The Detroit Red Wings may already be staring at one of the trickiest decisions of their offseason.
Simon Edvinsson, the 23-year-old restricted free agent who has grown into a key piece of Detroit’s blue line, has reportedly drawn interest from the Carolina Hurricanes. According to Elliotte Friedman, Carolina has been doing its homework on the towering left-shot defenseman, and Friedman suggested the Hurricanes have even been making calls to Steve Yzerman as they weigh a possible offer sheet.
That’s where things get uncomfortable for the Red Wings. If contract talks in Detroit stall, Carolina could be tempted to go big, and the numbers being floated are eye-opening: more than $10 million annually on a deal of at least four years. Under NHL offer sheet rules, anything above the top compensation threshold would cost the signing team four first-round picks.
That’s a steep price, but Edvinsson is the kind of player that makes teams think twice. At 6-foot-6 and 216 pounds, he’s become the ideal running mate for Moritz Seider on Detroit’s top pairing. Through his first three NHL seasons, he’s carved out a reputation as one of the league’s most promising young two-way defensemen, blending skating, reach, physical play and calm puck management in a package that’s hard to find.
For Detroit, the concern isn’t just losing a good player. It’s losing a player who fits a very specific role the roster can’t easily replace.
The Red Wings don’t have another left-shot defenseman who can step into Edvinsson’s spot and handle the same workload. He’s the one who helps give Detroit’s top pair the ability to take on the toughest assignments night after night.
And that’s why four first-round picks, while valuable in theory, don’t really solve the problem. Draft capital is nice.
A proven 23-year-old top-pair defenseman is better. Especially when those picks could come late in the round if the offer sheet comes from a contender like Carolina.
For Steve Yzerman, the math seems pretty clear. Matching a massive offer sheet would sting and would almost certainly ripple through Detroit’s salary structure.
It could make future negotiations with other young players more complicated, too. But letting Edvinsson leave would be a far bigger hit.
The Red Wings have spent years building around Moritz Seider, Lucas Raymond and Edvinsson as the backbone of what they hope becomes their next contender. Losing one-third of that core, even for compensation, would be a blow Detroit can’t afford.
In Other News...
Red Wings Fans Just Got Another Reason To Doubt Larkin Pick Packages
Bill Armstrongs explanation for why Utah matched the Barrett Hayton offer sheet landed well beyond Salt Lake City, because it put a familiar NHL debate back in the spotlight: how much trust should a general manager place in draft picks when a proven center is on the table? For Red Wings fans, it is the same tension that always follows Dylan Larkin chatter. Steve Yzerman has been careful about the kind of return he would even consider, and the broader message from around the league is clear enough. Picks are useful, but they are far from sure things, especially when the player in question is already established.
The numbers only sharpen that caution. Second-round selections from 2011 to 2020 have turned into regular NHL players only about 30 to 34 percent of the time, while even late first-rounders are hardly locks. That is why teams keep treating premium centers like assets you do not replace with a stack of futures unless the offer is loaded with real certainty. For Detroit, it is another reminder that any Larkin package would have to be built around proven help, not just the promise of what might develop years down the road. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Face Growing Tension Around Simon Edvinsson's Future
Simon Edvinssons offseason has already become one of the more closely watched items on the Red Wings docket, even after a season that showed why Detroit wants him around. The young defenseman played 72 games and set career highs in goals and assists, giving the blue line the kind of two-way growth the organization has been building toward as it tries to keep its core intact.
Lucas Raymond, meanwhile, is moving into the third season of his eight-year extension and was recently seen alongside Edvinsson and Rasmus Dahlin at a Luke Combs concert, a reminder of how intertwined these young Swedish stars remain away from the rink. For Detroit, the bigger question is how quickly the Edvinsson situation settles, because every passing week keeps the focus on a player whose next step matters to the roster and to the teams long-term plans. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Offseason Is Stuck On One Massive Unresolved Situation
Dylan Larkins situation has become the kind of offseason hold-up that can shape everything else around it. The Red Wings captain remains at the center of a trade discussion with Steve Yzerman, and until there is clarity on where that goes, Detroits roster picture stays a little blurry. It is the sort of unresolved business that hangs over a teams summer, especially when the player involved is still under contract and the front office is trying to map out the next step without forcing the issue.
Yzerman does have time to work through it, with months still left to find a deal that makes sense for the organization. The wrinkle is that Detroit is not approaching this like a standard futures swap, which narrows the field and makes the negotiation more delicate. If nothing comes together, Larkin could still be on the roster when the season opens, a possibility that keeps this from being a clean break and leaves the Red Wings waiting on a decision that could define the direction of the whole offseason. [Read more 🡒]