Detroit — Simon Edvinsson has been in this position now several times in his young NHL career, and you can tell it’s getting old.
This was last month, after another disappointing Red Wings season ended, and Edvinsson, the Wings’ talented young defenseman, was at the podium discussing what went wrong. Why the Wings were missing the playoffs for a 10th consecutive season. Why the Wings fell apart in March and April, yet again.
Edvinsson explained, but in the end, there was a sense of frustration. Edvinsson reiterated on occasion it was time for the Wings to get into the playoffs.
“No one wants to be here,” Edvinsson said of sitting and explaining what had gone wrong. “I feel like everybody’s done being here. It’s the worst feeling you have, not going to the playoffs, and you know you’re so close. Everybody works so hard but we still don’t get it done.
“We really need to figure that out.”
What made this season’s elimination on the final full weekend of the regular season so hurtful was the way the season had gone for the majority of it. The Wings flirted with the best record in the Eastern Conference for a good portion of the schedule. They were sitting comfortably in a playoff spot as late as January and February. Confidence, team-wide, was growing.
But injuries began to hit, scoring became an issue, and as other teams took their performance to another level with the playoffs nearing, the Wings went the other direction and faltered.
“I know that everybody really wanted to make the playoffs and have a run,” Edvinsson said, “but we’re not there and we need to really find something in our group, find something in the organization, find something within the team to really take us past that step.”
Playing a tougher brand of hockey around the net, Edvinsson said, would benefit the Wings. Edvinsson mentioned Pittsburgh and Florida as two examples of teams that make it difficult on opponents.
“Pittsburgh, you see and feel it out there on the ice,” Edvinsson said. “They’re very hard to play against. They crash the net all the time, they hit even after you pass the puck. That’s a championship mentality. They get a piece of you every time, bring you down slowly, and that’s something in our team that we could use more.
“That’s where all the goals come. It’s not going to be pretty. It’s going to be those gritty goals where you send the puck to the net and so on and basically crash the net and crash into the goal into the paint.
“I feel like we can have more of that.”
If, or when, the Wings do take that next step, Edvinsson likely will be a key reason why.
Now 23, Edvinsson continued to progress, forming one of the best defensive duos in the NHL alongside Moritz Seider. Edvinsson did so while having to overcome two knee surgeries. The first one sidelined Edvinsson through training camp, while the second procedure happened before the Olympic break, which limited the amount of games missed for Edvinsson.
Still, Edvinsson only missed 10 games, scoring a career-high nine goals, while putting up 25 points in 72 games and averaging a colossal 22 minutes 21 seconds of ice time per game. The Edvinsson-Seider tandem, in fact, ranked third in the NHL in ice time and ranked top five in fewest goals against.
Edvinsson is thrilled to be getting an opportunity to play with Seider, who has developed into one of the NHL’s best.
“He’s one of the best defensemen in the league, and probably even in the top five or three,” Edvinsson said. “The way he played this year, he’s always been playing both offense and defense. But for me, to come in and find my game next to him has been pretty easy, honestly. I felt we kind of found each other (on the ice) from the first time we played with each other.
“It’s been good for my growth and to watch and learn from him.”
The injuries were a struggle for Edvinsson to smoothly battle back from. Edvinsson was expecting to roll directly into the season, but the minor knee surgery put a dent in those plans. The second procedure, too, led directly into the home stretch of the schedule.
“Having two surgeries during one season is not optimal,” Edvinsson said. “But I felt good enough to play, and that’s what I did. Not 100%, but nobody plays at 100%. It’s something you’re going have to deal with, and that was it.
“I felt really good coming into the season. I felt good, the team felt good. Then another one (surgery) and mentally and physically everything kind of stinks and I tried to fight my way back. But like I said, nobody plays at 100% out there. It’s hockey, and 82 games, and it’ll be 84 games next season.
“I’ll take that with me and work hard this summer to get my body as good as I can get it.”
An interesting angle to watch the remainder of the offseason will be Edvinsson’s negotiations with the Wings. Edvinsson is a restricted free agent, and is line for a healthy raise from the nearly $875,000 this season on his entry-level contract.
It’ll be intriguing to see what number the two sides ultimately settle on, and for how long the pact will be, whether long-term, or a shorter-term deal.
“Of course,” Edvinsson said of whether he’d be open to a lengthier contract. ““It’s where I got drafted. I felt like ever since I came here, it’s been great, all the people around, teammates, fans, it’s been great.
“So, yeah, it would be an honor.”
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
@tkulfan
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Simon Edvinsson: Detroit Red Wings must get tougher around the net