Per the Detroit Red Wings:
UPDATE: The #RedWings have acquired a 4th round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Amadeus Lombardi. pic.twitter.com/2LyOV7KLuW
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) June 25, 2026
It’s a little disappointing to see the Wings “give up” on Lombardi, but the smallish center‘s point-per-game status at the AHL belied a set of injuries that cost him half-season absences over the past two seasons.
Update: According to PuckPedia, the Wings now have pick #108 to use on Saturday:
🚨 Trade #NJDevils
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) June 25, 2026
Amadeus Lombardi 23 y/o F, – RFA#LGRW
‘26 4th (#108)https://t.co/TmQdcJbjui
So the Wings have picks 47, 79, 108, 143, 175, 196 and 207 in this weekend’s NHL Draft in Buffalo.
UPDATE: Here’s the Wings’ official press release:
RED WINGS ACQUIRE FOURTH-ROUND PICK IN 2026 NHL ENTRY DRAFT FROM NEW JERSEY DEVILS IN EXCHANGE FOR AMADEUS LOMBARDI
… Lombardi Recorded 109 Points in 163 Games with AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins …
DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today acquired a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for forward Amadeus Lombardi.
Lombardi, 23, spent the 2025-26 season with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins and ranked among the team leaders with 16 goals (6th), 26 assists (2nd), 42 points (T4th), five game-winning goals (3rd), three overtime goals (1st) and 118 shots (5th) in 47 regular-season games. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound forward also recorded three assists in seven Calder Cup Playoff games. Lombardi tallied 40 points (19-21-40) and 10 penalty minutes in 44 regular-season games with the Griffins during the 2024-25 campaign, in addition to two points (1-1-2) in three postseason contests. Selected by the Red Wings in the fourth round (113th overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Lombardi has collected 109 points (40-69-109) and 46 penalty minutes in 163 AHL games with the Griffins since 2022-23.
Prior to turning professional, Lombardi racked up 161 points (63-98-161), a plus-32 rating and 42 penalty minutes in 134 regular-season games with the Ontario Hockey League’s Flint Firebirds from 2021-23. He also totaled 22 points (12-10-22) in 26 playoff matchups, helping the Firebirds reach the Western Conference Final in 2022. Lombardi was named to the OHL Second All-Star Team in 2022-23 after leading the Firebirds in goals (45), assists (57) and points (102) in 67 games. The Aurora, Ont., native developed with the Toronto Titans AAA program in the Greater Toronto Hockey League before joining the Firebirds
This has to be a lead up to something bigger. Right? Right 🙃
In the past, at least, I’ve found that the Wings like to tie up loose ends before making larger moves. But we shall see. We’re all frustrated, impatient and annoyed right now, I know that.
I was sad to see him go, but the bloom has been off that rose for a couple of years now. The team should have called him up for at least a few games over the past few years, but he’s always been injured when we’ve needed centers. And, as I understand it, the team was never sold on his defense being good enough or on him playing center at the next level. They probably should have traded him last year, and the return would have been better. There was a stretch where people were convinced we got a first-round quality steal with him. We were probably never getting a first back, but I could see a late second.
Yeah, there’s arguably a bit of mismanagement going on with the prospects, but Lombardi was also both small and wiry, and he had holes in his game.
People forget that there have been extremely skilled players like Kirill Tyutyayev in the system, and we all thought that Kirill was going to be the next Pavel Datsyuk, but his hands and feet never got fast enough…And he piles his trade for the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL now.
I think that Lombardi may be a high-end AHL scorer as opposed to a good depth player at the NHL level.
That being said, I wish him all the success in the world in New Jersey.