The Detroit Red Wings have set a sky-high price on Simon Edvinsson, and rival front offices are pushing back.
Anthony Di Marco reported Friday morning that sources from other teams have described Detroit's asking prices on the defenseman as “unrealistic.”
Strong word. And it tells you exactly where this conversation sits right now.
Edvinsson hasn't appeared in the Red Wings' lineup through their first 13 games, and the club has scraped together a 6-4-3 record without him.
That mark has Detroit sitting eighth in the Atlantic Division, dead last in the group, even after Thursday night's 4-1 win over Chicago.
The 23-year-old is no throw-in. He put up 31 points and a +12 rating across 78 games in 2024-25.
He followed that with 25 points in 72 games last season, playing a heavy, physical game on the left side.
Shawn Horcoff faces his first big test in Detroit
Shawn Horcoff only took over as general manager in September. This is the first file on his desk that could shape how his tenure gets judged.
Price a house at double the neighborhood value and the only message buyers hear is go away.
And maybe that's the point.
He's a 6-foot-6 left shot who went sixth overall in 2021, the exact profile clubs spend a decade trying to draft and develop.
Look at what Todd McLellan is working with on the back end. Ben Chiarot is 35 and went minus-3 over his last five games.
Justin Faulk, 34, hasn't recorded a point in that same five-game stretch. Moritz Seider is still looking for his first goal of the season.
The German blueliner does have 7 assists, and he carries an $8,550,000 cap hit. That money tells you who the anchor is.
Albert Johansson is day-to-day with an undisclosed issue, which leaves the depth chart even thinner heading into Saturday's matinee against St. Louis.
Here's the bottom line: moving Edvinsson for anything short of a sure thing would be a bad hockey trade. Detroit's goal differential sits at -1, and the blue line has no margin left.
John Gibson isn't bailing anyone out either, with a .874 save percentage through 9 appearances.
So who blinks first? Rival teams clearly aren't ready to meet Detroit's number.
After the Blues, the Red Wings head south for a back-to-back in Florida and Tampa Bay on November 2 and 3.
Horcoff can hold the line. But the longer this drags, the more the market decides what Edvinsson is worth instead of Detroit.
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More details to come.
Should the Red Wings refuse to trade Simon Edvinsson even if a strong offer lands on Shawn Horcoff's desk?
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