What Simon Edvinsson Would Cost the Flyers, and the Crazy One: Larkin Too

My stance hasn't changed. Simon Edvinsson is still unsigned, and the Flyers should make whatever trade it takes to get him.

What has changed is the list of untouchables. Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone were always off the table. After the last week, Oliver Bonk is too. Jamie Drysdale stays because he's the partner Edvinsson needs. Jett Luchanko only moves if a center comes back.

Everyone else, Cam York included, is fair game. Below is what Pierre LeBrun's trade comps would look like in Flyers terms, three offers I'd make, and one crazy hypothetical for the fun of it: Dylan Larkin too.

Here's what's going on

Edvinsson is a 23-year-old restricted free agent and still doesn't have a contract. Here's how October has gone.

• Oct. 3: Elliotte Friedman reported that Edvinsson now prefers a trade.
• Oct. 14: Red Wings interim GM Shawn Horcoff said he has "zero interest" in trading him and is working "very, very diligently" to sign him.
• That weekend: LeBrun confirmed Edvinsson and his agent, J.P. Barry, met face to face with Horcoff. Nothing was resolved. LeBrun said the player probably still views a trade as the best scenario, but stopped short of calling it a formal request.
• LeBrun also reported Detroit has kept talking trade with up to 10 teams, with San Jose and Boston among them.
• Frank Seravalli called the Flyers a "great fit" and named Utah the clear frontrunner, per Daily Faceoff.
• Friedman said on 32 Thoughts he believes Carolina has threatened an offer sheet.
• Sportsnet's Ryan Dixon believes Detroit would prefer a promising young NHL center coming back.

The clock is the big one. If Edvinsson isn't signed by 5 p.m. ET on Dec. 1, he can't play in the NHL this season. That deadline puts the pressure on Detroit, not the Flyers.

LeBrun's comps, in Flyers terms

LeBrun named three trades as the best comparables for a young top-four defenseman like Edvinsson: Mikhail Sergachev, Noah Dobson and Bowen Byram. The Hockey News added Simon Nemec to the list.

• Sergachev: Utah sent J.J. Moser, Conor Geekie, a second and a seventh to Tampa Bay. The Flyers version is York, Denver Barkey and a second. An NHL defenseman plus a young center.
• Dobson: Montreal sent Emil Heineman and the 16th and 17th picks in 2025 to the Islanders. The Flyers version is Bump plus two first-round picks.
• Byram: Chicago sent the fourth overall pick, a second and Louis Crevier to Buffalo. The Flyers don't have a top-five pick to give, so it takes two firsts, a second and a prospect like Hunter McDonald.
• Nemec: Calgary sent two conditional firsts, a second and Etienne Morin to New Jersey, and got Maxim Tsyplakov back too. The Flyers version is the Toronto first, their own 2028 first, a second and McDonald.

Every road runs through the same place. Two firsts, or one elite first, plus a real young piece.

The Toronto pick

The Flyers own Toronto's 2027 first from the Scott Laughton trade. There's a catch. Toronto also owes Boston a first, and if the 2027 pick lands in the top 10, Toronto can send it to Boston instead and the Flyers get Toronto's 2028 first, per PhillyVoice.

So there's no version of this where the Flyers end up with a top-three pick from Toronto. The Leafs are 6-4 right now, and the 2027 class is considered a weaker one. That makes the Toronto pick worth more as a trade chip today than as a pick next June. Move it for a guaranteed player.

What I'd offer

York is the one who goes. He shoots left like Edvinsson, so they'd be competing for the same side, and if Edvinsson leaves Detroit, the Red Wings need a left shot back. York is 25 and signed at $5.15 million through 2029-30. His value isn't at its peak while he's on injured reserve with no points in five games, but he's still the right piece.

Drysdale stays. He's the right-shot puck mover, the same role Moritz Seider plays next to Edvinsson in Detroit.

For the cap math, I'm using the Flyers' $9.08 million in space per CapWages and assuming Edvinsson signs for $10 million. Projections run from about $8.7 million up. His camp reportedly wanted $9 million to $11 million on a seven-year deal.

• Package A, the fair price: York, the Toronto 2027 first and Bump. That's the Dobson structure with an NHL top-four defenseman in place of a mid-round first. It leaves about $5.2 million in cap space.
• Package B, if Detroit wants a center: York, Barkey, the Toronto first and a 2027 second. This is the Sergachev structure, with the extra pick covering the gap. Also about $5.2 million left.
• Package C, make room for the kids: York, Owen Tippett and the Toronto first. Selling Tippett at his lowest value hurts. But Friedman has reported Detroit could look for established NHL players back, and moving his $6.2 million through 2031-32 opens a spot for Knuble or Bump. It leaves about $10.4 million.

My line: if Detroit asks for Michkov, Martone, Bonk or Drysdale, walk away. If the only way to get it done is Luchanko, that's a different conversation. That's where the next part comes in.

The crazy one: Larkin and Edvinsson

I want to be very clear. This is highly unlikely. Philly isn't even on Larkin's trade list. But that's what this space is for. Could the Flyers actually do it, and what would it cost?

Here's what we know about Larkin. He's 30, signed at $8.7 million through 2030-31 and has a full no-trade clause. He requested a trade in June, and this week the Detroit Free Press reported he expanded his list to 10 teams: Florida, Minnesota, Vegas, Dallas, Colorado, Tampa Bay, Washington, Carolina, New Jersey and Utah.

Darren Dreger reported Detroit's asking price is three or four pieces, including two A-quality prospects, a top-nine forward and a first-round pick.

In Flyers terms, Dreger's ask for Larkin looks like this:

• Two A-quality prospects: Jett Luchanko and Jack Nesbitt.
• A top-nine forward: Owen Tippett.
• A first: the Toronto 2027 pick.

Then add the Edvinsson price on top: York, the Flyers' own 2027 first and a 2027 second.

That's seven pieces. Detroit would get two NHL regulars, the young center Dixon says it wants, another top prospect, two first-round picks and a second, which is a full re-rebuild in one trade.

Can the Flyers fit it? Barely. Larkin at $8.7 million plus Edvinsson at $10 million is $18.7 million coming in. York and Tippett are $11.35 million going out. That leaves about $1.7 million in space.

And it would cost Luchanko, which I'd only do with a center coming back. Larkin is the center.

Here's what you'd get. Martone, Larkin and Michkov on the top line. The M&M line finally gets its center. Edvinsson with Drysdale, Sanheim with Bonk, and Seeler with Ristolainen on the back end.

Three things would have to happen first.

• Larkin adds Philly to his list.
• Edvinsson signs, or agrees to sign, before Dec. 1.
• Detroit decides to tear it all the way down.

Is that likely? No. Could the Flyers do it on paper? Yes.

Where would you draw the line? Let me know on X @BroadStBreakout.

Sources and data notes

Edvinsson reporting: Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman via Pro Hockey Rumors (Oct. 3) and Yahoo Sports (32 Thoughts), NHL.com (Horcoff, Oct. 14), TSN's Pierre LeBrun on Early Trading (Oct. 20), The Hockey News rumor roundups (Oct. 13 and 22), theScore (up to 10 teams), Daily Faceoff (Seravalli, Oct. 14). Trade terms: The Hockey News and NHL.com. Contract projections: Ice Hockey Man, and Frank Seravalli and Chris Johnston via The Hockey News. Larkin's list: Detroit Free Press via Daily Faceoff (Oct. 20). Detroit's Larkin ask: Darren Dreger of TSN via The Hockey News (Oct. 16). Cap space and contracts: CapWages as of Oct. 22. Toronto pick terms: PhillyVoice. Packages and the Larkin hypothetical are my opinion, not reporting.