The Detroit Red Wings' preference is to get Simon Edvinsson under contract, but the emergence of a young defenseman provides an opportunity to address a desperate need.
The Wings are a week into their season, and go into their game Friday, Oct. 9, on a winning note thanks in large part to Dylan Larkin joining the lineup.
Larkin made headlines over the summer for his decision to request a trade, but all along, the Wings' priority has always been to keep Larkin on their roster. He's their top center and is in Year 4 of a salary cap friendly eight-year contract.
Interim general manager Shawn Horcoff likewise has said it's a priority to keep Edvinsson and get the restricted free agent under new contract, but his absence has been alleviated by how well
Anton Johansson has played.
"If Simon's here and he's signed, Anton maybe doesn't have quite the opportunity," coach Todd McLellan said after Thursday's practice at Little Caesars Arena. "Maybe he wouldn't have the camp that he had. But for somebody's misfortune, there's an opportunity and he took advantage of it."
It's smilar to how in February 2025, McLellan, then a month into his job, pointed to how the Wings were dealing with an injury to defenseman Jeff Petry by saying, "We found Albert," as in the other Swedish defenseman on the team named Johansson.
"That's probably a good way of looking at it," McLellan said Thursday. "We didn't know Albert from a hole in the ground, really. And then when Jeff went out, Albert went in and we were comfortable with him."
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And now the Wings are comfortable with Anton Johansson, a 6-foot-4, 203-pound draft pick from 2022 (No. 105 overall, fourth round) who shoots right but can play either right-side or left-side defense. He has averaged just shy of 17 minutes each of the first three games. McLellan realized last spring during the AHL playoffs Johansson could help the Wings.
"When I went to Grand Rapids and watched some games at the end of the year, I thought he had an impact there," McLellan said. "His physicality, his aggressiveness, the way he shot the puck from the blue line. Driving home, we were talking about him. We were anxious to see what he could do in training camp and it's just grown from there."
Johansson, 22, strengthens a Wings defense that includes Moritz Seider, Justin Faulk, Albert Johansson, Ben Chiarot, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Jacob Bernard-Docker and Andreas Englund. Edvinsson has been a key part of the top-four core the past couple seasons, a 6-6, 222-pound left-handed shot who can skate and play with the puck.
Edvinsson, 23, is a supremely valuable asset, and if an agreement on a new deal doesn't seem feasible, could be used to acquire what the Wings need: A proven, elite forward, someone who can play center or wing. The Wings have needed another top-six forward for years, and been unable to add that dimension. It's a player Edvinsson could yield.
Edvinsson has come up in trade talks before: Last December, the Wings reached out to the Vancouver Canucks regarding defenseman Quinn Hughes. Then-general manager Steve Yzerman named a handful of players as untouchable: Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider. Edvinsson was in play – but talks ended when Hughes and his agent, Pat Brisson (also the agent for Larkin) wouldn't commit to signing an extension.
That looks to be sound instinct: Hughes, now in the final year of his contract, has yet to re-sign with the Minnesota Wild, who paid an exorbitant price for the 2024 Norris Trophy winner.
Moving Edvinsson, the No. 6 overall pick in 2021, is a possibility the Wings have the luxury to explore because Johansson has lessened the blow of Edvinsson returning to Sweden as negotiations have dragged on.
For Johansson, it has reinforced his decision to spend most of 2025-26 with Leksands IF in the Swedish Hockey League before joining the Grand Rapids Griffins.
"Playing in the highest league in Sweden, I mean, it's not a bad league," Johansson said Thursday. "That's developed me really good, and then coming over after the year playing for GR. It's just learning how to play on the smaller surface and all that. It's been it's been awesome."
Johansson is part of a group of young players who came to camp with questions of whether they'd stick on the roster, along with Sandin-Pellikka, William Wallinder, and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard. They've all passed at least one test: They were moved from a hotel in downtown Detroit to the suburbs. Only one of them, however, has a car.
"Ax," Johansson said, "is our Uber driver."
Contact Helene St. James at Hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Rookie's emergence gives Red Wings option to trade Simon Edvinsson
