Red Wings’ Options for Replacing Simon Edvinsson

On Wednesday night, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson sustained an upper-body injury and left the game. He did not return.

While the Red Wings were able to piece together defensive pairs for the rest of the contest, they clearly missed Edvinsson. The 6-foot-6 blueliner has been a bright spot for Detroit this year.

“Obviously him and (Seider)’s numbers of getting pucks out, getting pucks out clean, (have) been really high,” head coach Derek Lalonde said. (from ‘Simon Edvinsson’s importance to Red Wings has never been clearer’ – The Athletic – 12/19/24) “And it’s been a huge positive, and part of who he is.”

If Edvinsson can’t go this weekend, the Red Wings will have big shoes to fill – figuratively and literally. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at how Detroit can deploy their defensive pairs without Edvinsson if he has to miss time.

Red Wings’ Options for Replacing Edvinsson

To determine who should skate with Moritz Seider on the top pair, let’s turn to the data. Below are Detroit’s options, plus their five-on-five minutes, shot attempt share (CF%), and high-danger chances-for percentage (HDCF%) while paired with Seider to measure their effectiveness.

• Ben Chiarot – 114 minutes, 39.32 CF%, 32.26 HDCF%
• Jeff Petry – 16 minutes, 60.71 CF%, 55.56 HDCF%
• Erik Gustafsson – 16 minutes, 57.14 CF%, 25.00 HDCF%
• Justin Holl – 8 minutes, 50.00 CF%, 33.33 HDCF%
• Albert Johansson – 3 minutes, 85.71 CF%, N/A HDCF% 

Apart from Chiarot, these are pretty small sample sizes. Still, there are some interesting options. 

For one, Seider and Petry have been pretty solid offensively when paired together. And opponents haven’t scored in the 16 minutes while the two were on the ice. The problem, though, is that Petry has been terrible against elite competition, and Seider’s main task is to shut down those players.

Holl has better numbers against elite competition, albeit in a smaller sample. He’s not a threat offensively, though, and Seider gets a fair amount of offensive zone starts.

There’s also Johansson, who hasn’t played much with Seider (or against elite competition), but has shown some flashes of potential this season. He’s done a decent job at facilitating zone exits, and an opportunity to play against the league’s best could be helpful for his development.

Under no circumstances should the Red Wings deploy Chiarot or Gustafsson with Seider. If anything, the former should stay on the second pair with either Petry or Holl. Despite the 114 even-strength minutes together, Chiarot and Seider haven’t been able to build chemistry and simply don’t work as a pair. Stop trying to make fetch happen.

Back to the top pair, Edvinsson can’t be replaced one-for-one – that’s a fact. Instead, the Red Wings could opt for a committee approach. Petry could get a majority of the reps, with Holl or Johansson mixed in for defensive zone starts.

Related: Steve Yzerman’s Red Wings Rebuild Has Succeeded So Far

This strategy could keep Seider on the ice more often and continue to shelter Gustafsson, who has struggled in his own end this year.

Final Word

If Edvinsson has to miss time, the Red Wings have options. And believe it or not, Petry might actually be the best choice to deploy on the top pair alongside Seider.

That said, a potential Edvinsson absence illustrates the dire state of Detroit’s blue line. The reality is that the Red Wings have two top-pair defensemen, and a collection of third-pair/depth rearguards who are way out of their element playing against elite competition. Adding a bonafide, top-four defenseman (or two) should be a top priority for Steve Yzerman this offseason.

Data courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and Puck IQ.