Simon Edvinsson Trade Shut Down as Red Wings Give DeBrincat $91M

Simon Edvinsson trade talk hits a wall in Detroit

The Simon Edvinsson trade market just lost its seller. On Oct. 14, Red Wings interim general manager Shawn Horcoff said Detroit has "zero interest" in trading the unsigned restricted free agent defenceman, calling a deal "not something I'm entertaining" and adding, "We want to sign him." Hours earlier, Detroit had announced a seven-year, $91 million extension for winger Alex DeBrincat, a $13 million average annual value that makes him the highest-paid player on the team.

Taken together, the two moves are a statement of direction from a franchise that has spent the summer in turmoil. Detroit is not tearing down. It is paying its best scorer through 2033-34 and trying to keep its best young defenceman. For the Maple Leafs, who have been linked to Edvinsson in exploratory talks while hunting for a top-four defenceman, that removes one name from a short list that was already getting shorter.

What Detroit gave Alex DeBrincat

DeBrincat's extension starts in 2027-28 and replaces what would have been his first summer of unrestricted free agency. He is in the final season of a four-year deal that carries a $7.875 million cap hit. The new contract is the longest he could sign: under the collective bargaining agreement that took effect Sept. 16, players re-signing with their own team are capped at seven years, down from eight.

The clause structure, as reported by PuckPedia and The Fourth Period, gives DeBrincat full protection for the first four years before loosening:

Contract yearsSeasonsProtectionYears 1-42027-28 to 2030-31Full no-movement clauseYear 52031-32Modified clause, 10-team listYear 62032-33Modified clause, 18-team listYear 72033-34Modified clause, 13-team list

The production justifies a big number. DeBrincat scored 41 goals in 2025-26, the first Red Wing to hit 40 since Marian Hossa scored 40 in 2008-09, and he opened this season with four goals and eight points in Detroit's first six games. He turns 29 in December, so the deal runs through his age-35 season. That back end is the risk. The front half, when a 40-goal winger is paid like one, is not.

How it compares with the Leafs' big wingers

Toronto fans have a ready-made comparison. Kirill Marchenko, acquired from Columbus on Sept. 29, signed a six-year, $12.5 million extension that also kicks in for 2027-28. William Nylander is on an eight-year deal at $11.5 million. Here is how the three line up, using the figures on our Leafs contracts page for Toronto's players:

PlayerTeamCap hitTermRuns throughAlex DeBrincatDetroit$13.0M (from 2027-28)7 years2033-34Kirill MarchenkoToronto$12.5M (from 2027-28)6 years2032-33William NylanderToronto$11.5M8 years (signed 2024)2031-32

Detroit paid $500,000 more per season than Toronto did for Marchenko, for a player who is two years older. That is not an indictment of either deal on a $104 million cap that is still climbing, but it does show what the market for proven top-line wingers looks like in the new CBA era. We broke down the cap side of the Marchenko extension in our Marchenko contract analysis.

Why Horcoff shut down the Edvinsson talk

Edvinsson, the sixth overall pick in 2021, is a 23-year-old, six-foot-six left-shot defenceman and the kind of player rebuilding teams do not give away. He is still unsigned more than two weeks into the season. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported earlier this month that Edvinsson would prefer a trade, and TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported that at least 10 teams, the Boston Bruins among them, had asked about his availability.

Horcoff's answer on Oct. 14 was that Detroit is "open to anything" on contract length, from a bridge deal to a long-term commitment, and that he has talked to Edvinsson "numerous times" and is in constant contact with his agency. Detroit has reportedly put a six-year offer worth about $8.5 million per season on the table; that figure has not been confirmed by the team, and it has not been accepted.

There is a hard limit hanging over all of this. A restricted free agent who does not sign by the CBA's in-season deadline cannot play in the NHL that season. Edvinsson can wait, but not forever, and Detroit knows it. A GM who says publicly that he will not trade a player is often setting the price rather than closing the door. Still, an interim GM who just committed $91 million to keep his core together is not signalling a fire sale.

The Dylan Larkin question has not gone away

None of this solves Detroit's other problem. Dylan Larkin, who held the captaincy from January 2021 until the Red Wings removed it this fall, has asked for a trade. His initial list reportedly named Minnesota, Florida and Vegas before expanding, and Detroit opened the season with Larkin on non-roster injured reserve; he was booed by the home crowd at the opener before later making his season debut. DeBrincat's $91 million deal now tops the eight-year, $69.6 million contract Larkin signed in 2023 as the biggest in the organization.

DeBrincat said he would consider it "an honour" to wear the "C," per The Hockey News. That is a natural thing for a newly extended veteran to say, but it also underlines how Detroit is reorganizing around him. We laid out why one Larkin destination would hurt Toronto most in our column on Montreal as the worst-case landing spot.

What it means for the Maple Leafs

Toronto's need has not changed. Chris Tanev went on injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 10 with an upper-body injury, and head coach Jim Hiller has said he does not have a great sense of how long Tanev will be out. Nick Blankenburg, Troy Stecher and recalled Marshall Rifai are covering the minutes. The Fourth Period had reported loose, exploratory talks between Toronto and Detroit on Edvinsson, and between Toronto and Carolina on Alexander Nikishin, with neither deal believed to be close.

LeafsLurker argued last week that the Leafs should let Utah win the Edvinsson race, because the price in young assets and the contract he would need did not fit a team that just traded Matthew Knies for Marchenko. Horcoff's stance makes that easier. If Detroit does eventually move him, the price will be higher than it was a week ago, not lower.

That points John Chayka toward the cheaper, shorter tier of the market. Calgary's Zach Whitecloud, a right shot at $2.75 million through 2027-28, remains the most sensible fit, and David Pagnotta has reported exploratory talks there too. We made that case in our Whitecloud trade column.

The Atlantic angle

Detroit is a division rival, and this extension matters for the standings over the next several seasons. A Red Wings team that keeps DeBrincat, signs Edvinsson and turns Larkin into futures is a younger, cheaper Atlantic opponent in two years. A Red Wings team that keeps DeBrincat, loses Edvinsson to a standoff and trades Larkin within the division is a different problem. Either way, the extension removes the most obvious rental winger from the 2027 deadline market, where Toronto, with Colorado's 2027 first-round pick in its pocket, might have been a buyer.

What's next

Watch three things. First, whether Edvinsson's camp responds to Horcoff's public stance with a signature or with silence; Heavy has reported Detroit's frustration over unreturned calls. Second, whether Detroit names a permanent GM, since Horcoff remains under consideration for the job. Third, whether Toronto moves on a defenceman before Tanev's status is clearer. The Leafs host Buffalo on Oct. 15, the Islanders on Oct. 17 and San Jose on Oct. 19, and every one of those games without Tanev is a test of whether Chayka can afford to keep waiting.