The Detroit Red Wings have made a noticeable move in their talks with Simon Edvinsson, but the gap still looks real.
On Daily Faceoff, Jeff Marek and David Pagnotta said Detroit has pushed its offer up to a six-year deal worth around $8.5 million, a clear step from the club’s earlier position. Even so, that number still falls short of what Edvinsson’s side is believed to want, and the negotiations remain stuck on money.
Pagnotta said the Red Wings’ latest pitch sits in the neighborhood of Moritz Seider’s $8.55 million figure, but that kind of offer “is not going to get it done.” He added that if Edvinsson is signing a six- or seven-year deal, he is seeking “significantly more dollars.”
The tension in the talks has been building for a while. Marek said the situation has been inching toward the point where a trade feels more possible, though he stressed that the door is still open. Pagnotta agreed, saying he does not believe the door is completely closed either, even with Edvinsson frustrated by how this has played out.
That frustration, according to Pagnotta, grew as the regular season got closer and training camp ended without a deal. He said Edvinsson had expected the sides to sort things out while he stayed in camp and prepared for the season, only to see the process drag on. His return to Sweden, Pagnotta said, was a strong sign the two sides were still far apart.
Detroit’s willingness to move from its original stance could be seen as progress, but not enough progress to bridge the divide. Pagnotta said the expectation around a full-term deal would land closer to seven years and around $11 million, based on numbers that have been discussed.
There are also other teams watching the situation. Pagnotta mentioned Seattle and Philadelphia as clubs he is “very curious about,” along with a few others that have been poking around. Even so, the message out of Detroit remains that the team still intends to sign Edvinsson and is not eager to explore a trade.
In Other News...
Red Wings Make Two Changes As Pressure Builds Early
The Red Wings are heading into their home game against Ottawa still searching for that first win, with Dylan Larkin and Marco Kasper expected back in the lineup after the team has already been tinkering with its forward combinations. Alex DeBrincat has been part of those recent line changes, a sign that coach Derek Lalonde is trying to find a spark early before the seasons frustration starts to snowball.
Off the ice, Detroit has also been reshaping the front office in ways that could matter down the road. Kris Draper is stepping into the director of pro scouting job, while Jesse Wallin is set to lead amateur scouting, and the club added Mark Leach from the Maple Leafs to the scouting staff. It is a reminder that while the immediate pressure is about ending the skid, the Red Wings are also making changes with an eye on how the organization evaluates and builds its roster moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Quietly Made A Front Office Change That Could Matter
A quiet front-office shuffle is taking shape in Detroit, with Mark Leach on his way back into the organization after previous stints as an amateur scout for both the Red Wings and the Dallas Stars. The move comes with assistant general manager Kris Draper taking over pro scouting duties, while Leach is set to work alongside head of amateur scouting Jesse Wallin in some capacity connected to the amateur side.
It is also one of the first notable personnel decisions made under interim general manager Shawn Horcoff, which gives the change a little more weight than a standard staffing tweak. In a league where the line between drafting well and building the right support structure can be thin, the Red Wings are clearly adjusting who handles which part of the evaluation process, even if the full ripple effect will take a while to show. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Face A Tempting Laine Decision Before Someone Else Does
Patrik Laine is still sitting on the free-agent market as the season draws closer, and the lingering question for Detroit is whether he becomes a real option or just another name the Red Wings spent time kicking around internally. Teams such as Calgary and Detroit have had some discussions about him, but the market has not moved much, and his preference for certain locations appears to be part of why interest has not turned into something more concrete.
For the Red Wings, the appeal is obvious enough: Laine is the kind of high-end talent who can change a lineup if the fit is right. The wrinkle is that the next step may come down to how much risk a team is willing to take and whether Laine is open to a performance-based contract structure, which would give clubs more protection while leaving his destination very much up in the air. [Read more 🡒]