Simon Edvinsson Is Still Unsigned. Everyone but Michkov and Martone Should Be on the Table.

Simon Edvinsson still hasn’t signed, and the clock is running. The Flyers should make whatever trade it takes to get him. Matvei Michkov and Porter Martone are off the table. Everyone else should be on it.

He’s 6-foot-6, he skates like a much smaller man, and he kills plays before they start. You don’t have this in your system, and you don’t have it on your blue line. Watch the film below and tell me I’m wrong.

I broke this down with James on HW Hockey this week. Every clip below is cued to that moment in the show, so you can watch the film while you read. Thanks to James for having me on. Follow him at @JimIkeHW and @HWhockeyX on X and @hwhockeyig on Instagram.

What’s going on

He’s a restricted free agent, and if he doesn’t sign by 5 p.m. on Dec. 1, he can’t play in the NHL this season. The Detroit News reported on Oct. 13 that he’s leaving Sweden for the U.S. with no deal done.

Detroit isn’t budging, at least publicly. On Oct. 14, interim GM Shawn Horcoff told NHL.com he has “zero interest” in trading him. Detroit has reportedly offered about $8.5 million a year over six years, and he hasn’t taken it. The Red Wings also just gave Alex DeBrincat seven years at $13 million a year, so they’re spending.

Every day he goes unsigned, the pressure on Detroit builds. If Dec. 1 gets close with no deal, “zero interest” gets tested. The Flyers need to be the team on the phone when it does.

In my Oct. 5 piece, I set a ceiling on the price. York, the Toronto first and Oliver Bonk, and walk away if Detroit asked for Jamie Drysdale. I’m off that. The film is why.

What I’m seeing

Clip 1: He ends plays early

He kills plays in the neutral zone better than almost anyone, and he does it with that 6-foot-6 reach. He steps up before the guy can even get there, and it’s done.

Then look at what he does with it. He doesn’t just throw it away. He turns with it to protect the puck instead of icing it, finds his partner, and now they can stretch and go. The next one is the same thing. No hesitation. Step up, end it, let Moritz Seider get the puck, and Detroit has possession.

Clip 2: He reads it before it happens

As soon as the puck is broken out, he joins the rush. He’s the first guy up, he moves it up, and they find Patrick Kane for a good shot. Simple.

Then he picks a pass off because he’s already reading it before they can get possession. And the last one is 5-on-5, even though it looks like a power-play setup. He sees it all the way across. Easy tap-in.

Clip 3: Calm, and smooth

Look how calm and poised he is. He turns off the guy, moves it up and joins the rush. When there’s no lane open and nobody to move it to, he takes it himself. Now Detroit is in the zone with possession. That’s all you can ask for.

Watching him skate, it’s easy to forget he’s 6-foot-6. It’s effortless.

Clip 4: Tight gap, stick in the lane

First he enters the zone and crashes the net. That’s what you want from your D. Then Claude Giroux picks a play off and it’s a 2-on-1 the other way. Watch the gap. His stick is there, he’s closing the gap, the stick is in the lane, and he picks it off. They’re out.

Everything looks easy with him, and there’s a reason for it.

Don’t expect Sam Morin

When Flyers fans hear 6-foot-6, they probably think Sam Morin. A big guy who’s a little clunky but really physical. That’s not Edvinsson’s game. He’s smooth. He’s not going to kill guys, but he’s so good with the puck.

The InStat numbers say the same thing. Last season he had 3.73 carry-in entries per 60. The league median for defensemen was 1.98, and the best Flyer was Sanheim at 3.03.

The guy in my head is Victor Hedman. Hedman doesn’t need to run a power play to be the most important defenseman on the ice. He does everything else the right way. That’s what you want from a top-pair guy.

The Seider question is real, and I went through it in the last piece. My answer: put him next to Sanheim and it’ll be okay. Sanheim is a lot like Devon Toews. He’s never going to score 60 or 70 points. That’s not his game. But next to the right partner, he looks even better, and so does the partner.

What I’d like to see

Make whatever trade it takes. Michkov and Martone stay. Everything else is on the table.

That means Cam York. It means Drysdale. It means Owen Tippett, the firsts and the prospects. Yes, it means Bonk too, and I just wrote a whole piece on how good he looked against Seattle. That’s how much I want this player. As much as I like parts of York’s and Drysdale’s games, Edvinsson is a unicorn, and unicorns aren’t available very often.

Elliotte Friedman has said Detroit would look for established NHL players back, so picks alone won’t do it. Fine. Give them NHL players. Even if it’s an overpayment, it’ll work itself out. Whoever you give up, someone else comes in and takes that spot. You can’t go find another 6-foot-6 lefty who skates like this and kills plays in the neutral zone.

He’s going to get paid, and he should. Pay him.

Horcoff says no today. Dec. 1 is coming. Keep calling.

Who would you give up for him? Let me know @BroadStBreakout.

The full show

The Edvinsson segment starts at 31:15. The Tocchet and Oliver Bonk segments are in there too.

Sources: Film from the HW Hockey episode with James Iacovone. InStat 2025-26 regular season. Reporting from The Detroit News, NHL.com, Yahoo Sports and Elliotte Friedman.