The Detroit Red Wings are close to announcing 23 years old as Simon Edvinsson’s replacement following his long-term injury return.

Simon Edvinsson, a Detroit Red Wings defenseman, departed the game on Wednesday night due to an upper-body injury. He didn’t return.

The Red Wings were able to put together defensive pairs for the remainder of the game, but they plainly missed Edvinsson. The 6-foot-6 blueliner has been a bright spot for Detroit this season.

“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 the 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%

Aside from Chiarot, these are quite modest sample sizes. Still, there are some intriguing choices.

For starters, Seider and Petry have been fairly effective offensively when put together. In the 16 minutes that the two have been on the ice, opponents have not scored once. The difficulty is that Petry has performed poorly against elite opposition, and Seider’s primary responsibility is to shut down those players.

Holl performs better against elite opponents, but in a smaller sample. He’s not a danger offensively, but Seider gets plenty of offensive zone starts.

There’s also Johansson, who hasn’t played much with Seider (or against great competition), but has shown signs of promise this season. He’s done a good job of facilitating zone escapes,

An opportunity to compete against the league’s finest could benefit his development.The Red Wings should never play Chiarot or Gustafsson alongside Seider. If anything, the former should remain in the second pair alongside either Petry or Holl. Despite 114 even-strength minutes together, Chiarot and Seider have yet to develop synergy and just do not function well together. Stop attempting to make fetch happen.

Back to the top pair, Edvinsson cannot be replaced one-for-one; this is a truth. Instead, the Red Wings could use a committee approach. Petry might see the most of the reps, with Holl or Johansson filling in for defensive zone starts.

This plan might keep Seider on the ice more often while also sheltering Gustafsson, who has struggled in his own end this season.

Final Word
If Edvinsson needs to miss time, the Red Wings have choices. And, believe it or not, Petry may be the greatest option to play in the top pair alongside Seider.

However, Edvinsson’s likely absence highlights the terrible plight of Detroit’s blue line. The reality is that the Red Wings have two top-pair defenseman and a group of third-pair/depth rearguards who are completely out of their element when competing against superior opponents. Adding a legitimate top-four defenseman (or two) should be Steve Yzerman’s primary focus this year.