As noted earlier today, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman discussed the possibility that the Red Wings might ask Dylan Larkin to consider being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes as part of his final “32 Thoughts” podcast of the season (again, Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas talk about the Wings at 1 hour and 17 minutes)…
And this evening, Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen offers this….
Well-connected hockey insider Elliotte Friedman said on his podcast that the Carolina Hurricanes are considering using an offer sheet to make a splash. He speculates Edvinsson is the target because they want to add a defenseman. Friedman believes Edvinsson would be an exceptional fit for Carolina’s system.
Edvinsson is a restricted free agent. It’s unknown how far apart they are on a new deal. The Edvinsson projection was a long-term contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $8.7 million (AFP Analytics). With this summer’s events, it might take closer to $10 million.
You guys and gals and in-betweeners know I hate speculation, but hey, it’s July 6th, let’s speculate!
At least it’s Allen (someone I trust) doing it…
The Hurricanes have roughly $10 million in cap space but are considering moving talented Alexander Nikishin with the condition that his new team takes Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s $4.25 million AAV contract. If that occurs, would the Hurricanes go higher than $10 million for Edvinsson?
The Red Wings are covered for that possibility by their $18 million in cap space. In a DHN story Sunday, we pointed out the Red Wings should set aside $12 million (maybe more) in case Edvinsson is offer sheeted.
An offer sheet between $10 million and $11 million, would come with compensation of two first-round picks, a second and a third. An offer of more than $11,939,166 million comes with compensation of four first round picks.
Even with that kind of compensation, the Red Wings are very likely to match the offer. Carolina is the defending Stanley Cup champion and they remain a quality team. Those picks are likely going to be later in the first round where the probably of finding a regular player is roughly 55%.
If Canes GM Eric Tulsky tries to offer sheet Edvinsson, which is possible should they be forced to trade Nikishin, the Wings will match it for sure, but we will have to see whether the Red Wings re-sign Edvinsson on their own (and neither Edvinsson or the Wings elected to go the salary arbitration route by today’s 5 PM EDT deadline for club-elected arbitration, which is a good sign)…
And, since we’re freaking out about everything that the well-connected Friedman has said, the Hockey News’s Jake Tye offers one more bit of information to panic about:
On Monday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman spoke on the final episode of his podcast for the season, 32 Thoughts, where he covered every NHL team with reports and went on a lengthy discussion about the Red Wings.
He touched on Dylan Larkin’s future, whether Patrick Kane will return or leave, and finally what the market looks like for star winger Alex DeBrincat. It wasn’t anticipated that the Red Wings would deal the 28-year-old Farmington Hills, Michigan native, but more reports suggest the Red Wings may need to consider moving on from the elite goal scorer if they can’t get him signed to an extension.
Friedman noted on the podcast that DeBrincat is entering a contract year and is already coming off a career-best 41-goal, 85-point campaign, and that another stellar season next year could put him in a difficult range when it comes to negotiating his next contract.
The Red Wings will technically have plenty of cap room to sign DeBrincat, but Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman is known to be conservative when it comes to handing out big-money, long-term deals, and that history could ultimately force Detroit’s hand into moving its elite winger out of town rather than paying market value to keep him.
“I just don’t know how comfortable Yzerman is gonna be paying him what he could be making on the open market,” Friedman said of the DeBrincat situation.
Tye also throws this out there (and he writes for several teams’ blogs, so he’s “connected,” though I do not know where this comes from)…
Reports have indicated teams like the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres have been among those checking in on DeBrincat’s availability, given the very real risk Detroit could lose him for nothing if an extension doesn’t get done before he reaches unrestricted free agency.
I’m gonna be frank here: the Wings are gonna pay the man. DeBrincat is 28 until December, he’s durable, having played 82 games per season for 5 straight seasons, he’s posted 39 and 41 goals over the past two seasons, respectively, and he’s proved to be a tenacious forechecker, a solid defensive player, and a good passer, too.
You don’t trade a Farmington Hills, MI-native with 3 kids who appears to be really happy playing for the hometown team to which he engineered a trade unless he wants out–or unless you’re certain that you’ve got to clear the decks for a full rebuild.
This is all, to quote my mother and aunt, spooky football, which was our family’s term for gossippy bullshit.
I respect Friedman to no end, I believe that if he’s heard these rumors, they’re bouncing around in the blogosphere and the news-sphere, but the Hurricanes do not need to offer sheet Edvinsson unless they lose Nikishin due to his contrract demands being too high…
And the DeBrincat stuff is pure spitballing in my opinion.
As far as I’m concerned, we’re all just so frazzled from the Larkin trade bomb exploding in our faces and the uncertainty surrounding Patrick Kane’s future that we’re going to take every little rumor planted by a single trusted source (and Friedman is more like a bright lighthouse in a sea full of little “news website” ships on fire than a light in the darkness) and freak the eff out.
Breathe, people. It’s gonna be a long summer, and if we don’t take things slowly and patiently, we’re all going to freak out in a frenzied mess of hockey burnout in July.
Nobody needs that.
Let’s take it one day at at time, one scary scenario at a time, and not rush into panicking about very little to nothing. Even if Elliotte says it could happen.
We’re in early July. A LOT OF STUFF could happen. Not all of it does.
