$10 Million Asking Price Emerges In Red Wings Contract Talks
Johnston Puts A Number On It
TSN's Chris Johnston said on his show that if Detroit goes long-term with Edvinsson, he's hearing the price is north of $10 million per season.
That's a big jump from earlier reporting, which had established that Edvinsson wanted term but never put a hard figure on the table.
Chris Johnston: Re Simon Edvinsson/Red Wings negotiation: I think if they're gonna go long term with him it's definitely 10 million dollar plus, that's what I'm hearing the pricetag is - Chris Johnston Show (9/17)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) September 17, 2026
Edvinsson's camp has been consistent about wanting a long-term commitment, and his agent, J.P. Barry, told Sweden's Expressen this week that talks have finally begun in earnest now that interim general manager Shawn Horcoff has the authority to actually negotiate.
"We spoke Tuesday," Barry said, a change after weeks of the process sitting idle while Detroit searched for its next GM following Steve Yzerman's departure.
Edvinsson actually practiced with the team without a contract, though he stayed out of the full-contact scrimmage, a fairly unusual show of patience from a player his front office clearly can't afford to let hit the open market.
Horcoff Racing The Clock
The number makes more sense once you look at how fast the defenseman market has moved this summer.
Chicago's Bowen Byram set a new bar with a six-year deal at $12.5 million annually, while both Pavel Mintyukov and Simon Nemec signed for north of $7.2 million on shorter terms.
Just this week, Vancouver locked up Zeev Buium on an eight-year extension worth $9.38 million annually before the NHL's new contract-term rules kicked in.
None of those are perfect apples-to-apples comparisons to Edvinsson, but they all point the same direction: the $8.5 million projection that looked reasonable earlier this offseason simply isn't the market anymore.
Elliotte Friedman: Re Simon Edvinsson/Red Wings negotiations: I heard they were trying to do a bridge [extension]...around the draft; if Edvinsson wants 7 years...how do they feel about doing that while they don't have a permanent GM - FAN Hockey Show (9/16)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) September 17, 2026
A $10 million-plus cap hit would push Edvinsson well past Moritz Seider's $8.55 million, meaning Detroit's 23-year-old blueliner would immediately become the higher-paid half of the pairing that's supposed to anchor the franchise's blue line for years.
Horcoff has made signing Edvinsson his top priority since taking over, ahead of even sorting out the Dylan Larkin trade request, and he's said he hopes to have something completed shortly.
Whether "shortly" means before the regular season starts is still an open question, but with an actual number now attached to the negotiation, the two sides at least have something concrete to work from instead of guessing at each other's expectations.
