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DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings will get their first look tonight at what many hope and expect will be their top defense pairing of the future.
Former No. 6 overall picks Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson will be paired together when the Toronto Maple Leafs visit Little Caesars Arena for a preseason game (7 p.m., Bally Sports Detroit).
The big, young D-men probably won’t start the season together – Seider has been paired with Ben Chiarot and Edvinsson with Jeff Petry in the preseason, which is how they ended last season.
But coach Derek Lalonde wanted to see the 6-4 Seider and 6-6 Edvinsson together for at least one exhibition.
“If they run with it and they have some chemistry and they’re really good, we might see more of it,” Lalonde said. “But it’s a really hard ask of a young D to play top-two minutes with the type of matchups they’re going to face. But we’d love to hopefully see if (Edvinsson) can handle it. Mo wasn’t too far from this a few years ago, too, and obviously he flourished in it.”
Seider is excited about the opportunity.
“I think we had some good chemistry out there,” Seider said. “I think tonight will be a good challenge for us. Long and big bodies, and I think we can cover a lot of ice and hopefully make it work.”
Seider, the team’s top pick in 2019, quickly established himself during his rookie season in 2021-22, winning the Calder Trophy. He’s appeared in 246 consecutive games and plays against top lines while logging the most minutes on the team in all situations.
Edvinsson was promoted from the Grand Rapids Griffins near the end of last season, playing the final 14 games in a top-four role. This will be his first full NHL season.
“I think (Edvinsson) is a top-four talent,” Lalonde said. “You’re still getting a feel for partners. We want to be long; we want to be hard to play against. A lot of times that partner relationship, a lot of it is just puck support, chemistry. I think our top four is going to be fluid. We have the luxury of what we feel is eight NHL D-men.”
Seider has noticed a difference in Edvinsson, who bulked up a little in the offseason.
“I think he’s gotten a lot stronger in the gym,” Seider said. “I think he’s slowly growing into his body, still young. I think he can be a big force for us when he’s ready to take those big minutes, which I think he’s ready for.
“He’s a tall, skating defenseman who’s not afraid to step up, has great offense, sees the game very similar to me. Those are things that get you excited and you want to play with someone like that.”
Said Petry of Edvinsson: “I think the experience that he got at the end of last year has kind rolled over. Getting that confidence, knowing that he came up, played well, belonged here. I think you notice that throughout camp now and then his skill-set. He skates well, he’s big, makes a good first pass. All those things we saw at the end of last year he’s brought to camp this year.”
Here are the lines and defense pairs for tonight:
Alex DeBrincat-Dylan Larkin-Lucas Raymond
Vladimir Tarasenko-Marco Kasper-Patrick Kane
Michael Rasmussen-Andrew Copp-Christian Fischer
Jonatan Berggren-Joe Veleno-Tyler Motte
Simon Edvinsson-Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot-Jeff Petry
Olli Maatta-Justin Holl
Cam Talbot is scheduled to play the entire game and Ville Husso the backup.
Power play units:
Raymond (net front), Larkin (bumper), DeBrincat-Kane (flanks), Seider (point).
Rasmussen (net front), Veleno (bumper), Berggren-Tarasenko (flanks), Petry (point).
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