Simon Edvinsson Trade: Bruins in the Race, and the Leafs Can't Sit Out

The Simon Edvinsson trade market is open again, and Boston is in it

The Simon Edvinsson trade talk that looked dead a week ago is very much alive. TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported on Insider Trading this week that the Detroit Red Wings are still talking with up to 10 teams about their unsigned restricted free agent defenceman, and that the San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins are among the clubs interested. LeBrun added that Edvinsson and his agent have met with interim GM Shawn Horcoff, and that the player now sees a trade as the most logical way out.

That is a sharp turn from Oct. 14, when Horcoff said Detroit had "zero interest" in trading Edvinsson and wanted to sign him. Per LeBrun, Horcoff still holds that preference and is still hoping for a deal. But the talks with other teams have not stopped, and Edvinsson has stopped short of a formal trade request only in the technical sense.

For the Maple Leafs, the new name in the story is the one that matters. In our Oct. 13 piece, LeafsLurker argued that Utah was leading and Toronto should let them win. A Utah deal sends Edvinsson to the Central Division. A Boston deal puts a 23-year-old, six-foot-six left-shot defenceman in the Atlantic for the next decade. That changes the calculation.

Who Simon Edvinsson is

Edvinsson was born Feb. 5, 2003, in Sweden, and Detroit took him sixth overall in the 2021 draft. His three-year entry-level contract expired after 2025-26, which made him a restricted free agent this summer. He and the Red Wings never closed the gap, he did not play in the preseason, and he has not played a game this season.

The sticking point has been money. LeBrun described "a sizeable gap" on average annual value in early October. Detroit then committed seven years and $91 million to Alex DeBrincat on Oct. 14, which we covered in our piece on the DeBrincat extension. Every dollar spent on DeBrincat is a dollar that is harder to find for Edvinsson.

There is also a clock. Under the NHL's long-standing rule for unsigned restricted free agents, a player who does not sign by Dec. 1 cannot play in the NHL that season. Reports have pointed to that date as the real deadline. If Edvinsson is not signed, by Detroit or by a team that trades for his rights, his 2026-27 season is gone.

What the price looks like

LeBrun said Detroit's ask is expected to mirror the recent trades for young NHL defencemen, naming Noah Dobson, Mikhail Sergachev, Bowen Byram and Simon Nemec as the comparables. Each of those deals cost the acquiring team more than one significant asset.

The common thread, per LeBrun, is a package of several assets that includes prospects and first-round picks. The acquiring team then has to sign Edvinsson, which is the part Detroit has not managed. A trade only works for a team that has both the assets and the cap room for a second contract that will likely start well above the $4.5 million that Chris Tanev and Jake McCabe each carry in Toronto.

Why Boston changes things for the Leafs

Boston is already better on the back end than it was a month ago. Charlie McAvoy returned in mid-October, a development we flagged in our McAvoy return piece. Add Edvinsson beside him and the Bruins would have a left-right top pair that could match up against Auston Matthews for years.

There are good reasons to doubt Boston can do it. One report has the Bruins with roughly $6.4 million in projected cap space, which would not cover an Edvinsson contract without sending salary back. Boston has also been mentioned in Pavel Zacha trade talk all summer, and moving a pending free agent centre for a long-term defenceman is not a simple swap. But the Bruins have now been named as interested by a top insider, and that is more than can be said for most of the field.

Utah, San Jose and the rest of the reported suitors are teams the Leafs do not have to pass in the standings. Boston is.

Where the Leafs stand on their own blue line

The Leafs' interest is not theoretical. Toronto has reportedly held exploratory talks on both Edvinsson and Carolina's Alexander Nikishin this month, neither close. On Oct. 17, Elliotte Friedman reported that John Chayka has told teams Toronto will move a premium asset for a difference-making defenceman, but will not pay A-level prices for a B-level player. Friedman also said this week that the Leafs do not seem interested in trading Easton Cowan.

The need has only grown. Tanev is on injured reserve, week-to-week with an upper-body injury, and McCabe left the Oct. 20 win in Columbus after a high stick to the face. We broke down the depth chart in our McCabe injury piece. Here is how the healthy contracts line up:

Figures are from our Maple Leafs contracts page. Not one of those players is 25 or younger, and none is a true shutdown left shot. Edvinsson is young, big and mobile, and had 25 points and 148 blocked shots for Detroit last season, the kind of two-way, hard-minutes profile this group is missing.

LeafsLurker's take: we were wrong to wave this off

Two weeks ago, letting Utah win made sense. Tanev was healthy, the price looked absurd, and the destination was harmless to Toronto. Two of those three have changed.

The price is still steep, and the cap is still the hardest problem. Toronto has about $7 million in space with Max Domi, Dakota Joshua and Elvis Merzlikins on long-term injured reserve, and an Edvinsson deal would need salary going back to Detroit. Ekman-Larsson ($3.5 million) and Jack Roslovic ($4 million) are the obvious candidates, and Ekman-Larsson's modified no-trade clause would have to allow it. That is a cap-neutral structure on paper, even if Detroit would not want the veterans.

On assets, the line is the same one we drew in the premium-asset report. Offer Colorado's 2027 first-round pick, defence prospect Ben Danford and a good forward prospect. Do not include Cowan, who has been driving play on Matthews' top line. If Detroit says no, fine. But make Horcoff say no, because the alternative is watching Boston say yes.

The worst version of this story is not Toronto overpaying. It is Toronto sitting out while the Bruins land the defenceman the Leafs needed and keep him against them for a decade.

What's next

Three dates and signals to watch:

• Dylan Larkin. Detroit's other trade request moved this week when Larkin expanded his list to 10 teams, none of them Canadian. A team that wants both players gives Detroit leverage, and a Larkin deal could clarify how much cap space Detroit has left for Edvinsson.
• Tanev's return. If Tanev is back soon and McCabe misses nothing, Chayka's urgency drops. If either setback lingers, it rises.
• Dec. 1. The signing deadline is the date that forces Detroit's hand. Expect the market to tighten well before it.

Track Toronto's remaining assets on the Leafs draft-pick tracker. The Colorado first is the chip, and Chayka can only spend it once.