The Maple Leafs are among the teams with interest in Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson, according to David Pagnotta.
Toronto comes into the conversation fresh off a 4-2 win in Vancouver on Saturday night. Jim Hiller's club sits at 8-6-2 with a +7 goal differential.
Edvinsson, meanwhile, hasn't played a game this season. He's listed on injured reserve with the designation "Contract Dispute - Out indefinitely."
That's a lot of uncertainty around a 23-year-old, 6'6, 220-pound defenseman picked sixth overall by Detroit in 2021.
His NHL résumé is still modest, but it's there. Over 175 career games he has 19 goals, 41 assists and a +17 rating.
Toronto isn't the first team attached to him. Pagnotta had already floated the Kraken as a fit for Simon Edvinsson on Tuesday.
Why a Leafs blue line fit makes sense for both sides
Look at what Toronto got from its defense in Vancouver. Jake McCabe logged 23:19 and Darren Raddysh 21:49, while Morgan Rielly played 17:58.
The group is producing, but a young, big right-now-or-later defenseman is exactly what a general manager like John Chayka would at least have to ask about.
The Red Wings are the ones stuck in a harder spot. Todd McLellan's team lost 5-4 to the Blues on Saturday night, and John Gibson stopped 10 of 15 shots.
Detroit's 6-5-3 record and 43 goals against say a defenseman of Edvinsson's pedigree should be on the ice, not on IR over a contract dispute. Holding firm on a reported sky-high price while he sits is a bad look, and rival front offices have noticed. Our earlier report noted that the Red Wings rejecting a Sharks offer for Edvinsson only raised the temperature.
Pagnotta noted that Toronto is one of several clubs showing interest, with the credit going to PuckEmpire for the original find.
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Detroit plays at Florida on Monday, and Toronto hosts Utah on Tuesday. Neither game settles anything, but the Edvinsson standoff has to end somewhere, and the list of suitors keeps growing while he waits.
Should the Red Wings cut their asking price and move Simon Edvinsson before the contract dispute drags on any longer?
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