The Detroit Red Wings have yet to trade or re-sign restricted free agent Simon Edvinsson.
He’s been back in the United States training, and on Thursday he was seen training at Centennial Sportsplex in Nashville, Tennessee. The same practice facility where the Nashville Predators have been skating.
Dustin Smith, former Emergency Backup Goalie for the Nashville Predators, posted a video on Instagram featuring the unsigned left-handed defenseman.
Edvinsson commented back to Smith after the post went up around 10 a.m. CT.
“Great to be out there with ya,” Edvinsson said.
The 23-year-old has also been in Florida with the likes of Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrik Laine while all of these skaters remain patient for their next opportunity in the NHL.
According to a Predators spokesperson, it was explained that Edvinsson’s presence was part of a “private ice rental.” The Predators also added that they “would not comment on any other team’s players.”
Predators have been in on Edvinsson trade
On October 29, Sportsnet NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman made an appearance over the airwaves in Nashville. He was asked about who Nashville Predators general manager Chris MacFarland has been eyeing to trade for.
Friedman confirmed that Edvinsson is a target for MacFarland.
“He’s in on Edvinsson. You guys are there.”
Now, a week later, Edvinsson has been seen skating in Nashville. He could have even been in Tennessee before Friedman made that statement on the radio.
The Predators could certainly make the trade to acquire Edvinsson, but the price to pull off the trade is large.
It’s been rumored that the Red Wings want three young pieces in return for the defenseman. Should the Predators want to swing that trade, they could, but MacFarland will need to re-sign the budding D-Man to a new contract too.
Trade ideas for Nashville to swing trade for Edvinsson
While the Predators would love to bolster their blue line, it will come at a high cost for MacFarland.
Nashville did acquire Shane Wright from the Seattle Kraken for Matthew Wood, but perhaps the Red Wings would want someone like that in return.
The Predators have Wright, Ryan O’Reilly, Wyatt Cullen, Brady Martin, and Steven Stamkos. For starters, players like that would need to be on the board to set a trade like this in motion.
MacFarland also has four first-round picks over the next three drafts. Blue line assets like Roman Josi, Nicolas Hague, and Nick Perbix could also be attractive pieces to the Red Wings.
Nashville could trade Brady Martin, Ryan O’Reilly, David Edstrom, and a first-round pick to Detroit. That would leave MacFarland with enough prospects to build a team for the future.
There’s also the side of this where the Predators may not want to give up that many assets to pick up one player. Seeing what kind of contract Edvinsson and his camp will sign would allow the Predators to call interim GM Shawn Horcoff in Detroit to make this transaction happen.
Horcoff said on October 14 that he had no intention to trade Edvinsson. Only time will tell if Horcoff and Detroit would change their mind.
Follow Nick Kieser on Twitter/X: @KieserNick
Red Wings Defenseman Simon Edvinsson Seen Skating in Nashville