The Red Wings' second-best defenseman is back home in Sweden, without a contract, because the team is playing hardball. It's tough to understand why.
In times of trouble, perhaps the best thing a leader can do — apart from trying to solve the problem — is project calm.
Do the Detroit Red Wings seem calm to you?
Their No. 1 center and former captain wants out. They don't have a general manager, and might not at any point in the foreseeable future. And now their second-best defenseman is back home in Sweden skating with a pro team because he doesn't have a contract for this year ahead of the Wings' first game on Friday.
The fact that they're starting the season relatively late gives Simon Edvinsson and interim GM Shawn Horcoff a little wiggle room to get a deal done, but the portents are not good. And it's seemingly because the Red Wings are trying to hold the line on a ridiculous position.
All the reporting seems to indicate that they would like to sign Edvinsson to a bridge deal — meaning one or two years at a reduced price — while the player would prefer more money (but by no means an unreasonable amount) in exchange for a longer commitment.
Edvinsson has been a good soldier in all this: He showed up to camp as a full participant despite being out of contract, putting himself at risk for injury that could affect his asking price. The reported AAV he's seeking, in the $10-million range, would be reasonable for a 23-year-old, first-pair defenseman with his profile even before the league-wide salary explosion over the summer.
And to that, the Red Wings say, "No thanks." Maybe they're doing that because of the AAV they're paying a Norris-caliber defenseman like Moritz Seider (just $8.5 million) but that deal was signed in a flat-cap environment and this one will apply to one where the growth is expected to be in the $25-million range over a two- or three-year period.
It's just not keeping up with the times, at all.
Especially because the Red Wings are currently sitting on almost $17 million in cap space to start the season. They could almost sign two Edvinssons, or one Cale Makar, and make the money work.
Plus, they have a bunch of money coming off the books for the 2027-28 season. So even if Edvinsson were intent on breaking the bank, it would be tough for them to not find a way to make it work with a guy who ought to be a cornerstone of a franchise that, frankly, needs a lot of help.
The apparent insistence on the bridge deal is also beyond the pale. The Red Wings, with all this cap space, are hoping to save a couple million bucks now so they can, what, triple Edvinsson's salary in 2029? For what possible purpose, other than the idea that they want to be a budget team this year since they're going to stink regardless?
At a time when the most important player of the last decade is openly asking for a way out, the fact that Edvinsson wants to go longer on the term should be a good thing, not a bad thing.
By all indications, including showing up for camp without a contract, he's given them no reason at all to think he's not in this for the long haul. But professional courtesy is a two-way street and they're not offering him the same.
Between how they've handled the Dylan Larkin situation and this, the Red Wings are projecting to the hockey world that, actually, Larkin is right to want out. They're saying, "You don't want to be here? Too bad. You signed a deal," at the same time as they're saying, "You want to be here? Well, too bad, it's only on the terms as we dictate them."
In an increasingly player-focused league, being so openly unwilling to do business at the expense of your own team's on and off-ice success, seems inadvisable.
If they're going to nickel-and-dime Edvinsson over a few million bucks and a handful of years, all while fans are taking out full-page ads in the local newspaper bemoaning the team's management, does that make Detroit seem like a place guys should want to sign?
Especially at a time when they're apparently still trying to convince Alex DeBrincat not to hit the market when he's a UFA this summer, you would have thought the answer is no. But I guess it's just not that simple.
The best time for them to re-sign Edvinsson was at the press conference when they announced Horcoff was taking over on an interim basis. The second-best time was any day between then and now.
It's impossible to explain rationally how they got here. And you get the feeling they couldn't explain where they're going, either.
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