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Morning news round-up: talking about the Red Wings and the 2026 NHL Draft

The 2026 NHL Draft takes place tonight and tomorrow in Buffalo, New York.

The 1st round will air on ESPN in the U.S. and Sportsnet in Canada, and the 2nd through 7th rounds begin at 11 AM EDT on Saturday, airing on the NHL Network and Sportsnet.

The Red Wings 7 draft picks, as of this morning, are the 47th, 79th, 108th, 143rd, 175th, 196th and 207th overall draft picks.

This morning, the Free Press’s Christian Romo and Helene St. James weigh in on what we might occur over the course of the next 50-something hours…

The latest on the Dylan Larkin situation

It’s going on three weeks since someone leaked that Wings captain Dylan Larkin requested a trade to a contender. As the Free Press was first to report, Larkin’s initial destinations focused on the Panthers (no state tax), the Minnesota Wild and the Vegas Golden Knights. That doesn’t mean other teams couldn’t get involved, even with Larkin having a no-trade clause, or that it ends up being a multi-faceted trade.

The Wings need something along the lines of Larkin in return: A top-line center in his prime with a history of scoring. The fact Larkin is under contract for five more seasons, at a reasonable $8.7 million salary cap hit, makes him all the more attractive to teams. Pretty much all teams are always looking to upgrade at the center spot. It’s also why Yzerman may ultimately play hardball and hang on to Larkin. However awkward that might be come camp and games, at the end of the day, Yzerman is running a business.

At this point, I’m all but expecting a Larkin trade to include a 3rd team so that the Red Wings can flip future assets for present-day help.

I don’t see Florida trading Anton Lundell, I don’t see Minnesota moving Charlie Stramel and Danila Yurov, and I don’t see Vegas moving Pavel Dorofeyev (nor can I imagine the Dallas Stars offering Mavrik Bourque) in return for Larkin…

Continue reading Morning news round-up: talking about the Red Wings and the 2026 NHL Draft

Evening thoughts: On Dylan Larkin, Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings’ goaltending situation

Updated 2x at 9:55 PM: On the eve of the NHL Draft’s two-day extravaganza of prospects, trades and endless waiting for the first round to get over and done with, Daily Faceoff offered some Dylan Larkin “intel” from The Fourth Period’s wise and wily David Pagnotta, who reports that Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman wants to get the Larkin situation finished by the end of the draft weekend, if not by free agency…

Though we all know the man who has a “disgruntled” player (Pagnotta’s smartly-chosen descriptor) won’t give in until he’s satisfied with the return may very well let things play out for the balance of the summer if he can’t get the return he wants for the Wings’ number one center (that would be Andrew Copp, now, right?)

Anyway, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan and John Buccigross offered a humorous take on the situation from Buffalo, where the draft is being held…

Continue reading Evening thoughts: On Dylan Larkin, Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings’ goaltending situation

What about DeBrincat? The Fourth Period reports that teams are inquiring about #93

Not surprisingly, The Fourth Period reports that other NHL teams are inquiring about the availability of Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat, who has 1 year remaining on his contract:

It is unclear if the Red Wings have an appetite to explore a trade involving DeBrincat, at this stage, but citing multiple league sources, TFP’s David Pagnotta reports teams have reached out.

DeBrincat owns a 16-team no-trade list as part of his contract and does have some control in where he ends up, if dealt.

The Edmonton Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, Seattle Kraken and Buffalo Sabres are some of the teams exploring the market for a top-line, scoring winger and could have interest in DeBrincat.

DeBrincat scored 41 goals and added a career-high 44 assists for a career-high 85 points in 82 games with the Red Wings this past season.

Continued; everything for the Wings depends on what happens with the team’s direction post-Dylan Larkin.

We’re going to have to wait and see whether Patrick Kane, who can test the free agent marketplace next Wednesday, agrees to remain here if the Larkin trade isn’t consummated by then, and whether the Wings acquire players that can help now or “future considerations” in the form of prospects and draft picks will determine whether DeBrincat remains…

Though I have a feeling that DeBrincat is a stronger pick to remain a Red Wing than Kane at this point.

Tweet of note: Red Wings trade Amadeus Lombardi to New Jersey for Devils’ 4th round draft pick

Per the Detroit Red Wings:

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:

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:

Continue reading Tweet of note: Red Wings trade Amadeus Lombardi to New Jersey for Devils’ 4th round draft pick

Discussing the Red Wings’ goaltending options without Sebastian Cossa in the fold

Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen discusses the Red Wings’ goaltending options at both the NHL and AHL levels should the team decide to trade Sebastian Cossa.

Allen believes that Cossa’s headed out at 23 going on 24 this November, with his waiver-exempt status expiring, and, as such, Detroit will have to determine whether Michal Postava is ready for NHL duty after his late-season surge in the AHL, and whether Trey Augustine’s ready to start in GR:

The question Yzerman must answer is whether he can trust prospect Michal Postava to start the season as John Gibson’s Detroit backup. If Yzerman has unwavering belief in Postava, then the Red Wings can play the much-heralded Trey Augustine 45-plus games with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Postava, 24, has given the Red Wings reason to believe he is ready for the NHL. He outplayed Cossa by posting a 17-6 record with a 1.76 GAA and .937 save percentage. He surrendered more than three goals in a game only once in 33 regular season and playoff games.

The only concern about Postava is that this past season was his in North America. Is that enough for GM Steve Yzerman who values AHL experience? Postava did win a Czech championship two seasons ago.

Yzerman’s other option would be to sign an NHL veteran to pair with Gibson and let Postava have more time in Grand Rapids.

Allen also believes that we may see another “Michael Hutchinson” situation, in which the team would have Postava back up Gibson, but also bring in an AHL-level goaltender to mentor Augustine in Grand Rapids:

If the Red Wings are going to go with Postava, Yzerman might sign an AHL veteran to play with Augustine in Grand Rapids. Then, if the Detroit team suffers a goalie injury, the Red Wings would not have to rush Augustine with limited pro experience.

Detroit also has Carter Gylander, a restricted free agent. He played impressively well (7-0-1, 1.62 GAA) this past season when called up to Grand Rapids.

A bit about the Red Wings’ relocation of training camp to LCA and the BELFOR Training Center

I’m not the only person who’s disappointed that the Red Wings aren’t holding their prospect tournament or training camp in Traverse City.

However, the 9&10 News’s Kyle Garrison reports that Centre ICE Arena director Todd Spaulding is taking a circumspect view about the situation:

“I think it was cool for everybody to have them up here right in our backyard and right in a small rink where they can see well. So, I think it was cool, very cool for everyone,” Spaulding said.

Spaulding highlighted the economic benefits the camp brought to the area. “I think that there’s quite a few people that come up here, hotels, restaurants and things like that. So I think it’s a pretty big impact,” Spaulding said.

Continue reading A bit about the Red Wings’ relocation of training camp to LCA and the BELFOR Training Center

Video: Pierre LeBrun talks about Dylan Larkin on ‘Early Trading’

Let’s just say that I’ve suspected this all along, per a transcript of TSN’s “Early Trading” segment from this afternoon on YouTube.

TSN/The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun spoke with Gino Reda about Vincent Trocheck’s standing with the New York Rangers, and the question segued into a discussion of Dylan Larkin’s status.

According to LeBrun, the Red Wings are in no hurry to trade Larkin, and this could go all summer–and into training camp–if Steve Yzerman doesn’t find a fair return for the Wings’ soon-to-be-former captain:

GINO REDA: The Rangers and Vincent Trocheck seem to agree that he should be on his way out of New York.

The sticking point there seems to be that the Rangers don’t want to give him away for nothing. Any progress there?

PIERRE LeBRUN: I think they’re going to regret not moving him at the March 6 trade deadline.

There was a lot of interest in him, and they decided to not move him and wait until the off-season. Of course, they couldn’t have predicted that Dylan Larkin would ask for a trade [from the Detroit Red Wings].

The reason I bring that up is that from talking to other people around the league is that the Rangers would prefer Larkin get traded first so that they can control the centre market with Trocheck.

It sounds great in theory, and maybe that’ll happen that way, but Larkin isn’t going anywhere until the Red Wings get what they’re asking for him. I know people might roll their eyes, but we’re talking about Steve Yzerman here [as general manager of the Red Wings].

From talking to other teams, what they’re telling me is that Detroit has told teams that if they don’t get their price met on Larkin, they’re willing to tell him to come back to training camp in September.

Any other team I’d say that’s posturing, but I believe it when teams tell me that about Yzerman.

Again, Larkin could move any day now. I’m just saying you don’t know how wise it is for the Rangers to sit and wait for a Larkin deal because I’m not sure how quickly that deal is coming.

Here’s the clip:

Press release: Red Wings extend William Wallinder

The Red Wings extended the contract of defenseman William Wallinder, 23, today. He’ll compete for a roster spot this fall as he’s no longer waiver exempt:

RED WINGS SIGN WILLIAM WALLINDER TO TWO-YEAR, TWO-WAY CONTRACT EXTENSION

  â€Š 2020 Second-Round Pick Has Skated in 194 Games with Grand Rapids Since 2022-23 


DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings today signed defenseman William Wallinder to a two-year, two-way contract extension.

Wallinder, 23, spent the entire 2025-26 season with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins, recording 20 points (2-18-20), a plus-21 rating and 23 penalty minutes in 66 regular-season games. The 6-foot-4, 208-pound defenseman also tallied one goal and two penalty minutes in eight Calder Cup Playoff matchups. Wallinder played the 2024-25 season with the Griffins, logging 19 points (2-17-19) and 10 penalty minutes in 62 regular-season games before skating in three postseason contests. Selected by the Red Wings in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Wallinder has collected 54 points (7-47-54), a plus-11 rating and 43 penalty minutes in 194 AHL games with the Griffins since 2022-23.

A native of SollefteĂ„, Sweden, Wallinder played two seasons with Rögle BK in the Swedish Hockey League, compiling 45 points (11-34-45), a plus-eight rating and 16 penalty minutes in 97 games from 2021-23. He also helped Rögle BK win a Champions Hockey League title in 2022. Wallinder made his professional debut with MODO Hockey in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan, totaling eight points (1-7-8) and 16 penalty minutes in 61 games from 2019-21. Wallinder also logged 31 points (7-24-31) in 43 games with MODO’s under-20 squad and 23 points (6-17-23) in 29 games at the under-18 level. On the international stage, Wallinder earned a bronze medal representing his country at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship, recording three assists and a plus-three rating in seven games. He also captured a bronze medal at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, finishing with a plus-one rating in five appearances.

Update: Daily Faceoff’s Tyler Kuehl posted the following Tweet:

Quick Tuesday night thoughts

My aunt has been particularly sick of late, so I’ve been away from the blog doing the caregiving thing. I do have some thoughts about what’s going on in the NHL (and the world of the Detroit Red Wings) right now:

  1. The Red Wings’ decision to leave Traverse City and Centre ICE Arena to hold their prospect tournament and training camp at Little Caesars Arena has to feel like a gut punch to the Traverse City community. Camp in Traverse City may cost the Wings a pretty penny to conduct, but fans from all around areas outside of Southeastern Michigan felt like it was a way to get closer to their team, and the atmosphere up there is incredible. It also brought in significant funds for Centre ICE and the greater Traverse City area, so I hope that the rink and community are able to rebound. I know that building the BELFOR Training Center made a training camp in Detroit inevitable, but it’s still hard to see the trip to TC go.
  2. At this point, we don’t even know whether the prospect tournament or training camp will be open to the public, however, so we’ll see how things go there.
  3. I know that there are many trades taking place as we work our way toward Friday and Saturday’s NHL Draft in Buffalo, and if you’re anything like me, you’ve got “the jitters” about Detroit’s inactivity…But Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings’ management team have no reason to accommodate Dylan Larkin’s desire to experience a prompt exit from Detroit, and while I’m not going to deny that the draft would be the optimal time to move him…There is no timeline for Detroit to move Larkin. When the “right deal” comes the Wings’ way, they’ll move him. That may take a couple of days, a couple of weeks, or even a couple of months. I think that it’s equally likely that we’ll see Larkin moved tomorrow and that we could see him holding out as the Wings begin training camp in Detroit this September. In other words, we’re going to see other teams improve themselves and swap high draft picks–get used to it, because Detroit’s not going to be rushed here.
  4. The Edmonton Oilers hired Mike Babcock as their head coach today. I have mixed feelings about the coach, because he did help the Wings win the Stanley Cup in 2008, but his methodology became increasingly acerbic (and sometimes downright cruel) over the course of his time with the Red Wings. I believe that the Oilers are going to get what they’re paying for from Babcock, both good, bad and indifferent, and they’re making a huge gamble in order to try and earn Connor McDavid a Stanley Cup before he bolts town for greener pastures.
  5. The Sebastian Cossa situation still baffles me. I know that he’s going to be 24 later this year, and no longer waiver-exempt, but goaltender development is wildly unpredictable, and having Cossa, Michal Postava and Trey Augustine all in the pipeline strikes me as a smarter way to manage assets than to drop Cossa from the equation…But the rumblings from Edmonton cannot be denied, and Cossa’s agent has gotten on the radio in Edmonton insisting that his client will be given a chance to play in the NHL next season, one way or another. My gut feeling is that he’ll be moved.
  6. And what about Patrick Kane? He’s always taken things year-to-year in Detroit, signing particularly close to the start of free agency most of the time, and he shares Larkin’s agent in Pat Brisson. I know that Kane isn’t the player that he was during his prime, but a 50-points-in-80-games Kane is still extremely useful during games, and his status as a “rink rat” who’s constantly looking to improve in practice and off the ice helps the entire team. Ultimately, it’s going to be up to Patrick Kane to be convinced both monetarily and philosophically that staying in Detroit’s the right choice for him.
  7. If I’m going to be completely honest, I still don’t believe that the Red Wings are going to “restart the rebuild” after trading Larkin. Moving Alex DeBrincat, losing Kane without an effort to re-sign him, dumping young players and forcing Moritz Seider (the team’s next captain(?)) and Lucas Raymond to endure another 2 to 4 years’ worth of “resetting” seems cruel and incredibly indifferent to a fan base that’s paid higher and higher prices over the course of the past 5 years without receiving any on-ice payoff.
  8. There’s pressure to get back into the playoff mix for sure, and after watching Montreal and Buffalo make the playoffs, and the Panthers load up for another run, it’s going to be even tougher for the Wings to battle their way through the Division of Death, but they have to at least make an effort to give the paying public something worth showing up for.
  9. Okay, the aunt’s intestinal pain is calling, and I need to double check on her to make sure that she’s taken her evening medications. I still hope to return to the blog on a much more consistent basis for the draft and free agency, and it will be difficult to balance with caring for my aunt as she’s in an acute state right now, but I’m going to try to make it work (with her blessing). Take care, and I’ll see you soon.