Simon Edvinsson is out of Red Wings camp and off the ice with his teammates, his locker nameplate gone as Detroit and the restricted free agent remain stuck without a new contract.
“As of today, Simon is not practicing with the team,” Detroit interim GM Shawn Horcoff said in a statement. “The organization will continue conversations with Simon and his representatives.”
Because Edvinsson still does not have a deal, he is no longer allowed to take part in team activities until a new contract is signed. On Monday, that meant he was effectively erased from the Red Wings’ day-to-day setup.
Coach McLellan addressed the situation with a blunt shrug at the business side of the sport.
“The business part of the game sometimes takes a while,” McLellan told reporters. “I know that Horc is working really hard and will continue to do that.
“And, you know, Simon’s an important part of our team, and we’d like to have him here. But business is part of the game.”
Edvinsson had already made his own choice to show up for camp rather than stay home waiting on the paperwork. He came on a professional tryout contract, took part in drills, but did not play in games or scrimmages.
That decision was his alone, and it kept him around the team while the contract talks dragged on.
Word in NHL circles is that the sides may be close to a long-term agreement with an AAV in the $9-$10 million range. Even so, the delay has left Detroit in a rough spot, especially with the season about to begin.
The Red Wings had all summer to get this done after Steve Yzerman was dismissed as GM in early July, but the deal still hasn’t been finalized.
If an agreement lands before Friday’s season opener, Edvinsson would be asked to jump straight into regular-season action without any preseason games under his belt. And if the start is slow, the blame for this stretch won’t belong to him.
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