of their options.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Snapshots: Larsson, McIsaac, Bergman

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While the Edmonton Oilers have much bigger free-agent fish to fry, there seems to be some life in their contract negotiations with defender Adam Larsson. The Fourth Period’s Dave Pagnotta reports that the Oilers and Larsson’s agent are to resume talks this week.

Larsson, of ’the trade is one-for-one’ fame, was an understated piece of the Oilers’ defense this season. After being plagued by injury in 2019-20, Larsson stepped up in a big way to help offset Edmonton’s loss of Oscar Klefbom. His 128 blocks this year were the same amount he had in a full 82-game season in 2018-19, while he ramped up his offensive production to four goals and 10 points. Talks about his extension first surfaced in May, where Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported a four-year deal was a likely outcome. It goes without saying that Edmonton would love to retain the 28-year-old Swede.

  • The Detroit Red Wings organization received some good news today, as defense prospect Jared McIsaac has a clean bill of health, per the team’s website. McIsaac, as the piece by Josh Berenter mentions, has been on the wrong end of three shoulder injuries in the past two calendar years. Drafted 36th overall by Detroit in 2018, he’s part of a prospect stable on defense that includes SHL standout Moritz Seider and Gustav Lindstrom. Before encountering his injury troubles, McIsaac had 62 points in just 53 games with the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads in 2018-19. If he’s able to regain that form, a healthy McIsaac could prove to be a solid piece of Detroit’s rebuild.
  • Per a news release from the team’s website, SHL club Brynäs IF has signed former NHL prospect Julius Bergman. A 2014 second-round pick of the San Jose Sharks, Bergman was dealt three times over the course of his entry-level contract despite never playing an NHL game. Originally sent to the Ottawa Senators in the Mike Hoffman trade, he was then sent to the Columbus Blue Jackets along with Matt Duchene in February of 2019. He was dealt just three days later to the New York Rangers in exchange for Adam McQuaid. With Bergman’s offensive production declining sharply after his 30-point campaign with the San Jose Barracuda in 2016-17, it’s unlikely he sees NHL ice at any point during his career.

Central Notes: Chicago Goalies, Quenneville, Detroit Prospects

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The Blackhawks went into this season with plenty of uncertainty between the pipes with Malcolm Subban and Collin Delia battling for the number one role with Kevin Lankinen serving as a third option.  Of course, by the end, Lankinen had established himself as the starter but there is still plenty of uncertainty regarding the viability of this trio.  Despite that, Phil Thompson and Chris Sosa of the Chicago Tribune feel that the team would be justified sticking with that same goalie group for next season which would allow them to evaluate Lankinen’s potential viability as a long-term starter while determining if one of Subban or Delia is worthy of a full-time backup spot.  All three netminders are slated to become unrestricted free agents in the 2022 offseason.

More from the Central:

  • Still regarding a Chicago goaltender, USA Hockey announced that prospect Drew Commesso has been added to their roster for the World Championships, replacing Anthony Stolarz who was injured in Sunday’s victory over Canada. The 18-year-old was a second-round pick of the Blackhawks (46th overall) back in 2020 and had a .915 SV% in 11 appearances in his freshman year at Boston University.
  • The fact that Seattle has yet to name their inaugural head coach is somewhat of a surprise given the veterans that have been available and the fact that GM Ron Francis wants an experienced voice behind the bench. However, Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests the reason for that could be that the Kraken are interested in Panthers bench boss Joel Quenneville, positing that Florida might be willing to let him go for financial reasons.  Considering the season that they’ve had, it’d be tough to imagine that they’d simply let him go to save some money but if there is even a remote possibility of it happening, Francis’ patience in naming a coach would be justified.
  • While many expect Red Wings top prospects Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond to make the jump to the NHL next season, Detroit GM Steve Yzerman told MLive’s Ansar Khan that the youngsters aren’t pencilled into a spot on the roster. While he acknowledged that Seider – recently named the SHL’s defenseman of the year – should be ready to jump into the NHL lineup, Detroit has preferred a slower development approach in recent years which could result in the youngsters getting some AHL time first.

Snapshots: Lafleur, Sedins, Seider

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The QMJHL will never again have a player wearing No. 4. Guy Lafleur’s number will be retired league-wide as of next season, celebrating his status as the league’s all-time greatest player. Before all of his success at the NHL level, Lafleur dominated the Q, recording 379 points in 118 regular season games. Amazingly, he scored more than 100 goals in each of his two seasons in the league, including seven in a single game (and five in a period!).

Lafleur would go on to be the first player from the league to be selected first overall and won five Stanley Cup championships during his Hall of Fame career. He will actually join Sidney Crosby as the only players to have their numbers retired league-wide, though it seems likely that at least Mario Lemieux will join them before long.

  • Though rumblings continue to emerge about more drastic changes in the Vancouver Canucks front office, no official announcements have been made by the team. Darren Dreger of TSN however has heard that team ownership is in talks with Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin about potential roles in the organization, without giving any specifics on what those would be. Thomas Drance of The Athletic tweets that the discussions are “not centered on a president or GM-type top decision maker role.” The twins are two of the greatest players to ever pull on a Canucks sweater and will likely be linked to the organization in some fashion for the rest of their lives; an official role would only be an extension of that connection.
  • Get excited Detroit, Moritz Seider is coming. The 20-year-old prospect was named Defenseman of the Year for the SHL this season after recording 28 points in 41 games for Rogle. Selected sixth overall in 2019, Seider signed his entry-level contract later that year but has yet to play a game for the Red Wings. Instead, he spent the entire 2019-20 season in the AHL developing his game with the Grand Rapids Griffins, before heading to Sweden to ensure a full season this time around. Playing against opponents sometimes more than a decade his elder, Seider was a dominant force at both ends of the rink.

Joe Veleno, Moritz Seider To Remain In Europe

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Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman held a conference call with reporters (video link via the Detroit Free Press) and among the major announcements was that both Joe Veleno and Moritz Seider will be staying in Sweden until the end of the SHL season instead of returning for training camp. Filip Zadina, Filip Hronek, Gustav Lindstrom, and Mathias Brome, who are all also out on loan, will be brought back.

Veleno, 20, is playing for Malmo in the SHL where he has 11 points in 21 games so far. The 30th overall selection in 2018 had an up-and-down AHL debut last year when he scored 23 points in 54 games, but still has a very high ceiling as a two-way center that could be a staple in the Red Wings lineup for years to come. Leaving him in Europe certainly would suggest that the Red Wings believe he has more developing to do before really pushing for an NHL roster spot, though Yzerman did note there are still so many questions about what the AHL season will look like this season.

Seider meanwhile is still just 19 but is looking right at home at the SHL level. Playing with Rogle, he has 12 points in 17 games and was not released to the German World Junior squad. Selected sixth overall in 2019 to the surprise of many, Seider has quickly become one of the top prospects in the entire world and is a key to the Detroit turnaround. The 6’4″ defenseman has all the attributes of a true number one option, meaning his development is absolutely crucial to the Red Wings.

Speaking about all of the players who have suited up overseas, Yzerman noted that though playing in Europe has likely sharpened the games of Zadina and others, it isn’t the NHL and they’ll still have to prove themselves on this side of the pond.

It’s important to remember too, that though they will stay for the rest of the year, Veleno and Seider could potentially be late-season recalls for the Red Wings once things end overseas. The SHL regular season schedule completes at the beginning of April while the NHL regular season isn’t expected to be completed until May.

Moritz Seider Not Released For WJC

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The German roster for the upcoming World Junior Championship has been announced, and it includes top prospect Tim Stuetzle. The Ottawa Senators pick is still recovering from hand surgery but is hopeful to recover in time to take part in the tournament. Notably, however, Stuetzle won’t be joined by countryman and Detroit Red Wings prospect Moritz Seider. Selected sixth overall in 2019, Seider would have arguably been the team’s most important player after captaining the German squad a year ago. The Red Wings have decided to not release him to the German team, however, instead keeping him in Sweden playing for Rogle and available to return to Detroit for NHL training camp.

Seider, 19, is one of the top defense prospects in the entire world. Even at the age of 18, he found success in the AHL, scoring 22 points in 49 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins. He now has seven points in eight games in the SHL and could potentially make the Red Wings roster as soon as this season. The 6’4″ right-handed shot defenseman can do a little bit of everything and is one of several high-end prospects that will be arriving to help Detroit in the next few years.

Without him, it will certainly be difficult for the Germans. The team does however still have Stuetzle, Lukas Reichel, and John Peterka, all high picks in this year’s draft, meaning they’ll at least have some interesting offensive firepower to watch. One player who will likely benefit from the absence of Seider is Luca Munzenberger, the 17-year-old defenseman that was named to the squad. Munzenberger doesn’t turn 18 until later this month and is eligible for selection in the 2021 draft.

Detroit Red Wings Complete Loans, Sign Free Agents

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The Detroit Red Wings have been checking several boxes on their offseason to-do list today. First, the team has officially assigned Joe Veleno to Malmo of the SHL and have changed Moritz Seider’s loan from Mannheim of the DEL to Rogle of the SHL. These changes are important, as they signify full-season loans of two of the team’s top prospects. Veleno and Seider are expected to spend the entire 2020-21 season overseas, though the SHL season does usually end in March.

In a rebuilding year for the Red Wings, getting Veleno and Seider playing right away should be considered a benefit for their development. There is no clear schedule for the AHL at this point, and given that the NHL is targeting a January start date that should be considered the very earliest a minor league season could be held. The two first-round picks will instead get to play immediately and will have a full season in one of the best leagues in the world.

The team has also reached agreements with two of their restricted free agents, signing Adam Erne and Taro Hirose to one-year contracts. Both players were not included in yesterday’s qualifying offers, and now we know why. Erne and Hirose will both be back in the organization for at least one more year.

Hirose, 24, was signed out of Michigan State University in 2019 and made an impact down the stretch for the Red Wings, scoring seven points in 10 games. That level of production wasn’t carried into this year, but the entire Red Wings team was brutal and Hirose still did register plenty of offense at the minor league level. With an improved club and higher level of play, perhaps Hirose can still become an impact player for the team.

Erne on the other hand will likely never provide much offense at the NHL level, but can still serve a role as a depth option for the Red Wings this season. In 170 career games he has just 32 points, most coming with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018-19. Detroit GM Steve Yzerman knows Erne well from their time together with the Lightning and obviously feels he can still play a role in the organization.

Moritz Seider Loaned To DEL

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August 7: The Red Wings have made it official, announcing that Seider and Zadina have been loaned overseas. Seider is headed to Mannheim, while Zadina will join HC Ocelari Trinec for now. Both players should be back for training camp in North America at some point in November.

August 3: The Detroit Red Wings have a handful of exciting prospects in the minor leagues, but with the uncertainty surrounding the 2020-21 AHL season, they will need to find places to play for the next six months. Reports have already surfaced about Joe Veleno and Filip Zadina who could be headed to the Czech Republic to get into some game action, and now Moritz Seider is also headed overseas.

Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports that Seider will be loaned to Adler Mannheim of the German DEL, though the Red Wings retain the ability to recall him at any time. Seider played for Mannheim before being selected sixth overall in 2019, but spent this season with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL.

There are few defensive prospects in the game that generate as much excitement as Seider, who was an immediate hit in Grand Rapids and has shown off his ability on the international stage. The 6’4″ right-handed shot is an all-situations defender that recorded 22 points in 49 games during his rookie season in the AHL. He is expected to challenge for a role on Detroit’s blueline before long, meaning he’ll likely be back in time to participate in NHL training camps in November.

Kasper Kotkansalo, another Red Wings draft pick, will also be headed overseas for the 2020-21 season. The third-round pick from 2017 has decided to leave Boston University and join Assat of the Finnish Liiga to continue his development. Kotkansalo, 21, had 25 points in 112 games for BU.

East Notes: Seider, Chynoweth, Vejdemo

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Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider showed some promise in his rookie AHL campaign and was expected to be recalled to finish up the season in Detroit had it not been for the pandemic.  With the start of next season still in question (it’s looking like late December or early January as things stand but still nowhere near being finalized), Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press suggests that the team may wind up loaning him back to Mannheim of the DEL to start next season as it’s unlikely that the AHL will start on schedule if there are still restrictions on how many fans – if any – can attend games.  That would certainly be beneficial from a development perspective but it would also give the sixth-overall pick in 2019 a leg up in a push for a full-time roster spot with the Red Wings next season.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • While Hurricanes assistant coach Dean Chynoweth briefly hit the market on July 1st, he wasn’t there for long as GM Don Waddell confirmed to the Associated Press that the team has re-signed all of its staff members that they were trying to keep that had deals set to expire at the end of June with the exception of broadcaster John Forslund which means that Chynoweth will remain in the fold. The 51-year-old has spent the last two seasons with Carolina and had prior NHL assistant coaching experience with the Islanders.  Rick Dudley was among those that were not re-signed in what appears to be a mutual decision.
  • The Canadiens have not yet recalled forward Lukas Vejdemo for their upcoming play-in round against Pittsburgh, notes Mattias Ek of HockeyNews.se. The 24-year-old had played in Montreal’s last three games before the rest of the regular season schedule was scrapped so the decision comes as a bit of a surprise.  The pending restricted free agent spent most of the year with AHL Laval but had a goal in seven NHL contests in his first action with the big club.

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