Author: George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!

‘We would love to have Patrick remain with the Red Wings’

Updated at 7:31 PM: NHL.com’s Nicholas J. Cotsonika took note of Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s take regarding the Red Wings’ possible loss of free agent-to-be Patrick Kane, due to the uncertainty surrounding Dylan Larkin’s trade request:

Yzerman said the Larkin situation creates “certainly a lot of uncertainty” around the Red Wings’ roster building with the free agent market opening Wednesday. Among Detroit’s pending unrestricted free agents is veteran forward Patrick Kane. The 37-year-old had 57 points (16 goals, 41 assists) in 67 games last season.

“We can talk about free agency later on,” Yzerman said. “Having said that, yes, we would love to have Patrick remain with the Red Wings.”

Continued; Larkin and Kane share the same agent in Pat Brisson, so we’ll find out shortly whether uncertainty pushes Kane out of Detroit, or whether his family situation as settled here in the Motor City’s suburbs proves to serve as a lasting bond.

Update: Here’s more on Patrick Kane’s nebulous status, via the Free Press’s Helene St. James:

Continue reading ‘We would love to have Patrick remain with the Red Wings’

Khan notes Steve Yzerman’s comments regarding moving on from Sebastian Cossa

MLive’s Ansar Khan took note of Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman’s comments regarding the team’s decision to trade Sebastian Cossa to the Utah Mammoth for the 23rd overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft (which Detroit used to draft JP Hurlbert) last night:

“I’ve been at this long enough now to know things can change over time and your needs change,” Yzerman said. “It’s not necessarily that we had given up on Sebastian Cossa. We’re looking where we are today, what we have coming in goal presently and what we have coming behind that. We’re looking to add dynamic players, and we had a chance, with the pick that we got for Sebastian, to significantly improve our prospect pool with a different type of player and still be solid in that (goaltending) spot.

“So, obviously, where we picked Sebastian at the time, we had very high hopes for him, and he’s an excellent young man. We really enjoyed working with him. We wish him nothing but the best of luck, and hopefully he has a great career. But things change along the way, and you make moves and you pivot and you do what you think is right.”

The Red Wings selected Cossa 15th overall and spent four seasons developing him in the minors, the past three with the Grand Rapids Griffins. When the Griffins started Michal Postava in the playoffs, it sealed Cossa’s fate. He is no longer waiver-exempt next season, and the Red Wings weren’t prepared to keep him on their roster.

Continue reading Khan notes Steve Yzerman’s comments regarding moving on from Sebastian Cossa

Tweet of note from Pierre LeBrun: Dylan Larkin’s agent, Pat Brisson, weighs in

From The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun:

You can watch the Yzerman/Draper press conference and the Wings beat writers’ articles about said presser here on TMR.

A Dylan Larkin-coveting update from Minnesota

The Athletic’s Michael Russo and Joe Smith offer their takes on the Dylan Larkin situation from the Minnesota Wild’s perspective:

As of now, the Wild have set their sights on basically one player: Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin, who wants out of the only franchise he has played for and has listed Minnesota as one of the teams he’d like to go to.

Of course, Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman controls that decision, and as of now, he has not pulled the trigger on the Wild’s offer or anybody else’s.

Minnesota will keep trying, but if a deal can’t be done before the opening bell of free agency on Wednesday at 11 a.m., it’ll be interesting to see how Wild GM Bill Guerin proceeds, because the team has a couple of glaring holes up front, with top-nine wingers Mats Zuccarello, Vladimir Tarasenko and Marcus Johansson all potentially out the door. They cannot afford to come away empty-handed.

“We have to go business as usual and make sure that we put the most competitive team on the ice that we can,” Guerin said after the Wild selected three players on Day 2 of the NHL Draft on Saturday. They had no first-round selections on Day 1.

…

Obviously, Larkin is still the player the Wild want. If they can’t get him, it’s likely they will continue to remain patient and not blow their precious remaining assets on another center. For instance, Vincent Trocheck would likely cost a first-round pick and Yurov.

But Guerin reminds, “We were a pretty good team (this past season). When there’s the offseason, you’re always talking about, ‘Oh, what do they need to do. this, that, get this guy, get that guy, get this position.’ We’re still a pretty good team, and we’ve got some holes to fill. We’ll fill them. We just don’t know in which way we’ll do that right now, but we’re working at looking at a lot of different things.”

Continued (paywall); Minnesota is obviously one of Larkin’s preferred destinations, but, as Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman told the media today, the Detroit Red Wings cannot afford to take anything less than commensurate compensation for their disgruntled captain.

Press release: Red Wings provide a summary of their 2026 NHL Draft haul

The Detroit Red Wings posted a press release which offers insights into the team’s 2026 NHL Draft class, which will begin its development camp at Little Caesars Arena’s BELFOR Training Center next week:

Red Wings select six players on second day of 2026 NHL Entry Draft

Four forwards, one defenseman and one goaltender chosen by Detroit in Buffalo

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today selected six players during the second day of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

The Red Wings chose left wing Victor Plante (47th overall) in the second round before taking goaltender Michal Orsulak (79th overall) in the third round. Detroit used a fourth-round pick on center Adam Levac (108th overall) before taking center Beckham Edwards (143rd overall) in the fifth round. From there, the Red Wings selected left wing Luka Arkko (175th overall) in the sixth round and defenseman Myles Brosnan (196th overall) in the seventh round.

Continue reading Press release: Red Wings provide a summary of their 2026 NHL Draft haul

Video (and articles): Steve Yzerman and Kris Draper discuss the draft (and Dylan Larkin) with the Red Wings’ media corps

Updated at 6:03 PM: Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman and assistant GM/director of amateur scouting Kris Draper discussed Detroit’s 2026 NHL Draft haul with the Wings’ media today. At the end, Steve Yzerman also addresses the Dylan Larkin situation, as Tweeted about earlier:

Update: The Wings’ media corps has weighed in, and we’ll go source-by-source, starting with MLive’s Ansar Khan:

Continue reading Video (and articles): Steve Yzerman and Kris Draper discuss the draft (and Dylan Larkin) with the Red Wings’ media corps

Tweets of note from Steve Yzerman’s post-draft press conference

Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman held his post-draft Zoom call with the media this afternoon, and while we’ll be able to see it when the Red Wings post it later this afternoon/evening, here were points of emphasis per the Wings’ beat writers:

DFO’s Ellis gives the Red Wings a solid B+ draft grade

Updated at 1:49 AM: Daily Faceoff’s prospect guru, Steven Ellis, graded the 2026 NHL Draft performances of each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams, and he gave the Red Wings a very solid mark:

Detroit Red Wings: B+

Notable picks: J.P. Hurlbert, Victor Plante, Michal Orsulak

The Red Wings snagged a skilled winger in J.P. Hurlbert in the first, a smart playmaker in Victor Plante in the second and one of the CHL’s top goalies in Michal Orsulak in the third. I feel like Orsulak was taken a bit earlier than I would have liked, but I appreciate that Detroit has made it their mission to draft a goalie every year. That’s the type of move that pays off, either in the long-run or in the trade market (like with Cossa). I’m not convinced any of the three are impact NHLers, which is why I am leaving this at a B+, but that’s still solid.

Continued;

Update: ESPN’s Rachel Kryshak gave the Wings a “B” as well:

Continue reading DFO’s Ellis gives the Red Wings a solid B+ draft grade

Red Wings trade 207th overall pick to Vegas Golden Knights for Vegas’ 2027 7th rounder

The Detroit Red Wings were “on the clock” for a good 10 minutes before trading their 7th round pick, 207th overall, to the Vegas Golden Knights for Vegas’ 7th round pick in the 2027 draft.

Red Wings select defenseman Myles Brosnan 196th overall

With the 196th pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the Red Wings selected defenseman Myles Brosnan:

Here’s EliteProspects’ Draft Guide on Brosnan:

Continue reading Red Wings select defenseman Myles Brosnan 196th overall