He's never received a Norris Trophy vote as the NHL's best defenseman in his first four years with the Detroit Red Wings, but this year will be different for Moritz Seider.NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said Seider is one of his top five candidates to win the award, which is voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA).Writers rank five defensemen on a 10–7–5–3–1 point system. The deadline for voting was Friday at 5 p.m.More: In best season, Red Wings' Moritz Seider showing shades of Nicklas Lidstrom"He's (Seider) in my top five even though he didn't make the playoffs," Friedman said on "32 Thoughts: The Podcast," released on Friday.

"He's not going to be at the top, but when you watched him throughout the year, he's a really good player. He eats a ton of minutes, right-shot (defenseman) and he's everything that would excite you as a Red Wings fan or as a hockey fan."Seider, 25, set career highs in goals (10), assists (50), points (60), plus minus (+15), penalty minutes (54), even-strength goals (7), power-play points (25) and ice time per game (25:40)."As I looked deeper into his season the last few days, I don't want to say quietly but he had a really impressive, two-way type of season," Friedman said. "There are definitely going to be guys on some ballots and not on other people's ballots, which is gonna make us at times look like gigantic morons in this year's voting.

There's just too many good candidates this year."What do other NHL insiders say?Ray Ferraro echoed Friedman's sentiments on the "The Ray & Dregs Hockey Podcast," recorded on Thursday.The former NHL forward and ESPN/ABC color analyst said he "almost certainly" will have Seider on his ballot."I know it's not a career award, but he's never missed a game in his NHL career," Ferraro said. "He plays 25-26 minutes a night and nobody has more blocks or hits. He doesn't play easy minutes and he had a career high in points.

He's got to be on the ballot."How many Red Wings have won the Norris Trophy?Three Red Wings have won a total of nine Norris Trophies, led by Nicklas Lidstrom with seven awards (2001–2003, 2006–2008, 2011).The other winners were: Red Kelly (1954) and Paul Coffey (1995).Seider on Lidstrom's seven Norris trophies"He's 'Mr. Perfect' for a reason," Seider said. "He barely got out of position.

He always knew when to move the puck and when to hold on to things. "He had a big shot, and he wasn't afraid to step up in big moments. You just notice all the little things he does right and those are the things you want to implement in your own game."Who is favored to win this year?Grosse Pointe's Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets ranked first in a recent NHL.com Trophy Tracker.

He was followed by last year's winner, Cale Makar, of the Colorado Avalanche, Canton's Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild and Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers.Seider ranked seventh after Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens and Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres.Dylan Larkin on top Norris Trophy candidates"He's (Seider) a different player than Zach (Werenski) and (Quinn) Hughes and (Cale) Makar, but he's just as important to our team," Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said."I can't say enough good things about him and how tough he is, how hard he is. Those guys don't grow on trees and to get a guy like that who eats minutes and sacrifices his body, he can make plays and he has confidence to do it."When are the NHL awards?Finalists for the 2026 NHL Awards will be announced between late April and early May during the playoffs with the official awards ceremony typically occurring in June after the Stanley Cup playoffs.The regular-season award winners were announced Friday:▶ Art Ross Trophy (most points): Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (138 points)▶ Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (most goals): Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (53 goals)▶ William M. Jennings Trophy (lowest goals against): Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood of the Avalanche (203 goals)This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Red Wings' Moritz Seider among top Norris Trophy candidates