Edvinsson wants out, and Detroit can't afford to say yes
The unsigned 23-year-old defenseman asked for a trade from Sweden, the second core Red Wing to want out since June.
Detroit thought the summer was the bottom. It wasn't. Simon Edvinsson wants out, and my read is that the Red Wings end up signing him anyway, because a team that already lost its captain's trust can't afford to lose its best young defenseman too.
That's the whole story in one line. The rest is how they get there.
File under: Trade winds
Friedman floated it Saturday night: Edvinsson, still an unsigned restricted free agent, would prefer a trade. By Sunday morning it had firmed up into an actual request. Two outlets, same story, a day apart.
Grade: Reported. This isn't fan-site noise. The player wants a new address.
How Detroit got here
Edvinsson went to camp without a deal, didn't play a preseason game, then went home to Sweden and skated with Frolunda. That's not a holdout with leverage yet. That's a 23-year-old telling the room he's done waiting.
Look at the backdrop. Dylan Larkin asked out in June and lost the captaincy in September. Steve Yzerman stepped down in July. Shawn Horcoff is running things as interim GM. And the Wings just missed the playoffs for a 10th straight season. A Habs summer looks calm next to that.
Horcoff isn't flinching in public. "We're doing everything we can, working closely with the agents," he said. "He's a big part of the club." His agent, J.P. Barry, had nothing to say.
What the numbers say
Edvinsson was the sixth pick in 2021. Last season he had nine goals and 16 assists in 72 games, played more than 22 minutes a night and led Detroit's defense at plus-12.
Here's why that matters right now. In Friday's opener, a 2-0 loss to the Rangers, Moritz Seider played 25.3 minutes and Justin Faulk played 21.5, per NHL data. Nobody else on the Detroit blue line got past 19.2.
That's one game, so call it a small sample. But it's exactly the hole a 6-foot-6, 22-minute defenseman fills. Detroit also went 0-for-2 on the power play and got shut out at home.
Who's calling
Teams have asked. Detroit's answer to every one of them has been that the priority is to sign him. The Wings have more than $16 million in cap space, so money isn't the excuse. Term and trust are.
The read
I'd treat a trade in the next month as smoke, not fire. Interim GMs don't usually move a sixth overall pick at 23 while the fan base is already angry. The likelier ending is a bridge deal that gets him back on the ice and lets the next permanent GM fight the bigger battle.
But know this: once a young player puts a trade request on the record, the clock starts. If Detroit is still losing in December, the phone gets louder.
My call: Edvinsson signs with Detroit before Halloween. If he doesn't, he's gone by the deadline.
