The Detroit Red Wings are about to lose something they cannot get back in the Simon Edvinsson negotiations.

Not Edvinsson. Not yet.

Detroit can still sign its 23-year-old restricted free-agent defenseman after Tuesday. The deadline arriving Sept. 15 is more specific: it is the final day the Red Wings can give Edvinsson an eight-year contract before the NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement takes effect.

Beginning Sept. 16, the maximum term for a player re-signing with his current team drops from eight years to seven, according to the NHL’s explanation of the new CBA rules.

Edvinsson remains unsigned as of Monday night. PuckPedia lists him without a current contract and still identifies him as an offer-sheet-eligible RFA.

So this is not a sign-him-or-lose-him deadline.

It is a use-the-eighth-year-or-lose-it deadline.

And Detroit has reached it without resolving the larger organizational problem that helped create this situation in the first place.

Detroit’s Delay Has Started Costing It Options

There is no indication Edvinsson is trying to escape Detroit.

Quite the opposite.

Edvinsson recently revealed that other NHL clubs showed interest in a possible offer sheet, but he made clear that he wanted to remain with the Red Wings. That development added another layer to Detroit’s contract standoff because Edvinsson had outside options and chose not to pursue them.

The problem is that Detroit’s front-office uncertainty has effectively frozen negotiations.

Edvinsson said there had been discussions before Steve Yzerman left the GM position, but the process has been quiet since. Pierre LeBrun also reported that Edvinsson planned to attend training camp even without a contract while waiting for Detroit’s management situation to sort itself out.

That is an unusually patient position for a player this important.

Detroit’s reward for that patience has been time.

It has nearly used all of it.

The Market Did Not Wait for the Red Wings

While Detroit’s negotiations stalled, the defenseman market kept moving.

Vancouver signed Zeev Buium to an eight-year extension worth $75.04 million, carrying a $9.38 million average annual value. The Canucks specifically completed the deal before the new contract-term rules take effect.

That contract does not automatically establish Edvinsson’s price. Buium and Edvinsson are different players at different points in their careers.

It did give Edvinsson’s camp another significant comparison, which is why the deal made Detroit’s negotiation more complicated rather than less.

Edvinsson is already playing first-pair minutes in Detroit. He appeared in 72 games last season, scored nine goals and finished with 25 points while averaging more than 22 minutes per night.

If Detroit believes Edvinsson is going to become a fixture next to Moritz Seider for the next decade, buying an extra year now has obvious value.

Waiting until Wednesday removes that choice.

Losing the Eighth Year Would Not Be a Disaster

This is where the situation needs some perspective.

If midnight Tuesday arrives without an Edvinsson contract, Detroit has not blown up its future.

The Red Wings can still sign him for seven years. They can sign him to a shorter bridge contract. They retain his RFA rights. Edvinsson has publicly indicated he wants to stay.

The danger is subtler.

Detroit has spent weeks allowing circumstances to dictate its options instead of making the decision itself.

Maybe the Red Wings never intended to offer eight years. Fine. If that is the organization’s conclusion, losing the eighth year means nothing.

If they did want it, though, the opportunity is about to disappear because one of the franchise’s most important contract negotiations remained parked while the GM search dragged into September.

The Red Wings have until Sept. 15 to decide whether an eighth year with Simon Edvinsson is worth buying.

After that, the league makes the decision for them.