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Detroit Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson is at the centre of a more specific NHL trade story after insider Elliotte Friedman said on Thursday, October 29, that Detroit and the San Jose Sharks have discussed the unsigned restricted free agent extensively. The update came on Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts: The Podcast.
A deal is not necessarily close. Friedman did not identify a formal Sharks offer or say the teams had agreed on a return. But the depth of the reported conversations makes San Jose a team worth watching rather than another speculative destination.
TSN insider Pierre LeBrun has separately identified the Sharks’ interest, pointing to the fit of a 23-year-old defenseman on their blue line. Meanwhile, Detroit interim general manager Shawn Horcoff has publicly insisted he wants to sign Edvinsson, not trade him.
That leaves a genuine deadline: Edvinsson must sign by December 1 to be eligible to play in the NHL this season. Neither pressure nor discussions guarantee a move.
What Friedman Actually Reported About the Sharks
Friedman’s October 29 comments in the Big Bob Defender episode described substantial discussions between the Red Wings and Sharks. His uncertainty about what San Jose would be prepared to surrender is just as important as the reported interest.
There is a timeline worth respecting. San Jose had already been named among interested teams in reporting earlier in October, including The Fourth Period on October 21. What has changed is the public description of the conversations’ depth, not the discovery of an entirely new bidder.
On October 14, Horcoff told NHL.com that he had no interest in moving Edvinsson. Detroit can assess the market while trying to retain him.
Why Simon Edvinsson Makes Sense for San Jose
For the Sharks, Edvinsson represents something harder to acquire than a useful veteran: a 6-foot-6, mobile, left-shot defenseman whose prime years could overlap with their young forward core.
San Jose already has exciting pieces. Its opening roster included Macklin Celebrini, Michael Misa and Will Smith up front, plus Sam Dickinson on defense. The club also brought experienced names such as Darnell Nurse, Dmitry Orlov and Jacob Trouba into its blue-line mix. Edvinsson could change the long-term balance of that group.
His recent NHL workload reinforces that argument. Edvinsson averaged 22:21 per game in 2025–26 after averaging 21:07 in 2024–25, according to NHL.com. His scoring dipped from 31 points to 25, but his responsibility increased by 74 seconds per game.
That is not proof he will become a top-pair star; it is evidence that buyers would be paying for more than his point totals.
Detroit’s Asking Price Could Be the Real Sticking Point
In October 22 reporting, Friedman said Detroit had begun asking rival clubs about young centres and high-end centre prospects while exploring its options involving Edvinsson and Dylan Larkin. He did not establish that every centre inquiry was exclusively about an Edvinsson trade.
San Jose has different tiers of assets that could interest Detroit. Michael Misa is an exceptionally valuable young centre already on the NHL roster; Filip Bystedt is another centre in the organization’s development pipeline. They illustrate the possible trade fit.
Neither has been reported as an offered player in these discussions.
My read: Detroit should require an asset that addresses a long-term organizational need, not simply a package of picks because a contract negotiation has become uncomfortable. Replacing a young top-four defenseman can be as difficult as finding the centre the Red Wings are reportedly pursuing.
The Edvinsson Contract Gap Changes the Trade Math
Buyers must also consider Edvinsson’s next contract. PuckPedia lists him as an unsigned restricted free agent; his previous $894,167 cap hit expired with his entry-level deal and is not his current cap charge.
The Fourth Period reported October 5 that Edvinsson was seeking approximately $11 million annually on a long-term deal and Detroit had offered around $8.5 million annually for six years. Other reporting specified the seven-year target. These are attributed negotiating figures, not confirmed signed terms.
Under the NHL’s confirmed $104 million cap ceiling for 2026–27, those annual figures would use about 10.6% and 8.2% of a club’s cap, respectively. San Jose would need to judge both the trade assets and the eventual long-term commitment.
NHLTradeRumor.com · Contract Data Watch
The $2.5 Million Edvinsson Question
Reported negotiating positions · 2026–27 league cap: $104 million
Reported Detroit offer · 6 years
$8.5M
8.2% of league cap
Approximate annual average value
Reported player target · 7 years
$11M
10.6% of league cap
Approximate annual average value
$2.5M annual difference between the reported figures. A prospective trade partner must acquire Edvinsson’s rights and then reach its own contract agreement.
Method: Annual reported AAV ÷ $104M salary-cap ceiling × 100; rounded to one decimal. Different contract lengths mean the totals are not directly comparable. Not an estimate of any team’s available cap space.
Sources (checked Oct. 30, 2026): The Fourth Period (reported figures); NHL/NHLPA (league cap). No deal is confirmed.
What Could a Red Wings–Sharks Trade Look Like?
Hypothetical, not a reported offer: The cleanest framework would feature a young centre Detroit genuinely values, with draft compensation or another asset to balance the package. The Sharks would have to decide whether improving the blue line is worth reducing their forward pipeline while taking on a major new contract.
A future-picks-only offer may be easier for San Jose to stomach, but it does not obviously address Detroit’s reported interest in young centres. Conversely, a premium centre such as Misa would carry substantial opportunity cost for the Sharks. Nothing in the public reporting establishes that either scenario has been offered.
What Happens Before the December 1 Deadline?
The developments to watch are concrete: an Edvinsson contract agreement, a specific trade offer reported by an established insider, or Horcoff changing his stated position. Further lists of interested clubs would matter less.
NHL.com’s free-agency rules explain that an unsigned Group 2 restricted free agent must sign by 5 p.m. ET on December 1 to play that season. This creates urgency, but Detroit still controls Edvinsson’s rights and need not accept an inadequate return.
Final Take: San Jose Is a Serious Fit, Not a Done Deal
Friedman’s update makes the Sharks one of the clearest clubs to monitor, but the more revealing question is what Detroit would actually receive.
Edvinsson is not simply an unsigned player with 25 points last season; he is a 23-year-old defenseman already handling major minutes. A worthwhile trade must acknowledge that, and any buyer must be prepared for his next contract.
Until those two problems are solved, a Detroit extension remains entirely plausible.
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Stay current with Detroit Red Wings news and trade rumors, contract developments and roster moves. See our earlier Edvinsson trade-market analysis for the timeline leading into the Sharks report.
