Simon Edvinsson is already turning into one of the more intriguing contract names in the league, and the conversation around him is starting to sound a lot like classic offer-sheet chatter.
On the latest discussion between Jeff Marek and David Pagnotta, the focus landed on whether a team could actually pry the Detroit Red Wings defenseman away with an offer sheet - and if a one-year deal might be the only real route. Marek framed it as a scenario where the threat is not just the money, but the player making it clear he still wouldn’t want to stay if Detroit matched.
Pagnotta said that’s exactly the kind of wrinkle that makes this situation worth watching.
“Yeah, I was wondering about that. I have been wondering about that too, because you, you put them in a position.
You’re still going to have to cough up, you know. Let’s say it’s 11 million bucks or whatever, and anything over the 9.5 and change or whatever the number is, you’re going to have to cough up two firsts, a second, and a third.
I don’t think the hesitation necessarily is tied to the compensation. I think it’s, will Detroit match?
Even if the, it’s a pure indicator that I don’t want to sign here. It makes things difficult because they won’t be able to trade them for a calendar year.
You know, to that point. So …”
That’s where the one-year idea keeps coming back into the conversation. Marek suggested it could be the cleanest way to force the issue, because if Detroit matches, the player could simply make the same point again down the road.
Pagnotta didn’t dismiss it.
“Right? Yeah, yeah.
Go down that road for the next three years.”
He also made clear that Edvinsson is drawing real attention around the league, even if some teams may be boxed out by cap space. Pagnotta pointed to interest outside of Seattle and Philadelphia, and said multiple clubs have at least checked in. Still, Detroit’s stance has been steady: the message is that they want to keep Edvinsson in the fold for years.
“But again, the messaging has been we’re focused on trying to make this kid a Red Wing for X amount of years. Again, it’s an interesting one unless they come up in dollars, significantly, at this point. I just, I don’t know how you get to a longer-term deal that is something the player is open to doing.”
That’s where the Zeev Buium contract entered the discussion as the floor for any long-term Edvinsson deal. Marek said it outright: the Buium extension, which carries a $9.38 million cap hit over eight years, is the bare minimum baseline.
“To me, that’s like the very minimum. Like we don’t want to offend you with an offer, so it’s the Zeev Buium contract. Like that, that’s kind of what I’m getting at.”
Pagnotta agreed that Buium is the starting point, though he noted the two players are different types of defensemen.
“Yeah, I mean, yeah, I think from, from the baseline, absolutely. And different type of player.
He’s played more, different style, and, and all that. But just in terms of how much value other teams have in him in being, you know, a first, capable of a first pair defenseman.
Again, different, different type of player, less on the offensive side for the time being. But there’s a ton of, there’s a ton of interest in this kid.
And if you’re looking at going six seven years, yeah, you’re going to have to be looking at, my guess would be 10 plus (million). Like maybe, like that Buium deal might even be too low because he was just under, but you’re …”
In other words, if a team wants to go long on Edvinsson, it may have to go well past the Buium number.
Pagnotta also suggested Detroit likely already put a substantial offer on the table, but that it may not have been enough to satisfy the player’s camp. And with teams still keeping tabs, he said there are clubs out there watching this situation closely.
“So, and again, there are teams that are monitoring this as much as they can, probably watching this, going. ‘Maybe we should give Shawn (Horcoff) another call.’”
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