Who could Red Wings target in potential Simon Edvinsson trade?

If the Detroit Red Wings’ most recent game reminded us of anything, it’s that you never know which way a saga might swing.

Playing his first game of the season on Tuesday, Dylan Larkin not only turned jeers to cheers with a 1-1-2 performance in the Wings’ 5-3 win over the Senators, he acted like the captain he used to be when he physically engaged Ottawa forward Ridly Greig after the latter hit Larkin’s teammate Alex DeBrincat at centre ice.

He may desire change, but Larkin is playing hard where his skates are right now.

Of course, one pair of blades that remains vacant in the Red Wings dressing room is the large set belonging to six-foot-six defenceman Simon Edvinsson. While Larkin — who requested a move out of Michigan last spring — has returned to the fold (for now), Edvinsson — an unsigned RFA — is skating in his native Sweden while we all await the next move.

As noted, it’s impossible to know what twists are around the corner and it’s still conceivable Edvinsson and interim GM Shawn Horcoff reach an agreement to keep the 23-year-old in Detroit. That said, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday that, at this point, Edvinsson would prefer to land with a new team.

If we assume, for the moment, that Larkin and Edvinsson both will eventually be moved, it’s worth contemplating how one trade could impact the other. From the time we first learned Larkin would like to be dealt, we’ve also been under the impression the Red Wings — if they were to deal Larkin — wanted a centre they could immediately put in the lineup in return.

Could an Edvinsson deal alter Horcoff’s approach, though? If Detroit could land a centre for Edvinsson, would the organization then become more amenable to other trade packages for Larkin? There’s even some recent notion the Wings — originally thought to be dead-set against any big step back — could embrace the idea that an organizational reset is required, something Sportsnet’s Frank Seravalli mused about on Wednesday.

The best-laid plans already have gone off the rails in Detroit and the club must consider all options as it navigates these trying circumstances. With that in mind, let’s highlight some up-and-coming centres the Wings could target in a deal involving Edvinsson.

Caleb Desnoyers, Utah Mammoth

The Mammoth, justifiably, are a team we wonder about any time a real needle-mover — young, old or in between — becomes available and earlier this week, Seravalli said on the Frankly Hockey show that Utah is interested in Edvinsson, who was taken sixth overall in 2021.

The Mammoth have been aggressive upgrading their team, adding veteran forwards Vincent Trocheck and Anders Lee over the summer as the squad attempts to build on making the playoffs last spring.

Of course, one of the first big swings the club took when it moved to Utah in 2024 was acquiring defenceman Mikhail Sergachev — currently day-to-day after taking a puck up high on Tuesday — from Tampa Bay. Add Edvinsson to a blue line that also includes promising up-and-comer Dmitri Simashev and veteran MacKenzie Weegar — acquired at the 2026 trade deadline — and you’d have one heck of a back end featuring lots of size and varied tool kits.

Desnoyers is a big chip to surrender, but the Mammoth have young stud Logan Cooley at the top of the centre chart. Given both Trocheck and Nick Schmaltz can also play in the middle — with Barrett Hayton a serviceable 3C — you could imagine GM Bill Armstrong biting down and giving up Desnoyers.

For Detroit, nabbing the No. 4 pick from the 2025 NHL Draft — a guy with great two-way potential who’s beginning his pro journey in the AHL this fall — would provide a major building block down the middle.

Berkly Catton, Seattle Kraken

Seattle landed an exciting blue-line prospect in Chase Reid at the 2026 draft, but the back end remains a clear position of need. You could probably say the same thing about a few areas of the ice in Seattle, but the club does have a handful of centres who possess different degrees of potential.

Catton was the eighth-overall pick in 2024 and if he’d been on a clear upward trajectory since then, we’re probably not having this conversation. Of course, there’s still plenty of potential in the player, even though the 20-year-old hasn’t exploded on the scene yet.

Catton, though not big, is a skilled player with a big motor. When you consider Seattle has centre Matty Beniers in the mix and playmaking pivot Jake O’Brien — the eighth pick in 2025 — beginning his pro career in the AHL this fall, the Kraken would be dealing from a relative position of strength. And don’t forget about Shane Wright, a right-shot centre who still has middle-six appeal.

Who knows, maybe Wright would be a guy who piques Detroit’s interest in a larger deal, too.

James Hagens, Boston Bruins

Hagens has had a nice start to his rookie year with two goals in four games for the Bruins. In a sense, it would be awfully tough to give up Hagens — the seventh-overall pick in 2025 — when the B’s are looking for their next generation of offence.

That said, does anybody need to tell Boston what a gigantic defender who can do a little bit of everything can mean for a franchise?

OK, we’re not saying Edvinsson would be the second coming of Zdeno Chara, but the potential for him to be an all-situations stud who plays 23 minutes regularly and 27 when it really counts is there. Boston has a right-shot stud in Charlie McAvoy, who turns 29 in December. How good would it be to know you have Edvinsson potentially anchoring another pair from the left side and ready to take over as the go-to workhorse when McAvoy turns the corner into his 30s.

The rub for Detroit is Hagens has played the wing during his short, six-game NHL career and there are some doubts as to whether the five-foot-11 American would thrive up the middle matching up with the best centres in the NHL.

Still, if he hits his offensive ceiling, does it really matter which position he’s doing it from?

Dalibor Dvorsky, St. Louis Blues

The Blues made a big move to get Mason McTavish at the draft, then ended any speculation they would move on from Robert Thomas by making him captain before the season.

If Thomas and McTavish are entrenched as the club’s top two centres for a long time, where does that leave Dvorsky? The 21-year-old was taken 10th overall in 2023 and, after netting 12 goals as a rookie last year, has already potted a pair in three outings this year.

This would be about the Blues dealing from an area of strength — they also selected well-regarded centre Tynan Lawrence 11th overall in June — to bulk up somewhere else. St. Louis has some quality young pieces on the blueline — Philip Broberg and rookie righty Adam Jiricek among them — but adding Edvinsson would take things to a whole other level and likely add the player with the best career ahead of him.

Detroit would need to insulate Dvorsky while he develops, but the pedigree is there for him to become a good top-six C.

Kent Johnson, Columbus Blue Jackets

Johnson has been in trade rumours for what feels like ages now and the Jackets certainly would need to sweeten the pot to get something over the line for Edvinsson. Still, the hands are there — Johnson scored 24 goals and 57 points in 68 contests two seasons ago — and if Columbus isn’t his long-term home, somebody is going to give him another shot.

You wonder if he could follow the path of Trevor Zegras, another skilled — but not big — centre/winger who found his best self in his second NHL stop.

As for Columbus, Edvinsson would provide one heck of a contingency plan — and added flexibility — if the club is pushed into a spot where it must trade the reigning Norris Trophy winner, Zach Werenski.

As both the Wings and Jackets can attest to, finding the right deal for big-time players is no small task and you must explore every possible avenue before pulling the trigger.