DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings don’t want to move Simon Edvinsson and are working hard to sign the restricted free agent defenseman, interim general manager Shawn Horcoff said Wednesday.
“I have zero interest in trading Simon Edvinsson,” Horcoff said. “I want to keep him."
Horcoff also said the situation is “status quo” with center Dylan Larkin, who requested a trade and gave Detroit a short list of teams for which he would waive his no-trade clause after last season. Horcoff declined to elaborate “out of respect for Dylan and his camp.”
The Red Wings named Horcoff interim GM Sept. 15, two days before training camp opened. Edvinsson reported to camp without a contract and practiced with the team, but he didn’t scrimmage or play in the preseason.
The 23-year-old went home to Sweden, and Sportsnet reported he preferred a trade. He has since returned to North America.
“Nothing’s changed on my part,” Horcoff said. "I think Simon is someone that’s very hard to come by. We’ve spent a lot of time developing him. We drafted him. And again, he’s a player that we value here, that I value especially, and I know everyone in that locker room does as well.
“(A trade is) not something I’m entertaining. We want to sign Simon and hopefully get that done.”
Horcoff said he has spoken to Edvinsson “numerous times” and is in “constant contact” with his agency.
What type of contract are the Red Wings seeking?
“I think we’re open to anything,” Horcoff said. “I think the details of it we’ll still keep to ourselves, but again, when you’re trying to sign a player, you have to be open-minded to kind of all options, and we certainly are.”
Detroit selected Edvinsson with the No. 6 pick of the 2021 NHL Draft. He has 60 points (19 goals, 41 assists) in 175 games for the Red Wings, including 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 72 games last season. He's 6-foot-6, 222 pounds, and averaged 22:21 of ice time last season, second on the team to Moritz Seider (25:40).
“He's a big part of our future,” Horcoff said. “We’ve spent a lot of time with Simon developing him, and I think he’s a big part of our core here moving forward, so I’m going to continue to try to get him signed and add him back into the lineup.”
Larkin lost the captaincy entering this season. The 30-year-old reported to camp but couldn’t participate at first due to a back injury sustained in offseason training, and he missed the preseason and first two regular-season games.
Fans booed him during introductions at the home opener Oct. 2. In his first game Oct. 6, they booed him at first, cheered him when he had a goal and an assist, then gave him a mixed reaction when he was named first star of a 5-3 win against the Ottawa Senators.
Larkin was not booed during a 5-4 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday even though he went without a point for the third straight game.
Horcoff said the injury came at an inopportune time for Larkin, who ranks 10th in Red Wings history with 645 points (277 goals, 368 assists) in 812 games, including 67 points (34 goals, 33 assists) in 74 games last season. He signed an eight-year, $69.6 million ($8.7 million annual average value) with Detroit on March 1, 2023.
“I think it’s going to take some time,” Horcoff said. “He’s working back through that. I think it’s only going to get easier for him as things go on here and he starts to find his game and his legs a little bit more. It hasn’t been easy for him.
“You know, one thing, I have to give Dylan a lot of credit with the way he’s handled this. It’s clearly not an easy situation, but he’s got the full support of management. He’s got the full support of his teammates, the coaching staff in there, and he’s come back and really came to play right off the bat.
“And I think the fans have recognized that. Obviously, there were some tough times for him, I would say, early. But through his effort and through his work and obviously the acknowledgment of it being a difficult situation, and Dylan to his own words manning up to it, I think you’re starting to see a little bit of some reaction from the fans in terms of understanding that listen, he’s here. Dylan’s here, and he’s doing his best to play his best out there for the Red Wings.”
