Sharks Can Be Patient in Pursuing Red Wings’ Simon Edvinsson

The Detroit Red Wings can’t help themselves from making headlines in regard to the management of their unhappy players, attracting attention from several other teams, including the San Jose Sharks.

Along with the Dylan Larkin saga escalating to the point where the disgruntled former captain is refusing to play another NHL game until he is traded, the other unhappy talent stuck in Detroit is 23-year-old defenseman Simon Edvinsson.

Edvinsson’s frame at 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds fits Sharks general manager Mike Grier’s profile for his desired defensemen who skates well despite being big.

With a need for a defenseman, is it attainable for the Sharks to acquire Edvinsson from the Red Wings?

The unrestricted free agent has until Dec. 1 to sign a contract, or he will be ineligible to play an NHL game for the rest of 2026-27. Sportsnet’s Elliott Friedman reported that he would like to be traded, while Detroit maintains they would like to keep him.

Darren Dreger told Pierre LeBrun, Gino Reda and Chris Johnston on TSN’s Insider Trading that “The Red Wings have offered contracts to date of one year, two years, five years and seven years, but clearly the money isn’t there. The San Jose Sharks are most definitely interested in Simon Edvinsson, and there are upwards of 10 teams interested in this 23-year-old defenseman.”

Edvinsson joined the Red Wings for training camp without a deal in hand, but frustration mounted once preseason started without a contract. The defenseman went home to Sweden, and he has been away from the team since. He will not come back until he signs a deal.

Detroit’s owner Chris Ilitch has completely butchered the situation surrounding Larkin and Edvinsson, doing nothing after firing Steve Yzerman as general manager in the summer. Shawn Horcoff was promoted to interim general manager in mid-September, being left a difficult hand to clean up a mess that was largely avoidable.

Red Wings fans continue chanting “Sell the team” at home games. Illitch said, “I understand fan frustration.”

Friedman reported via his most recent 32 Thoughts article that “The talks with the Sharks are substantive, I believe, with at least one serious offer between them – an offer that was not accepted by Detroit, as the story goes.”

He also noted that San Jose, the Boston Bruins, Nashville Predators and Seattle Kraken were all asked about young centers in a potential return for the young defenseman.

Realistically looking at the Sharks roster and their pipeline, players that Detroit would be interested in would include: Will Smith, Michael Misa, Zack Ostapchuk and Filip Bystedt.

Sharks beat writer Sheng Peng said that he has sources confirming the Sharks dangled Bystedt, Igor Chernyshov and 2026 ninth-overall draft pick Keaton Verhoeff in talks for Edvinsson.

The Sharks are in need of help on the blue line, and Edvinsson would project as a bona fide top-four defenseman immediately on arrival. His size, skating and defensive positioning would be a tremendous help for a team that sometimes lets scoring chances snowball into a flurry of high-danger opportunities for the opposition.

That being said, if the Red Wings are stuck in their stubbornness where they will only trade one of their unhappy players if they win the trade, then the Sharks should steer clear.

Maybe they are bluffing, but Detroit doesn’t seem to have the leverage to demand these kinds of prices. The Sharks should put pressure on the Red Wings, especially since the longer they wait, the more likely it is they lose Edvinsson for nothing.

With the alleged deal Detroit already declined from San Jose, the Sharks shouldn’t push to get a deal done now. If he is still a player they value, the smarter play would be to wait until closer to the Dec. 1 deadline for Edvinsson to sign, allowing for pressure to mount on Detroit to make a decision.

Losing key pieces of their forward depth like Smith, Misa, or Chernyshov would cut heavily into what the Sharks are building to be their strength when their convention window opens.

While adding Edvinsson for one of their young forwards with high ceilings would help an area of need, it would just change the hole they need to fill from defense to forward. Considering the draft they just had, stacking their defensive prospects by picking Ryan Lin and Verhoeff, getting rid of a top-six forward of the future isn’t the best idea.

If the pressure mounts on Detroit the closer December comes and suddenly first-round picks and prospects are acceptable, then San Jose should absolutely make a deal. Forwards in the minors like Bystedt or Quentin Musty, along with picks, should be the desired package the Sharks are willing to give up. If not, the cost may not be worth the return for the Sharks.