Red Wings’ Tradeable Assets at 2026 Trade Deadline

To acquire this piece, the Red Wings will almost certainly have to give up a young defenseman in return. Make no mistake about it: Sandin-Pellikka is a player the Red Wings want to be a part of the solution, so they’ll have to look deeper to find young defensemen they can part with.

Outside of Sandin-Pellikka, the Red Wings have William Wallinder, Antti Tuomisto and Shai Buium in Grand Rapids, the home of their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, and any of them could be of interest to the right organization. Detroit also has Anton Johansson playing over in Sweden, and he is arguably the team’s top defensive prospect now that Sandin-Pellikka is in the NHL.

Additionally, the Red Wings could move on from Albert Johansson and Jacob Bernard-Docker, two younger defenders that are currently on the NHL roster. After all, Detroit would have to make room in their lineup for their new defender anyways, right?

Pick a Goalie Prospect

If there’s a clear strength of the Red Wings’ prospect pool, it’s in goal. In our recent rankings, six goaltenders landed in the top 25 of Detroit’s pool, led by former first-round selection Sebastian Cossa.

Cossa is in the midst of his strongest season in the pros, his third with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. He has more shutouts this season (5) than he had in the previous two seasons combined (3), and he has made noticeable progress in areas he needed to work on when he arrived in Grand Rapids. He was the 15^th pick of the 2021 draft, and it feels like it’s just a matter of time before he’s playing in the NHL on a regular basis.

Cossa has been the Red Wings’ “goalie of the future” since he was drafted, so any deal involving him would have to yield a significant return for Detroit. The Red Wings can consider moving Cossa partly because of the play of John Gibson this season, but mostly because of the organization’s depth in terms of goalie prospects.

That group of prospects beyond Cossa is headlined by Trey Augustine, a second-round pick in the 2023 draft that is earning Hobey Baker consideration this season with Michigan State University. It is expected that he will join the Griffins once his season with Michigan State is complete, and then his NHL timeline will run alongside Cossa if there isn’t movement on Detroit’s goalie depth chart.

Michal Postava has been a pleasant surprise this season as Cossa’s primary backup with the Griffins. He joined the organization last summer as an undrafted free agent, and he is just nine months older than Cossa. Rudy Guimond has been dominant in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League since last Spring. Carter Gylander has been in the organization since 2019, and it seems like he could show more with a bigger opportunity than what Detroit has given him.

Needless to say, the Red Wings can include a goalie prospect in any deal and survive the hit to their prospect pool. Cossa and Augustine are definitely the gems of the bunch, but even they can be had for the right return. If the Red Wings make a big move at the trade deadline, it shouldn’t be surprising if one of their better goalie prospects is part of the return.

Young Forwards, Headlined by Nate Danielson

When Quinn Hughes was the talk of the rumor mill a few months ago, the conversation of what the Red Wings could build an offer around centered on two young centermen: Marco Kasper and Nate Danielson.

Kasper, selected eighth overall in 2022, and Danielson, selected ninth overall in 2023, have both played games for the Red Wings this season, with Kasper now in his second full season in the NHL. Both players are two-way centers known for their high compete level and underrated offensive skill.

Though he was drafted as a center, Kasper has spent a lot of time on the wing this season, including on the top line next to Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. After enduring a slow start in his sophomore season, Kasper seemed to be turning a corner leading up to the Olympic break. In his last 10 games, he has 3 goals and 7 points, and his ice-time has seen an uptick as well.

Danielson featured in 28 games with the Red Wings so far this season. After suffering an injury during training camp, his debut in Detroit was delayed until Nov. 9. He played every game between then and Jan. 3, after which he was reassigned to the Griffins. In 18 AHL games, he has 3 goals and 15 points.

Kasper and Danielson profile to be similar players, with Danielson being the pure center of the two. If the Red Wings pursue a big move, one of these players will likely need to be included, and Danielson seems to be the more likely of the two given Kasper’s established spot in Detroit.

Beyond those two, Detroit has other young forwards they could dangle in a potential trade. Amadeus Lombardi seems to be on the cusp of the NHL and could get a bigger opportunity elsewhere. Jesse Kiiskinen and Dmitri Buchelnikov are both wingers playing overseas that could generate interest. Michael Brandsegg-Nygård and Emmitt Finnie also fall into this category, though both of those guys offer skillsets that could be useful for the Red Wings in the not-so-distant future.

The Red Wings can pair Danielson with their first-round pick in the 2026 draft and make a solid offer for deadline help, depending on who they target. Add a few extra pieces and Detroit absolutely has the pieces necessary to tempt the sellers at this year’s deadline.

Regardless of the pieces and players they may need to part with, the Red Wings cannot afford to sit on their hands like they have in years prior. They have a legitimate opportunity to not only make the playoffs but have home-ice advantage in their opening round matchup too. As good as the Red Wings have been this season, there are obvious areas of need on their roster.

Luckily they have the assets needed to address them. It’s just a matter of if Yzerman is ready to pull the trigger or not.