By The Detroit Red Wings have played 19 games of the 2026-27 season without a captain, and the Red Wings captain job is staying open on purpose. Detroit stripped Dylan Larkin of the “C” in September, after the center requested a trade, and head coach Todd McLellan says the team wants a longer look before it hands the letter to anyone else. Moritz Seider, an alternate captain, is the player most often attached to the job, and after Thursday’s morning skate he was asked what the vacancy means for him.
Why the Red Wings captain job is still open
McLellan laid out the reasoning to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. “We are in a transition phase in our organization, obviously, with some of the stuff that’s going on,” McLellan said. “We want to see what our complete team will look like and we want to see how individuals react.”
McLellan also told St. James that the letter carries extra weight in a city like this one. “I think it’s more important with certain teams, starting with Original Six,” he said. “It’s a hundred-year-old tradition, it’s got deeper meaning, it stands out a little bit more.”
Moritz Seider says nothing has changed for him
Defenseman Moritz Seider spoke with St. James after morning skate about his role as a leader on a team with nobody wearing the “C.”
“I think we just try to fill every hole we can fill and step up in certain situations. I think everybody has their own kind of expectation on themselves and on the team, so I wouldn’t say anything changed. Honestly you just try to lead by example every single day, and whether it’s in the gym or out on the ice I think you just want to do the right things over and over again. You can’t be perfect all the time, but I think just aiming for perfection, I think that’s a good example,” Seider said.
Leading by example⛽️ pic.twitter.com/Jx6hc7LYp4
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) November 12, 2026
Moritz Seider at Red Wings morning skate, Nov. 12, 2026 in Fort Lauderdale. pic.twitter.com/Uwn2Ro2ntm
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) November 12, 2026
It still feels inevitable that Seider is Detroit’s next captain
For now Seider wears an “A” and not a “C,” but it would feel like a major shock if he is not the next captain for the Red Wings. Seider has set the example in Detroit on the ice and off the ice, and he is the one holdover McLellan’s “complete team” line points at on a roster that could look very different by spring.
He is always dedicated to his craft. In 19 games this season, he has scored one goal and recorded 10 assists with a minus-4 rating. He has also never missed a game in his NHL career: all 82 in each of his first five seasons, and all 19 of Detroit’s games this year. Seider is only 25 years old and he has a long career ahead of him. It would be disappointing if he was not named the team captain before the 2027-28 NHL season.
Seider is doing everything he can to lead this team even though he is not wearing the “C” on his game sweater. It is understandable for the Red Wings organization to evaluate everything within the building, but it feels silly that he is not the captain already.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/moritz-seider-addresses-leading-red-201000259.html
