Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson spoke with Aftonbladet’s Anton Johansson (the reporter, not the defenseman) about his contractual situation with Detroit and more topics. Here’s a rough translation of their conversation from Swedish:
Swedish NHL star: “What to do?”
Simon Edvinsson, 23, is in a special situation.
The defensive star is without a contract and has no one to negotiate with.
“It’s been standing still for quite a while now,” he said.
Simon Edvinsson calls us up after sitting for a while in the sauna.
As usual, the Gothenburger has prepared as well as he can for the upcoming hockey season.
But this time he’s in a strange position.
Edvinsson’s rookie contract with the Detroit Red Wings expired this spring. After two successful seasons in the NHL, he has grown to become one of the NHL’s most promising defensemen, and a new contract with a juicy pay rise was to be expected.
He himself and many others probably thought it would be solved by now. But with the NHL premiere less than a month away, he stands without a contract with Detroit, and he has no one to negotiate with.
The reason is that Steve Yzerman resigned as Detroit General Manager in mid-July — and the club hasn’t found a replacement.
“It’s a special situation. I haven’t seen anyone else who’s been in a position like this before, when there’s not even anyone to talk to this late in the summer. What to do about it? There is not much you can do. It will be to try to take it day by day, and hope that it will soon work out,” he says.
Are you worried that the contract won’t be ready for the premiere?
“Of course you want to sign before that, and it’s getting really tight …Well, then you’ll see what happens. You want to play. It’s been a long summer and now you want to go back to hockey.”
“Has been a bit messy”
Edvinsson is currently in Sweden. But he only has left a few more days.
In a few days, he’ll go to Detroit to get ready for next week’s training camp with the Red Wings. He plans to be involved, even though he has no contract.
How does it work with insurance and things like that when you’re on the camp without a contract?
“If something happens that you don’t want t o, you have to pay for it yourself. I’ve raised my insurance a little extra now. But you train on and things can happen all the time, so I don’t think in those tracks really. I just want to be ready for the season.”
Edvinsson says that there was “a little talk” about a new contract when Yzerman was a general manager. Now it’s cross-dead.
“We have not negotiated anything. It has been standing quite still for quite a while now.”
How has summer been for you?
“It’s been good, but it’s been a bit messy in that we haven’t had anyone to talk to about the contract. It would have been nice if there was a GM or a president soon, so you can start having some negotiations. Otherwise, it’s been good. I’ve been training well and I’ve been allowed to be close to family.”
Has there been interest
Edvinsson is a restricted free agent (RFA). That means Detroit has the rights to him, but that other clubs can offer him a contract. That’s what happened to Leo Carlsson this summer, when he accepted a bid from Philadelphia that Anaheim later chose to match.
Edvinsson says that there has been “some interest from other clubs” without wanting to go into details.
“I love Detroit and I love the fans. I love everything here. Now you want a talk with the one who becomes GM and see what will happen.”
He continues:
“I have an apartment in Detroit and will be there to practice. Then you’ll see what happens. Detroit is the place I have closest to my heart, absolutely.”
‘Sounds absolutely sick’
An NHL contract will be, regardless of being, and Edvinsson will sign one in an exciting time for the league. The salary cap is increasing significantly in the coming years and many teams choose to sign expensive and long contracts with younger players.
“That’s what the market will look like, everyone will sign higher contracts now. What we’ve been told is that it’s going to rise up.”
Is it difficult to know what you are worth in a situation where the salary cap will increase for years to come?
“Now this sounds crazy, but a few million here and there…You want to win. That’s why you’re playing. Of course you want a good salary, no doubt about it. At the same time, they want to play playoff hockey, go far and compete for the Stanley Cup. That is why this is done.”
But what do you do when the training camp is over and you don’t have a contract?
“I think you train on your own. I haven’t pondered much about it, but it’s a situation I hope won’t happen.”
