Red Wings Facing Growing Pressure in Simon Edvinsson Contract Talks
The Detroit Red Wings are back at the negotiating table with defenseman Simon Edvinsson as both sides work toward an agreement before the regular season begins.
According to Pierre LeBrun, Detroit remains interested in getting a deal finalized. However, The Athletic’s Max Bultman has been far more critical of how the situation has unfolded, arguing that the Red Wings have allowed a manageable contract negotiation to become an unnecessary problem.
Detroit had the entire preseason to work out an agreement with Edvinsson, including multiple practices and exhibition games. Yet, with the start of the regular season approaching, the talented defenseman still doesn’t have a new contract.
That delay could now become costly.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has reported that the Red Wings appear to be leaning toward a short-term bridge contract rather than committing to Edvinsson on a longer-term deal. The decision has raised questions because Detroit reportedly has more than $20 million in available salary-cap space.
The Red Wings also have most of their key players under contract for the coming seasons, with Alex DeBrincat standing out as the major exception. That means Detroit doesn’t appear to be facing an immediate cap crunch that would make a long-term Edvinsson extension difficult.
There is also the question of timing.
Detroit potentially had an opportunity to sign Edvinsson before other major defenseman contracts helped establish new market benchmarks. Instead, the team allowed the negotiations to continue while comparable players, including Zeev Buium and Cale Makar, signed deals that could influence the market.
Bultman has also pointed toward Detroit’s front-office situation as part of the reason the negotiations have taken so long. The Red Wings spent a significant portion of the offseason without a permanent general manager, following the departure of Steve Yzerman and the eventual appointment of Shawn Horcoff as interim GM.
Through all of this, Edvinsson has continued to show that he wants to remain in Detroit.
In fact, the defenseman reportedly arrived at training camp without a contract because he was eager to work toward a new agreement with the organization.
Now, with the regular season getting closer, the pressure is increasingly on the Red Wings to find common ground with one of their important young defensemen.
The longer the negotiations continue, the more attention the situation is likely to receive.
