The Red Wings’ workhorse secures the Rod Langway Award after stifling elite competition and tilting the ice for Detroit, edging out Jaccob Slavin for top defensive honors.
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider has been recognized as the NHL's top defensive blueliner, earning The Hockey News' Rod Langway Award for the 2025-26 season.
The honour, voted on by a panel of THN staff and contributors as part of the publication's annual awards, is given to the league's best defensive defenseman. Seider's case was built on how he tilted play in Detroit's favor whenever he stepped on the ice.
Seider beat out a strong group of finalists for the award with Carolina's Jaccob Slavin finishing as the runner-up, followed by Dallas' Esa Lindell in third and Miro Heiskanen in fourth, giving the Stars two representatives among the top five. Minnesota's Jonas Brodin rounded out the list at fifth.
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The recognition adds to a growing reputation for Seider as one of the league's premier two-way defensemen. Selected sixth overall by Detroit in the 2019 NHL Draft, he has developed into a workhorse on the Red Wings' back end, logging heavy minutes against top competition while anchoring the team's defensive structure.
The Rod Langway Award was one of several honours handed out as part of The Hockey News' season-ending awards package, which also recognized Connor McDavid as the league's best player, Nathan MacKinnon as MVP, and Columbus' Zach Werenski as the top offensive defenseman, among other categories. The full awards package can be found in the June 2026 issue of The Hockey News.
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