Elliotte Friedman’s latest 32 Thoughts column added a new wrinkle to the Simon Edvinsson situation, reporting that the Carolina Hurricanes once tried to offer sheet the Red Wings defenseman before later trading for him.
According to Friedman, that offer came while Steve Yzerman was still running Detroit’s front office, and it has not been brought back up in the four months since Yzerman was dismissed. With Carolina now having re-signed Alexander Nikishin to a one-year deal, it raises the possibility that the Hurricanes floated a similar number for Edvinsson over the summer, potentially giving Detroit a sense of the market and muddying the waters around contract talks.
For now, though, the standoff has only grown more complicated. A month into the season, the Red Wings still have not signed the big Swedish blueliner, and the situation has apparently reached the point where Edvinsson is now said to prefer a trade out of Detroit.
November brings at least one practical change: the weather may cool, and so might the tension. The Red Wings will spend much of the first half of the month on the road, which gives them time to keep an eye on the rest of the league while they wait on this situation to play out.
Todd McLellan’s club opens the week with back-to-back games in Florida, starting tonight against the Panthers at 7 P.M. That trip carries real weight in the Atlantic. Florida and Tampa Bay each sit three points ahead of Detroit with 18 points, so this stretch could reshape the division picture in a hurry.
Win twice, and the Red Wings move ahead of or level with both teams. Lose twice, and they’ll be five points back of the middle of the Atlantic.
Elsewhere around the program, John Leonard is joining the Red Wings for the Florida trip, and Nicklas Lidstrom is calling for Sweden to boycott international play.
On the prospect side, JP Hurlbert had a night worth noticing. The Red Wings prospect scored his second goal of the season in the University of Michigan’s second game against Ohio State this weekend, and his second-period goal to make it 2-1 was the first lead Michigan had held in the back-to-back series.
Michigan went on to beat Ohio State 5-4 in overtime. Hurlbert, a 2026 first-round pick, has mostly been skating on the fourth line, but a performance like that could earn the young winger more ice time on a deep Wolverines roster.
In Other News...
Red Wings May Be Running Out Of Time To Pick A Goalie Direction
Since Jimmy Howard retired in 2021, the Red Wings have cycled through 14 different goaltenders, a number that says plenty about how unsettled the position has been in Detroit. The latest wrinkle is Michal Postava, who has started to look like more than just another prospect in the pipeline after turning heads in both the NHL and AHL, giving the organization a fresh option at a spot that has been hard to stabilize.
John Gibsons uneven October only sharpened the question of where this all goes next, especially with Daniil Tarasov also in the picture and a roster spot not likely to open itself. Detroit may need to choose a direction soon, whether that means moving Gibson or Tarasov to create space for Postava, even if the return in any deal is expected to be modest. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings May Have A Goalie Decision Brewing In Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids has opened the season looking like a team that knows exactly how it wants to play, and the early results have backed it up. The Griffins have won six of their first eight games, with Michal Postava giving them a steady presence in net as Detroit keeps a close eye on what is developing a little farther down the organizational ladder.
Postavas rise has added another layer to the Red Wings goaltending picture, especially after his NHL debut and first start already gave the organization a glimpse of what he can do under pressure. Under Dan Watson, the Griffins have leaned into a hard-nosed style, and while the start has been encouraging, the bigger question now is whether this pace can hold as the season settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Suddenly Face A Real Dylan Larkin Trade Test
The Dylan Larkin situation has gone from uncomfortable to urgent for Detroit, with Washington now in the mix and assistant general manager Kris Draper taking in Capitals games as the sides circle a possible deal. For a Red Wings team trying to manage a difficult standoff, the interest from a contender adds a layer of pressure, especially with Larkins value still significant enough to shape the conversation.
What makes this even more delicate is the kind of return Detroit would need to consider if it moves its captain-level centerpiece. Washingtons top prospect, Ilya Protas, is viewed as the sort of asset that could anchor those talks, but the Capitals also have to navigate their salary cap situation to make any serious push work. For now, the framework is there, the interest is real, and the next step could say plenty about how far this standoff has already gone. [Read more 🡒]