NHL-ийн Детройт Ред Уингс багийн удирдлагын бүтэц тодорхойгүй, ахлагч Дилан Ларкины солилцооны хүсэлт шийдэгдээгүй байгаа энэ үед хамгаалагч Мориц Зайдер ирэх улиралд бэлтгэлээ эрчимжүүлж байна.
Детройт Ред Уингс баг 10 улирал дараалан playoffs-д шалгарч чадаагүй бөгөөд 7-р сарын 15-нд ерөнхий менежер Стив Айзерманыг үүрэгт ажлаас нь чөлөөлснөөс хойш шинэ удирдлага томилогдоогүй байна. Өдгөө 25 настай Мориц Зайдер өөрийг нь 2019 оны драфтаар сонгосон Стив Айзерманд талархаж буйгаа илэрхийлээд, одоогийн нөхцөл байдалд тоглогч хүн зөвхөн өөрийн гүйцэтгэлээ хянаж чадна гэдгийг онцолжээ. Зайдер өнгөрсөн улиралд 60 оноо авч, NHL-ийн шилдэг хамгаалагчийн Норрис трофейн санал хураалтаар тавдугаар байрт жагссан билээ.
Багийн ахлагч Дилан Ларкины хувьд солилцооны хүсэлтээ 6-р сарын сүүлээр гаргасан ч одоогоор ямар нэгэн шилжилт хөдөлгөөн хийгдээгүй байна. Энэхүү тодорхойгүй байдлын талаар Мориц Зайдер ямар нэгэн байр суурь илэрхийлэхээс татгалзаж, багийн эзэн шинэ удирдагчийг сонгосны дараа бүх зүйл тодорхой болно гэдэгт итгэлтэй байгаагаа мэдэгдлээ.
Мориц Зайдер ирэх улиралд лигийн шилдэг хамгаалагчдын түвшинд тогтмол тоглолтоо үзүүлэх зорилготой байгаа бөгөөд Саймон Эдвинссон, Марко Каспер зэрэг залуу тоглогчид багийн амжилтыг ахиулахад тусална гэдэгт найдаж байна. Тэрээр Детройт хотын хөгжөөн дэмжигчдэдээ зориулан багаа дахин playoffs-д шалгаруулахын төлөө хичээх болно гэдгээ илэрхийлэв.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
MUNICH — With the general manager’s seat vacant and an offseason trade request from captain Dylan Larkin unfulfilled, there’s no hiding from the fact that the Detroit Red Wings are in a serious state of flux.
It has prompted the team’s best player to turn his focus inward with a new season fast approaching.
“It’s hard, obviously,” defenseman Moritz Seider told The Athletic at the NHL’s European Player Media Tour on Friday in Munich. “You always have big expectations going into a fresh year, and there are a lot of question marks. The great thing about that is you can only control yourself. That’s where I see my biggest challenge. I’ve been working out like crazy, I do my job, and I’ll be very excited to get on the plane to Detroit and see all of the boys.”
Seider has plenty of fond memories of his time working with Steve Yzerman, the Red Wings GM who went off the board to select him with the sixth pick in the 2019 draft.
Yzerman was removed from that job on July 15 after Detroit missed the playoffs for the seventh straight year during his tenure, running the organization’s drought to 10 seasons overall. He was reassigned to a senior adviser role, and no replacement has been named.
“I can only say how thankful I am for his opportunity back in ’19, where he saw something in me a lot of people didn’t see at the time,” Seider said of Yzerman. “He took a big risk putting my name on this board that early, and I think that’s something that obviously makes my connection a little bit more special with him, and that’s something I’ll always really be thankful for.”
It will likely go down as the best move of Yzerman’s tenure.
Still just 25 years old, Seider has blossomed into a bona fide star after finishing fifth in Norris Trophy voting for the league’s best defenseman last season.
Crucially, he’s also signed through 2031 on a deep-value contract paying him $8.55 million per season, a deal that sets him up to grow into a franchise cornerstone.
Seider was careful not to wade too deeply into the uncertainty surrounding Larkin. The Red Wings captain’s trade request went public in late June, but it hasn’t yet been followed by a move out of Detroit in large part because Larkin owns a no-movement clause and is willing to waive it only for a small group of teams.
A disconnect between Larkin and Yzerman was also a significant factor behind his desire to move, said league sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to address sensitive information. So, it remains to be seen if the situation might be resolved without a trade at all.
Seider pointed out that it’s hard to predict anything until a new GM is hired. And the German defenseman has intentionally avoided poking his head into those pending high-level decisions.
“Those are definitely things no player should be asked or should talk about,” he said. “I’m very good in the background. I do my job, I’m very excited about next year and wearing the winged wheel again, but those are things for our owner. I think he probably has a plan in place, and I’ll be very pleased to meet the new leader of our franchise once he is selected.
“He will obviously have a lot of work to do. We’re still looking to fix some things.”
In the meantime, Seider remains focused on taking his own game to new heights.
That’s saying something given that he had 60 points a year ago and produced dominant underlying numbers on a team that looked different when he was on the ice.
It was the first season where Seider started being mentioned alongside peers like Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Rasmus Dahlin and Zach Werenski, who won the Norris Trophy. He plans on staying in that conversation.
“You should always aim for the stars,” he said. “If you don’t want to play with the best, you’re never going to get there, and if you’re satisfied with the season you had, well, good luck. Then it’s going to be a long way. You always should look ahead and see what’s next.
“I feel like there’s more in the tank, there’s more to achieve. Yes, it was cool to have the first taste of being thrown in the conversations with the best defensemen, but you want to be there every single year. You want to have your name compared with the best of the best, and I’m very far away from that.
“I think next year will be a great step to get one step closer to being in that conversation.”
His potential for further growth is the most obvious source of optimism for a Red Wings team operating under a cloud of uncertainty, though he’s quick to mention that emerging young players like defenseman Simon Edvinsson and forward Marco Kasper are ready to help lift the ceiling.
Above all, Seider is yearning to help bring playoff hockey back to Hockeytown. Until that happens, change will remain a constant in the Red Wings front office and across the roster.
“It’s time,” Seider said. “You feel bad for everyone in the city. You feel bad for the arena. It’s such a precious building, and it hasn’t seen a playoff game since opening (in 2017). I think it’s time to pay back for not only the city, but also the fans, because they’ve been behind us for the good times and now for numerous years of not-so-good times.
“Hopefully we can turn the page and get a real special atmosphere.”
