The Detroit Red Wings are running out of runway with Simon Edvinsson, and the latest development does not make the situation look any calmer. With opening night just two days away, the defenseman still has no contract, and he was spotted Wednesday training with his former club, Frölunda, in Sweden.
Reports say Edvinsson and his agent believe Sweden is the best place for him to stay in shape while negotiations keep going. The two sides are said to be talking every day, but Red Wings general manager Shawn Horcoff confirmed Edvinsson is not practicing with the team right now.
Detroit fans have plenty to stew over, especially with the clear sense that Edvinsson wants to remain with the organization. There has also been speculation that he could be looking for somewhere in the neighborhood of $9 million to $10 million annually, though that number has not been confirmed.
Ryan O’Reilly is another name that has started to bubble up in the rumor mill, this time in Nashville. Elliotte Friedman pointed to the veteran forward as a player teams should be tracking this season, writing in his latest 32 Thoughts column that two executives independently brought up O’Reilly when asked about storylines to watch.
The wrinkle here is that teams have reportedly been trying to pry him loose for more than two years, and Nashville has held to a verbal promise not to move him. That gets trickier now because O’Reilly is in the final year of his contract.
He does not have formal trade protection, and if the Predators decide an extension is not coming, the door could open. With more than 1,200 NHL games and a Stanley Cup on his résumé, he would be the kind of veteran who suddenly becomes very appealing if Nashville stumbles early in 2026-27.
Gavin McKenna’s first NHL regular-season game with the Toronto Maple Leafs should have been all about the No. 1 overall pick, but the conversation quickly drifted elsewhere because of Sergei Bobrovsky. During McKenna’s planned rookie lap, Bobrovsky skated out first as part of his usual pregame routine, and plenty of fans took issue with it, accusing the veteran goalie of stealing the moment. Some even tied it to broader questions about Toronto’s culture.
There’s nothing in the reporting to suggest Bobrovsky meant anything by it, and goalies are known for being rigid about their routines. McKenna, for his part, had more immediate concerns.
He finished without a point, had one shot, was minus-2 and committed two giveaways. Asked about his own performance, he said, “Not great.
I had a couple turnovers. I’m glad we’re playing again tomorrow so I can bounce back and regroup.
I’m just looking forward to getting going again tomorrow.”
This was also the second time fans have taken aim at Bobrovsky, who claimed McKenna’s old jersey number.
In Colorado, Jared Bednar is no longer headed toward next summer as a pending free agent coach. The Avalanche announced Wednesday that he has signed a four-year extension that runs through the 2030-31 season.
Bednar was in the final year of his previous deal, which would have made him one of the biggest coaching names on the market next summer. Instead, Colorado locked him in. The 54-year-old has been behind the Avalanche bench since 2016-17 and has guided the team to the playoffs every season except his first.
In Other News...
Avalanche May Have Solved A Bigger Roster Problem With Parker Kelly
Parker Kellys new four-year extension gives the Avalanche something every contender wants but rarely gets in a tight cap world: clarity. Signed in 2025 for a total of $6.8 million, the deal locks in a useful bottom-six piece at a price that looks manageable now and even better when measured against the going rate for comparable players.
Frank Seravalli suggested Kelly might have been looking at a much richer market had he reached free agency, which only sharpens the value Colorado appears to have secured. Beyond the bargain angle, the bigger win for the Avalanche may be the roster flexibility that comes with knowing exactly what Kelly costs, the kind of certainty that can keep a team from having to make harder salary-cap decisions later on. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Scored 8 But Bednar Still Saw One Early Concern
The Avalanches opening night was the kind of offensive showcase that usually sends the home crowd out buzzing, with Nathan MacKinnon, Artturi Lehkonen and Brock Nelson all part of an eight-goal burst against the Kings. It was a reminder of how dangerous Colorado can look when its skill players are rolling, especially in a season when the mix of familiar stars and new pieces is still settling in.
Jared Bednar still had a concern he couldnt ignore after the win, and it had more to do with the other end of the ice than the scoreboard. He pointed to the teams defensive rush coverage and communication, issues he believes are fixable as the group gets more comfortable with new players and systems. For a team with bigger goals than one October opener, that kind of early warning matters even in a game that ended with plenty of offense. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Power Play Suddenly Has A Twist Fans Needed To See
The Avalanche spent enough of last season trying to drag their power play back to respectability that the opening night surge felt almost like a different team. Colorado, which finished at 17.1% on the man advantage and sat near the bottom of the league, came out in the 2026-27 season opener and looked far more dangerous with the extra skater, converting four times on five chances.
What made it stand out was how the production came. Three of those goals came from the second unit, and they did it without Nathan MacKinnon on the ice, a wrinkle that fits with the way Jared Bednar and Joe Sakic have talked about using more of the rosters depth. It is still just one game, but for a club that needed a fresh look on special teams, it was the kind of early twist fans had been waiting to see. [Read more 🡒]