Red Wings’ Michal Postava Validates the Cossa Trade

The circumstances made the result more impressive. Detroit needed a late goal from Dylan Larkin with Postava pulled for an extra attacker just to force overtime, a big moment for a center still facing a trade market with few clean fits. The rookie then shut the door in the shootout. Head coach Todd McLellan summed it up simply: “We’re so excited for him and happy for him and sometimes that’s how it happens.”

A Résumé Built Overseas and in Grand Rapids

Postava didn’t arrive through the draft. The Red Wings signed him as an undrafted free agent in June 2025, after he helped HC Kometa Brno win the 2024-25 Czech Extraliga title. He had spent the previous season in the Czech second tier, so his rise has been quick.

His first season in North America was even better. With the Grand Rapids Griffins, he went 17-6-0 with a 1.71 goals-against average (GAA), a .937 save percentage (SV%), and four shutouts in 25 games, according to the Griffins’ season review. Both his GAA and SV% set single-season franchise records.

He also shared the AHL’s Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award, which goes to the goaltenders on the team that allows the fewest goals per game. His partner on that award was Cossa.

Why the Cossa Trade Looks Better Now

That shared award is what made Detroit’s June decision so interesting. Cossa, the 15th-overall pick in the 2021 Draft, went 26-8-4 with a 2.33 GAA and a .915 SV% for Grand Rapids last season. He was a legitimate prospect, not a player the Red Wings needed to move.

Detroit traded him anyway, sending him to Utah for the 23rd-overall pick in the 2026 Draft. The Red Wings used that pick on forward J.P. Hurlbert. Our summer prospect rankings for Detroit noted that Postava’s play gave the front office enough confidence in him to make that move.

Detroit Kept the Better Numbers

Cossa had the bigger workload in Grand Rapids, and that matters when comparing the two. Still, Postava posted the better GAA and SV% last season, and the Red Wings chose to keep the goaltender with the stronger results while turning his former partner into a first-round pick.

Utah clearly valued Cossa. The Mammoth signed him to a 2-year contract with a $2 million average annual value shortly after the trade. Our grades for the June trade gave both sides a passing mark, and it is far too early to declare a winner.

What Comes Next for Postava

Two NHL games are a tiny sample, and the Red Wings will not judge Postava on one shootout win. The bigger question is how much work he gets behind Gibson and whether he can handle a regular workload against NHL shooters.

The early signs, however, match what Postava showed in Grand Rapids. He has handled every step so far, from the Czech second tier to the Extraliga, the AHL, and now the NHL, without looking overwhelmed.

If he keeps building on this start, Detroit will have turned one of its two top goaltending prospects into a first-round pick without weakening its depth in net. For a team trying to end a decade-long playoff drought, that is the kind of quiet win that matters.