Simon Edvinsson Is Worth the Call. Here’s the Price.

If Simon Edvinsson is really available, Danny Briere should pick up the phone. But the deal has to be built around Cam York, not Jamie Drysdale, and it has a ceiling. I’d offer York, Toronto’s 2027 first and Oliver Bonk, and I’d stop there.

Here’s why, and here’s what I saw when I dug into the InStat data.

What’s going on

On Saturday night, Elliotte Friedman reported that Edvinsson prefers a trade out of Detroit. On Monday he went further on The FAN Hockey Show: “I got to think they are one of the teams circling around Edvinsson.” David Pagnotta has also mentioned Seattle and a few others. Nothing is imminent, and Detroit has told teams its first priority is still signing him.

The holdup is term and money. Frank Seravalli and Chris Johnston have reported that his camp wants seven years in the $9 million to $11 million range, while Detroit has pushed a shorter bridge deal. Edvinsson is a restricted free agent. He went through camp, then went home to Sweden to skate with Frolunda. Pierre LeBrun reported that several teams have already called Detroit about him.

Detroit is a mess right now. Steve Yzerman stepped down as GM on July 15. Shawn Horcoff is the interim GM. Dylan Larkin asked for a trade in June. And there’s a hard deadline on all of this. An RFA has to sign by 5 p.m. on December 1 or he can’t play in the NHL this season.

What kind of player he is

Edvinsson is 23, 6-foot-6 and shoots left. He was the sixth pick in 2021, two spots after Luke Hughes. Last season he played 72 games, scored 9 goals and 25 points and averaged 22:21 a night, most of it next to Moritz Seider.

He’s a big defender, but don’t expect Chris Pronger. He isn’t going to run guys through the boards. What he does is shut down the entry and turn it up ice quickly. He takes away the blue line with his reach and his gap, and when he gets the puck he doesn’t wait around. He skates it out.

The InStat numbers back up the eye test. He had 3.64 carry-in entries per 60 last season. The league median for defensemen was 1.98, and the best Flyer was Travis Sanheim at 3.03. He blocked 5.78 shots per 60 and was above the median in puck battles too.

Where he’s not there yet is the offense. His points went down from 31 to 25 last year while his minutes went up. He has never scored a power-play goal in the NHL. And as a passer, he had 1.29 pre-shot passes per 60, below the league median of 1.93. Edvinsson moves the puck by carrying it, not by setting people up.

The Seider question

This is the part that changed my mind on the price.

Last season, 77% of Edvinsson’s pair minutes came with Moritz Seider. Together they were great. In nearly 1,200 minutes they won 52.8% of the shot attempts and outscored teams 63-55.

Without Seider, it’s a different story. In 361 minutes he was at 45.0% and got outscored 13-24. I’m not putting too much on that goal number. It’s a small sample, and the biggest chunk of it came next to Axel Sandin-Pellikka. But look at the year before. In 2024-25 he spent most of the season away from Seider, almost 1,000 minutes, and he was at 44.2%. With Seider that year he was at 50.8%.

That’s the same drop in two straight seasons. To be fair, it runs both ways. Back in November 2024, The Hockey News noted that Seider’s expected goals share fell off a cliff without Edvinsson too, in a small sample. These two make each other better.

As a coach, here’s how I read it. Edvinsson hasn’t proven yet that he can drive play on his own. He’s an excellent No. 2 next to the right partner. That’s not a knock. Every team that wins needs a guy like that next to its No. 1. But if you trade for him, you have to give him the right partner.

Why Drysdale stays and York goes

Edvinsson and York both shoot left. Drysdale shoots right. If Edvinsson comes in, the left side is Sanheim, Edvinsson and York for two top-four spots. Somebody has to go, and it’s York.

The pair data makes it easier. Of the Flyers’ three biggest-minute pairs last season, York and Drysdale had the worst shot share at 45.3%. In a smaller sample the year before, they were at 41.6%. Drysdale’s best stretch came with Emil Andrae, a left shot who carries the puck. That pair was at 49.0% and outscored teams 19-12.

That’s the fit. In Detroit, Seider is the right shot who retrieves pucks and moves them. Edvinsson is the lefty who takes away the entry and carries it out. Drysdale had 2.57 pre-shot passes per 60 last season, the best on the Flyers and about double Edvinsson. Put the carrier with the passer.

The one question I’d want answered on video is retrievals. Seider is a much bigger body than Drysdale. If Drysdale is the guy going back for pucks against a heavy forecheck, I want to see him win those battles before I’m sold on the pair.

York also makes the most sense for Detroit. If Edvinsson leaves, their left side is Ben Chiarot and Albert Johansson. York is 25, signed at $5.15 million through 2030-31, and plays the exact spot they’d lose.

What it costs

Here’s what young top-four defensemen have gone for recently.

Montreal got Noah Dobson for Emil Heineman and the 16th and 17th picks in 2025. Carolina got K’Andre Miller for Scott Morrow, a conditional first and a second. Then in June, Chicago gave Buffalo the fourth overall pick, a second and Louis Crevier for Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway.

The offer sheet math gives you a floor too. At $9.55 million to $11.94 million, an offer sheet would have cost two firsts, a second and a third. Detroit was reportedly ready to match all summer, but that’s the kind of value they’re going to want back.

So what can the Flyers offer? Here are three ways to do it.

• York, Toronto’s 2027 first and Bonk. This is the one. It looks a lot like the Miller trade, and it gives Detroit an NHL left shot back.
• York and two firsts. That’s more than Montreal paid for Dobson. After seeing the Seider numbers, I wouldn’t go here.
• Owen Tippett, Bonk, a first, and a second This keeps York and Drysdale together. Friedman said Detroit could look for established NHL players, so Tippett has appeal. But it costs more overall and crowds the left side.

The cap works either way. If you believe in him, he’s getting $10 million to $11 million. With York out and Edvinsson in at $11 million, the Flyers would still have about $7 million in space.

What I’d like to see

Make the call. Offer York, the Toronto first and Bonk, and hold there.

If Detroit asks for Drysdale, Matvei Michkov or Porter Martone, walk away. Drysdale is the guy who makes this work. And if they want a Byram-type top-five pick, let somebody else pay it.

If it gets done, put Edvinsson with Drysdale on day one and leave them alone. The whole bet is on that pair. Detroit already showed what Edvinsson looks like with the right partner. The Flyers have to recreate it.

Would you give up York for him? Let me know @BroadStBreakout.

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Sources: InStat 2025-26 and 2024-25 regular season defense pair data. Hockey-Reference and NHL.com for player stats. PuckPedia for contracts and cap. Reporting from Elliotte Friedman, Frank Seravalli, Chris Johnston, Pierre LeBrun and David Pagnotta.