The next step for the Detroit Red Wings is to get Simon Edvinsson in the fold and on the ice. And to keep Dylan Larkin there.
That's been a priority all along, but now it comes into even stronger focus after the extension for Alex DeBrincat (seven years, $91 million)is signed and in the books. Edvinsson is a restricted free agent, and the Wings need to get him signed before Dec. 1 or he's ineligible to play in the NHL this season. While a trade can't be ruled out, it would be a last resort.
"I have zero interest in trading Simon Edvinsson and I want to keep him at home," interim general manager Shawn Horcoff said on Wednesday, Oct. 14. "Nothing's changed on my part. I think Simon is someone that's very hard to come by. We've spent a lot of time
developing him. We drafted him. He's a player that we value here, that I value especially, and I know everyone in that locker room does, as well. So it's not something I'm entertaining. We want to sign Simon and hopefully get that done."
Edvinsson, 23, is an attractive asset, a 6-foot-6, 220-plus pound defenseman who can skate and make plays with the puck. He had nine goals and 25 points in 72 games in 2025-26, his second full season in the NHL.
Edvinsson is due a hefty raise from the $894,167 he made during the three years of his entry-level contract, which expired this past summer. He projects to make around the same $8.55 million annual average value the Wings are paying Moritz Seider, the top defenseman on their team, though it could be higher given some of the comparables that emerged over the summer.
The Wings just want him signe.d
"Simon is a player that we're working very, very diligently to sign," Horcoff said. "He's a big part of our future. We've spent a lot of time with Simon developing him, so I'm going to continue to try to get him signed and add him back in the lineup.
"I think we're open to anything. The details of it we'll still keep to ourselves. But when you're trying to sign a player, you have to be open-minded to all options, and we certainly are."
Dylan Larkin update
Horcoff didn't have anything new to say here, which is expected. Just like Larkin, the organization has said very little to address the trade request Larkin made shortly after last season ended. So far he's reported to camp and, after healing from an upper-body injury, has been in the lineup since the third game. Larkin, 30, is in Year 4 of an eight-year deal carrying an $8.7 million annual average value And that, coupled with being the team's best center, has made the Wings reluctant to trade Larkin, especially considering so far they haven't received anything resembling fair value in offers.
Larkin was booed when he was on the bench for opening night introductions and during his first few shifts, but the booing died down after he scored in his season debut, and they were non-existent in the last game at Little Caesars Arena.
"I think with Dylan, he's had a tough month," Horcoff said. "There's a lot going on with Dylan. But I think on top of the injury, it probably came at a really inopportune time for him. It's going to take some time and he's working back through that. It's only going to get easier for him as things go on here and he starts to find his game and his legs a little bit more.
"It hasn't been easy for him. One thing I have to give Dylan a lot of credit [for is] with the way he's handled this. It's clearly not an easy situation, but he's got the full support of management. He's got the full support of his teammates, the coaching staff in there. And he's come back and really came to play right off the bat. I think the fans have recognized that. There were some tough times for him, I would say, early. But through his effort and through his work, and obviously the acknowledgement of it being a difficult situation, and Dylan, to his own words, manning up to it, I think they're starting to see some reaction from the fans in terms of understanding that, listen, he's here, Dylan's here, and he's doing his best to play his best out there for the Red Wings."
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: Detroit Red Wings have' zero interest' in trading Simon Edvinsson
