The big news this weekend is that Simon Edvinsson, who is a restricted free agent, prefers a trade from the Detroit Red Wings to another team. Reports confirm he is on the trade block; you can read all about it here.

And here, here, and here. 

The point is, Edvinsson is a young defenseman whom many teams will love to have in their lineup. The New Jersey Devils are no exception, a team that can use a 23-year-old defenseman of his caliber to take a team with talent and take it to the next level.  

For general manager Sunny Mehta, this is the type of move he can make that catches everyone by surprise. The problem is that there are a lot of headaches and obstacles that will prevent him from acquiring Edvinsson for the Devils' defense. 

The Devils have been looking for young defensemen to build around for years. They have Luke Hughes but need someone who shuts offenses down and has a stay-at-home mentality. They were hoping Simon Nemec would develop into that defenseman. He didn’t, and they traded him in the offseason. 

Edvinsson is a shutdown defenseman they can build around. He’s 6-foot-6 and weighs 222 pounds, but has a proven track record of stepping up on the defensive end, especially in recent years. 

In 2024-25, Edvinsson had 4.8 defensive point shares and 144 blocked shots. Last season, he had 5.1 defensive point shares and 148 blocked shots. It usually takes time for a defenseman, especially one from overseas, to learn the position at an NHL level. Edvinsson is only 23 and already great in his own end. 

Of course, the pushback is that he plays on the left side, the same side that Hughes does. However, he’s the defenseman the Devils play on a different pair to change things up and in situations when they must stop the opponent. Likewise, Edvinsson can play on his weak side and still play at a high level, making him someone the Devils might want to play on a Hughes pair regardless. 

The latest game against the New York Islanders, where the Devils lost 6-0, was a grim reminder of the deficiencies on defense. They need more speed on their blue line and players who can clean up pucks in the net front. Edvinsson accomplishes those things and then some. 

The first is the potential contract. The expected average annual value on Edvinsson’s next deal is in the $8 million range, if not more. The Devils will have cap space after this season, but they have to move a few players to fit Edvinsson on the roster this season. 

Speaking of players, that’s another obstacle. If the Devils make a trade with the Red Wings, they’ll likely move on from a young NHL-ready player or two prospects to make it work. A player like Dawson Mercer or a prospect like Anton Silaev makes sense in a trade, but both are tough to move on from the Devils' perspective. 

The other issue is the team that might trade Edvinsson: the Red Wings. They have an interim GM with Shawn Horcoff running the team, but it’s unclear which decisions he’s allowed to make and which ones the ownership is waiting on, looking for a permanent GM to pull the trigger. It’s this dysfunction that leaves the Red Wings with a power vacuum in their front office and a mess as the season begins (which explains why both Edvinsson and Dylan Larkin have requested trades). 

The Devils ideally address their problems from within. It’s something every team will say when asked if they want to acquire a big name on the trade block. In the Devils’ case, many of their issues are coachable. 

It’s where the pressure shifts to head coach Sheldon Keefe. He must find a system that allows the Devils to lean on their explosive offense and high-end skill but also stay strong on the defensive end. 

The other way to address the issues from within is with the prospect pool and the depth defensemen. Silaev, for example, is developing into a shutdown defenseman, much like the type that Edvinsson is, and he can fill that void in a few years. 

The Devils also will want to find out what the issues on the team are before assuming there’s a weakness and addressing it. Before the season began, goaltending was a question mark, and it made a Connor Hellebuyck trade a great idea. However, Mehta claimed Rémi Poirier off waivers as reinforcement, at least for now. 

The Devils will evaluate the roster as the first month, or even two months, play out. If defense remains their weak link, a trade for Edvisson makes sense. And if he’s traded by then, they can always look at a Quinn Hughes addition, or another defenseman to help the unit.