A hypothetical blockbuster has Quinn Hughes landing in Detroit, but the real hook in this trade pitch is Simon Edvinsson.
The proposed deal, published Saturday on the roster site PuckGM, would send Hughes and forward Yakov Trenin to the Red Wings in exchange for Edvinsson, center Nate Danielson, and a 2028 first-round pick. It’s not a reported agreement, just a speculative framework - but one that puts Detroit’s unsigned defenseman at the center of the conversation.
Edvinsson is the key piece because his situation has stalled. The 23-year-old is not playing for Detroit and has to sign by Dec. 1 to appear this season.
He is reportedly looking for more than $10 million per year, and the two sides have reportedly not been close. Even so, interim GM Shawn Horcoff said Oct. 14 he has “zero interest in trading” him.
Minnesota’s side of the deal would be built around a pair of premium draft assets. Edvinsson went sixth overall in 2021, while Danielson was the No. 9 pick in 2023, and the Wild would also land a first-rounder in 2028. The pitch would effectively turn into a defenseman-for-defenseman swap with a major collection of futures attached.
For Detroit, Hughes would walk into a blue line led by Moritz Seider. Seider has 13 points in 11 games and is on an expiring $7.85 million contract.
He has previously said an extension will get done “whenever I feel like it needs to be done.” More recently, Hughes said his two feet are “firmly planted” in Minnesota and added that he wouldn’t be surprised if something happens “soon”.
The Red Wings have the cap space to absorb the move, and if Edvinsson were signed, the outgoing and incoming cap hits would land at roughly the same level. But the bigger issue is whether Detroit would do this without a long-term commitment in hand.
That’s the real catch. Hughes does not have trade protection, but Detroit would almost certainly need to know an extension is coming before pulling the trigger. The Red Wings are not in a spot to take on a rental, and they would not want Hughes unless he was part of a long-term solution.
So the pitch comes down to a simple question: is this the kind of deal that solves Detroit’s Edvinsson standoff, or one that asks too much for a pending free agent? Either way, the Red Wings would be getting the best player in the swap while giving up two high draft picks and a first-rounder to do it.
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