Record<\/p>\n
33-19-6, 3rd in the Atlantic (78% playoff probability<\/a>)<\/p>\n Deadline Status<\/p>\n Conservative Buyer<\/p>\n Deadline Cap Space<\/p>\n $59.38MM on deadline day, 0\/3 retention slots used, 45\/50 contracts used, per PuckPedia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Upcoming Draft Picks<\/p>\n 2026: DET 1st, DET 2nd, DET 3rd, CBJ 4th, DET 5th, DET 6th, CGY 7th, DET 7th Trade Chips<\/p>\n The Red Wings have selected at least one player in the first round for 13 consecutive years. Not all of those have landed, though it has been enough for Detroit to restock its cupboards. Assuming an acquiring team wouldn\u2019t expect the Red Wings to reach the Stanley Cup Final or even the Eastern Conference Final, their first-round selection this year could have significant value with the expectation that it falls around the 20 to 25 mark.<\/p>\n With their numerous first-round picks, Detroit can trade some prospects, depending on the magnitude of additions they want to make. The Red Wings\u2019 biggest trade chips come from between the pipes. A few days ago, we peddled the idea of Detroit trading Cam Talbot<\/a> to a desperate team around the deadline, with the idea they would call up prospect Sebastian Cossa<\/a> in his stead. Cossa, being the heir-apparent, wouldn\u2019t affect Talbot alone, however.<\/p>\n While the Red Wings will likely want to retain prospects such as\u00a0Carter Bear<\/a>,\u00a0Michael Brandsegg-Nygard<\/a>, and\u00a0Nate Danielson<\/a>, some lower-level prospects may be traded. While circumstances may change, Amadeus Lombardi<\/a>, Carter Mazur<\/a>, and Shai Buium<\/a> don\u2019t seem likely to have a long-term future in Detroit, making them potential candidates in trade packages for acquiring high-level talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n Team Needs<\/p>\n Top-Four Defenseman:\u00a0Of all the playoff-bound teams, Detroit has one of the most obvious flaws. After Simon Edvinsson<\/a> suffered a lower-body injury on January 22, the Red Wings concluded play before the Olympics with a record of 2-3-1. Even before losing Edvinsson, the need was obvious. It\u2019s clear that head coach Todd McLellan<\/a> doesn\u2019t trust rookie Axel Sandin Pellikka<\/a> (yet) in high-leverage situations, and veteran Ben Chiarot<\/a> is a better fit for strong bottom-pairing play. Throughout the season, Detroit has been loosely connected to top-four defenseman such as Dougie Hamilton<\/a> and Justin Faulk<\/a>, both of whom make sense to fill the need. Even if a player like Morgan Rielly<\/a> becomes available, or another top-four blue liner with term, the Red Wings should be the first team calling.<\/p>\n Some Jam Up Front:\u00a0This is one of the more obscure talking points of the Red Wings\u2019 makeup. As of now, the leading forwards on the team in hits are Marco Kasper<\/a> (131) and Emmitt Finnie<\/a> (86). This is not an argument that Detroit needs to pursue a punch-heavy forward like Ryan Reaves<\/a> or Matt Rempe<\/a>, but they should aim to become nastier to play against, especially with an eye on playoff competition. Coupled with their need for an additional boost of offense, Kiefer Sherwood<\/a> would have been the ideal fit had he not already been dealt to the San Jose Sharks. Still, would a player like Evander Kane<\/a> make sense? He\u2019s scored nine goals and 25 points in 56 games for the Vancouver Canucks this season, and has only failed to clear the 100-hit mark twice throughout his 16-year career. He would help provide the Red Wings with a mild boost of offense, playoff experience, and much-needed grit.<\/p>\n Image courtesy of\u00a0Robert Killips of Lansing State Journal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the Olympic break upon us, the trade deadline is under a month away. Where does each team…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":459865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5101],"tags":[54005,599,93,5137,5,4,697,3358,5138],"class_list":{"0":"post-459864","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-red-wings","8":"tag-deadline-primer-2026","9":"tag-detroit","10":"tag-detroit-red-wings","11":"tag-detroitredwings","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-nhl","14":"tag-pro-hockey-rumors-originals","15":"tag-red-wings","16":"tag-redwings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116081166622237925","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459864"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459864\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
2027: DET 1st, DET 3rd, DET 4th, DET 5th, DET 6th, DET 7th<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/USATSI_24725682-293x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Detroit has one of the best goaltending prospects not currently in professional hockey. Trey Augustine<\/a>, 20, is in his third year at Michigan State University, managing a 20-6-0 record with a .932 SV% and 1.96 GAA. Coupled with his pair of gold medals from the World Junior Championships, Augustine could fetch a massive return at the deadline. Famously, the Florida Panthers used Devon Levi<\/a> and Spencer Knight<\/a> to acquire Sam Reinhart<\/a> and Seth Jones<\/a>, respectively, each of whom had a hand in their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships.<\/p>\n