Last night, Detroit Red Wings restricted free agent Simon Edvinsson let it be known that he would prefer a trade over signing a deal at this point. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet shared the news late into Saturday evening.
“Simon Edvinsson prefers a trade from the Red Wings, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported during Saturday Night Hockey.” -Sportsnet Staff Report
This report comes after negotiations stalled between interm general manager Shawn Horcoff and Edvinsson. According to Friedman, the agent and team are not speaking right now and this has led Edvinsson to take the only option he can: requesting a trade.
The implications of Edvinsson’s reported trade request
With the Detroit Red Wings mired in an offseason from Hell (no, not the city in Michigan, the other one), the blows would keep coming. If what Edvinsson is saying is true, the organization’s suddenly unstable front office will be forced to break up one of the NHL’s best top defensive pairings in Edvinsson and Moritz Seider. To add insult to injury, they're still working out a deal to trade disgruntled ex-captain Dylan Larkin.
This comes after earlier reports of a standoff in contract terms where Edvinsson wanted a max-term contract in the $9-10M AAV range and Detroit preferring a bridge deal with the 23-year-old top pairing defenseman.
In 175 NHL games (all with Detroit), Edvinsson has amassed 60 points and is +17 while averaging 21:10 on ice per night. The Red Wings slide last year arguably began with a late season Edvinsson warmup injury.
From a trade market standpoint, it would create competition as similar restricted free agent blue liner Alexander Nikishin sits in an identical standoff with the Stanley Cup-winning Carolina Hurricanes.
Losing Edvinsson in the short and long term would deprive Detroit of the prime years of the type of cost-controlled franchise caliber defender all NHL teams in existence would salivate for defenseman.
On one hand, adding someone who showed up to camp without a contract to be ready with the team for the opening would be an improvement on the already substantial bounty this profile of defender can fetch. The Red Wings would have the market cornered on a top line center and defenseman.
On the other, the immediate loss of Edvinsson from the lineup would dampen the already dim competitive projections for this roster. They're still trying to iron out a long term general manager. They got shut out in Friday’s season-opening loss to the New York Rangers. Things are far from ideal in Hockeytown.
Assuming a future assets centered trade, the Red Wings would likely be in the running win the NHL draft lottery for the first time since the 2020-21 season -- ironically enough, the same draft they selected Edvinsson. If that return, paired with a good value for the team’s prior captain, the returns could set up the Detroit Red Wings for a shifted window of contention in the shorter term than people think.
For now, the report is another black mark on an already embarrassing offseason that has the fanbase already wishing for Chris Ilitch to sell the team.
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