- Simon Edvinsson says other clubs showed interest this summer while his Red Wings contract sits unsigned
- Detroit has had no permanent GM since Steve Yzerman resigned in July, so nobody has been negotiating
- Read below for Edvinsson’s full comments and what Tuesday’s deadline costs the Red Wings
Simon Edvinsson had a market this summer. Detroit just never had anyone around to answer the phone.
The 23-year-old defenseman is a restricted free agent, so rival teams are free to hand him an offer sheet. Edvinsson told Aftonbladet’s Anton Johansson that a few poked around, though he would not say which ones.
“There has been some interest from other clubs,” he said, in comments translated from Swedish.
Nothing came of it, and nothing has come from Detroit either. Steve Yzerman resigned as general manager in mid-July and the Red Wings still have not hired a replacement, so Edvinsson’s file has sat untouched since spring.
“We haven’t negotiated anything. It’s been at a standstill for a good while now,” Edvinsson said.
A week out from camp, he still has nobody on the other end of the table to call.
“It’s unusual. I haven’t seen anyone else in a spot like this before, when there isn’t even anyone to talk to this late,” he said.
Camp opens next week and Edvinsson is flying over for it anyway, as Pierre LeBrun reported Monday:
Being at camp without a contract also means being there without the team’s insurance, and Edvinsson has handled that himself.
“If something happens that you don’t want to happen, you have to cover it yourself. I’ve bumped up my insurance a little extra now,” he said.
Detroit also loses its eight-year option on Tuesday. The new CBA takes effect Sept. 16 and caps a team at seven years on its own player, so Sept. 15 is the last day the Red Wings can offer term nobody else can match.
Nine goals and 16 assists in 72 games last season, 148 blocked shots, better than 22 minutes a night. Detroit took him sixth overall in 2021 and got the top-pairing defenseman it drafted. Take a look at what the Red Wings are haggling over:
Two offer sheets did get signed this summer. New Jersey went after Utah’s Barrett Hayton, and Philadelphia threw a five-year, $80 million sheet at Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson. Both were matched, and Carlsson figures that number dragged the rest of the market up behind it.
Edvinsson is not angling for a way out. He keeps an apartment in Detroit and plans to train there.
“I love Detroit and I love the fans. I love everything here,” he said.
He just needs somebody in the building with the authority to sign the contract.
