Detroit Won't Trade Edvinsson — Now Horcoff Has to Prove It
GOATIFYShawn Horcoff has drawn a line around Simon Edvinsson. The Detroit Red Wings' interim general manager says trading the unsigned defenseman is not an option he wants to consider, even after a contract dispute kept one of the club's most important young players out of the opening stretch of the season. That is a strong public position. It is not, by itself, a contract.
Edvinsson is 23, stands 6-foot-6 and already handles the sort of minutes that teams usually reserve for established top-pair defenders. He reported to camp without a deal, skated without playing preseason games, left for Sweden and has since returned to North America while negotiations continue. Detroit is also dealing with Dylan Larkin's unresolved trade request, an unsettled leadership structure and a 1-3-2 start. In the middle of it all, Alex DeBrincat has signed a seven-year, $91 million extension. One star has certainty; another cornerstone is still waiting. What happens next will say more about the Red Wings' direction than any declaration from the front office.
Edvinsson's value is why Detroit cannot treat this as an ordinary holdout
Shawn Horcoff's position is clear: Detroit wants Simon Edvinsson, not a trade return for him. That distinction matters after a month in which the defenseman's future looked increasingly uncertain. He reported to training camp without a new contract and joined practices, but did not play in preseason games. When negotiations stalled, he left for Sweden. Reports that he preferred a trade turned a routine restricted-free-agent negotiation into a question about whether Detroit could keep another important part of its core. He has since returned to North America, and Horcoff says conversations with his representatives continue.
Edvinsson is not a depth defender asking for a bigger opportunity. Detroit drafted him sixth overall in 2021 and already gives him major responsibility. The 23-year-old has 60 points, including 19 goals, in 175 NHL games. Last season he played 72 games, scored nine goals, added 16 assists and averaged 22:21 per night. For a player with his size, reach and mobility, that is a valuable foundation. Detroit can debate contract length, salary and future risk, but replacing those minutes would carry its own cost.
Restricted free agency gives the Red Wings negotiating rights, yet control of a player's rights does not put him on the ice. The longer the sides remain apart, the more the roster must adjust around a defender it considers essential. Horcoff's willingness to discuss different contract structures suggests room to bargain. His refusal to consider a trade removes an alternative. The next meaningful development will be a signed agreement that lets Edvinsson return to the lineup, not another declaration of intent.
Seider can absorb more work — but that is not the same as replacing Edvinsson
The immediate hockey problem is visible in the ice-time figures. Moritz Seider led Detroit's defense at 25:40 per game last season; Edvinsson was next at 22:21. That is not a luxury pairing on a crowded blue line. It is the framework through which Detroit handles difficult matchups, protects leads and tries to move the puck into attack. Removing one half forces coach Todd McLellan to change the first pair and the combinations behind it.
During the preseason, Albert Johansson received opportunities beside Seider while the staff prepared to start without Edvinsson. Johansson can benefit from those minutes, and Detroit should want younger defenders to grow. But development time is different from having an established partner who can handle more than 22 minutes on a normal night. Every additional shift assigned to one player has a knock-on effect: another defender moves up, another matchup becomes tougher, and the coach has less flexibility late in close games.
Detroit's opening results make that margin more important. The Red Wings entered Wednesday with one win through six games, and the offseason upheaval has given them little time to build a settled identity. A defender of Edvinsson's size can influence entries, net-front coverage and the first pass out of the defensive zone even when he does not appear on the scoresheet. The club's investment in developing him acknowledges that value. If Detroit is serious about becoming harder to play against, keeping its most important young defensive partnership intact should be a priority.
None of that means Edvinsson alone would reverse a poor start. It means the organization should avoid creating an unnecessary weakness in an area it has spent years strengthening. Seider is capable of carrying heavy minutes, but a contender gives its best players reliable help instead of asking them to compensate indefinitely for a contract dispute.
Larkin's unresolved future makes the Edvinsson message a test of trust
Edvinsson's contract is not Detroit's only unresolved question. Dylan Larkin requested a trade after last season and provided a limited list of teams for which he would waive his no-trade clause. He subsequently lost the captaincy, returned to training camp with an injury and missed the first two regular-season games. Horcoff said Wednesday that the situation remains unchanged, declining to discuss private conversations. That leaves the Red Wings asking fans and players to focus on the present without a clear answer about their former captain's future.
Larkin's return against Ottawa on October 6 showed how complicated that relationship has become. He was booed early, scored a goal and added an assist in a 5-3 victory, then received a mixed response when named the game's first star. The 30-year-old has spent his entire NHL career in Detroit and produced 34 goals and 67 points last season. He remains an important center, regardless of the emotions surrounding his request. Against New Jersey on Tuesday, he went without a point for a third straight game in a 5-4 overtime defeat, underlining how difficult it is to turn a charged situation into consistent results.
The parallels with Edvinsson are not exact. Larkin is a veteran under a long-term contract who has asked to leave; Edvinsson is a young restricted free agent whom the club is trying to sign. But both stories test whether Detroit can make players believe its direction is coherent. When the front office says Edvinsson is part of the future, that promise arrives in a dressing room already dealing with a public leadership change and a trade request from a long-serving star.
Horcoff has praised Larkin's professionalism and the support he has received from teammates. That is sensible, but it does not settle where the team is heading. Resolving Edvinsson's deal would at least provide one clear answer: a highly regarded young player is continuing to build his career in Detroit.
DeBrincat's $91 million extension is the commitment Detroit must now build around
Detroit's clearest positive news arrived on the same day as Horcoff's Edvinsson comments. Alex DeBrincat signed a seven-year, $91 million extension with a $13 million annual cap hit beginning in 2027-28. The Michigan native is finishing his current contract, but the agreement removes the possibility of unrestricted free agency after this season. The Red Wings have secured a proven scorer for the long term. DeBrincat produced career highs of 85 points and 41 goals last season. He has opened 2026-27 with four goals and four assists in six games, including two goals and an assist against New Jersey on Tuesday.
The extension also raises the stakes of the Edvinsson negotiation. A high-scoring forward needs a team that can move the puck cleanly, defend enough to preserve leads and spend meaningful stretches attacking. A young top-pair defenseman can help create that environment. Detroit does not need to offer every player the same contract, but its commitments should reinforce one another. Otherwise DeBrincat's deal risks becoming an isolated investment in an unsettled roster. The next steps are to agree on terms for Edvinsson, restore a dependable defensive rotation and clarify Larkin's role while the club tries to climb out of its early hole. With DeBrincat signed, Horcoff now has to turn his no-trade stance into a coherent core.
Horcoff's refusal to entertain an Edvinsson trade is a meaningful signal, particularly after a turbulent offseason. But it is only the beginning of the test. Detroit must find terms that secure a 23-year-old top-pair candidate without treating the negotiation as a public contest of wills, and it must do so while managing Larkin's future and trying to rescue a poor start.
DeBrincat's extension proves the Red Wings can make a major long-term commitment. Edvinsson's unresolved contract asks whether they can do the same with a young defenseman whose best years should still be ahead. Until he is signed and back alongside the rest of the group, the gap between Detroit's stated plan and its actual lineup remains impossible to ignore.
