The New Jersey Devils have already finalized a trade with the Detroit Red Wings this season, sending a fourth-round pick to Motor City for Amadeus Lombardi. The early returns for that trade are magnificent. Lombardi was impressive in camp, and he made the roster ahead of his NHL debut. His teammates have raved about him, and his speed looks to be a perfect fit in Sheldon Keefe’s system. With zero results to show so far, it’s still a slam-dunk trade.
And, that’s one of the few moves the Red Wings made this offseason. That’s because they didn’t have a GM for most of it. Steve Yzerman was leading the front office through the draft and the start of free agency, but as the Dylan Larkin trade request dragged on, the pressure of 10 straight postseasons where they played golf forced him to hit the unemployment line.
One problem: the Red Wings had about as much unfinished business as any team at the time. We talked about the impending Larkin request, which still hasn’t been solved, but they also had the most cap space in the league, an Alex DeBrincat extension to discuss, a captaincy to strip, a new guy to name, and a goalie situation that is relying on Trey Augustine to be ready after this season.
On top of all that, as long-term contracts were exploding, with guys like Simon Nemec, Zeev Buium, Bowen Byram, and Cale Makar signing massive pacts, Simon Edvinsson sits here heading into Game 1 without a contract.
Edvinsson’s agent reportedly didn’t even know who to call to negotiate prior to Shawn Horcoff taking over as GM.
Can the Devils take advantage of the Red Wings' delay with Simon Edvinsson?
Many are pointing out that the Devils' goaltending is suspect, even with the recent acquisition of Remi Poirier, but not enough people are talking about the defense. Because of the crimes of Tom Fitzgerald, the defense is no longer built to withstand the needs of the NHL today. It overindulges in defensive defensemen who are black holes on the other side of the ice.
It’s valuable to have Brett Pesce, Jonas Siegenthaler, Johnny Kovacevic, and Brendan Dillon on a team, but having all of them means there’s almost no offense coming from the back end.
It puts too much pressure on Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes to both have stellar seasons. Now, with Seamus Casey expected to miss time with an injury suffered in the preseason, there’s no real option outside of them. Declan Chisholm was supposed to be an option, but he had a rough preseason and isn’t instilling confidence that he can take away a spot from Kovacevic when he returns from his own injury.
Adding another great defensive piece would be incredibly valuable for the Devils. The Red Wings are hesitant to give Edvinsson a long-term deal. Mehta likely won’t have that same hesitance.
What’s interesting is the price, both to make the trade and for the player. Casey’s injury probably changes the targets, as Detroit might demand Anton Silayev. Losing a guy with his skill who is about to start his entry-level contract would be a hard pill to swallow.
On top of that, the Devils have to pay the man. It’s not like he’s going into a contract year. This is the contract year. The Devils would have to find the money to pay him now. Let’s say he needs nice round number like $10 million. Where are the Devils getting $10 million?
This would then cost them Dawson Mercer, Connor Brown, and another piece, hurting the forward depth Mehta worked so hard to build up.
Truthfully, the Quinn Hughes of it all probably stops this deal as much as anything. The fact that the eldest Hughes brother and top-two defenseman in the league doesn’t have an extension in place means that the Wild will be on trade watch all season. The Devils can’t put themselves in the same position they were in last season when they couldn’t maneuver when Hughes became available.
On paper, Edvinsson would be great on the Devils, but there are too many factors in the way of making a deal happen.
Add us as a preferred source on Google