Red Wings Won't Rule Out an Edvinsson Trade — and Anton Johansson Just Made That a Real Conversation

DETROIT — Here's the thing about leverage in the NHL: it almost never comes from the player you were planning on. It comes from the kid you weren't. The Detroit Free Press reported Friday morning that while the Red Wings' preference remains signing restricted free agent Simon Edvinsson, rookie Anton Johansson's emergence has handed the club something it didn't have all summer — a credible alternative to paying Edvinsson. And when you have an alternative, you have options. When you have options, you have trade talks.

Let's be clear about what the Freep is actually saying, because the wording matters. The club's stated preference is to sign the 23-year-old. Interim general manager Shawn Horcoff has said it's a priority to keep Edvinsson and get him under contract. That is not new. What is new is the second half of the sentence: that Johansson's play gives Detroit a real option to move Edvinsson in a trade to address what the Freep describes as a "desperate need." That's the front office doing math it couldn't do two months ago.

And honestly? Coach Todd McLellan basically said the quiet part out loud after Thursday's practice at Little Caesars Arena.

"If Simon's here and he's signed, Anton maybe doesn't have quite the opportunity... But for somebody's misfortune, there's an opportunity and he took advantage of it."— Todd McLellan, after Thursday's practice at Little Caesars Arena

That's not a coach shutting down trade talk. That's a coach marveling at his new toy. Read it again: "if Simon's here and he's signed" — that's a conditional. McLellan is coaching the roster he has today and auditioning the roster he might have tomorrow, at the same time.

Meanwhile, the player himself might be pushing this along. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported that Edvinsson "prefers a trade," though Detroit has told rival teams its priority is still signing him. Friedman also noted the Wings have "moved off" their bridge-contract position — which is front-office speak for "we'll pay the man," at least in theory. So you have a player who reportedly wants out, a team that says it wants him back, and a bridge deal nobody believes in anymore. Somebody's math is going to break.

This is also a story about a summer that never produced anything. Edvinsson drew offer-sheet interest during the summer, according to ProHockeyRumors (via Aftonbladet), but nothing got signed. Talks were cursory before Steve Yzerman's departure as general manager — cursory is a polite word for "nobody was really negotiating." And here's the part that makes this whole saga feel like a soap opera: the club currently doesn't even have a full-time GM. Horcoff is the interim. So the man running the biggest contract decision on the roster is technically a temp. If you hold a Detroit future, sit with that for a second.

Now, the numbers — because they explain why this is a real dilemma and not just noise. Edvinsson is 23, 6-foot-6 and 222 pounds, drafted 6th overall in 2021. Last season he put up 9 goals and 16 assists in 72 games, blocked 148 shots, and played 22-plus minutes a night. Those are top-pair minutes on a team that plays him like a cornerstone. And the underlying numbers, via Sportsnet: with Moritz Seider, Edvinsson logged nearly 1,100 five-on-five minutes at 52.6% expected goals, outscoring opponents 50-38. That is a legitimate shutdown top pair. Without Edvinsson, Seider paired with Albert Johansson is sitting at 40.6 xGF% in a small sample — which is the kind of number that should scare you, even if the sample is too small to trust.

But here's the other side of the ledger: Johansson is emerging, and 21-year-old Axel Sandin Pellikka has impressed too, per the Freep. The pipeline is suddenly producing. That's exactly the moment a team can afford to cash in a premium chip. Teams overpay for 23-year-old, 6-foot-6 top-pair defensemen every single trade deadline. Every year. Detroit can either pay Edvinsson like the star his pairing numbers say he is — which, per Friedman, the player may not even want — or turn him into the thing they actually need. Rookie breakouts don't create needs. They create cover.

Zoom out for a second, because this isn't the only contract drama in Hockeytown this week. Dylan Larkin is back in the lineup and the Wings go into Friday night's slate on a winning note, per the Freep — and Larkin requested a trade this summer too. The club's priority was always keeping him, and why wouldn't it be: he's their top center, in Year 4 of a cap-friendly eight-year deal. Two of your best players asking for the door in one summer is either a coincidence or a vibe. Neither answer is great.

For the gamblers reading this — and you know who you are — none of this is settled, and that's the point. Detroit's price right now is built on a roster that still includes Edvinsson and a settled Larkin. If either domino falls, the number moves. You don't have to bet the Wings. But if you're already holding a Detroit ticket, this is the week to pay attention, because the team that takes the ice in November might not look like the team you've got priced.

More from the weekend slate: the Golden Knights–Maple Leafs shootout went down to the wire Thursday night.