Trades to set Detroit up for success
I’m going to put on my fake GM hat for a moment on what I would do with rebuilding the Red Wings in a way that doesn’t extend the playoff drought yet another decade in the process. I am operating on the impression that players like Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Simon Edvinsson and John Gibson are worth a first round pick and a young NHL player or prospect who hasn’t yet broken out. Here are the moves I have in mind:
Detroit Trades: Dylan Larkin and Simon Edvinsson (sign-and-trade 8 years/$8M AAV) | San Jose Trades: 2026 Edmonton 1st, 2027 San Jose 1st, Michael Misa and Sam Dickinson |
|---|---|
Detroit Trades: Alex DeBrincat | Dallas Trades: 2027 Dallas 1st, Mavrik Bourque (sign-and-trade 3 years/$5M AAV) and Tyler Seguin |
Detroit Trades: John Gibson | Edmonton Trades: 2028 Edmonton 1st, Isaac Howard and Darnell Nurse (Edmonton retains $3M on remaining contract) |
Detroit Trades: Mason Appleton | Seattle Trades: 2026 4th |
For San Jose, adding Larkin and Edvinsson to the top of their roster makes them a potential force next season in the Pacific Division. They can deploy Larkin as a responsible defensive player on the second line and a big young NHL defenseman who is further along than Sam Dickinson to anchor the blue line. The latter part may force some additional talks of assets coming to San Jose, but if secured, that is two teenagers with NHL experience ranked in the top 10 of prospect rankings and two first-round picks, including one that gets them back into the first round of this year’s draft.
Dallas has been a contender for a while, but has not been able to get over the hump yet. With Jason Robertson due a big raise as a restricted free agent, Mavrik Bourque also entering restricted free agency and Dallas right up against the salary cap, they need some additional salary flexibility.
While DeBrincat is not cheap at nearly $8 million, Detroit can help Dallas fit that by taking on the oft-injured Tyler Seguin’s final year at $9.85 million. From there, they can sign Bourque to a bridge deal to see if he can build on this year’s breakout campaign of 20 goals and 41 points as a first or second line center. Dallas adds yet another pure goal scorer to a loaded lineup and has first dibs at signing DeBrincat to an extension if they make other financials work.
Edmonton has been hindered by Darnell Nurse’s contract for a long time and they barely used Isaac Howard after trading for him in the summer following his 2025 Hobey Baker winning season at Michigan State. They have also been frantically searching for an answer in goal with Tristan Jarry the latest in a long string of failures. Gibson, entering the final year of his deal and coming off a resurgent season, can work with Edmonton. With how the money is moving around, Detroit could fit Nurse’s full contract comfortably on their salary cap, but it would probably be better to get Edmonton to retain $2-3 million to make dealing Nurse (with Detroit retaining salary) easier in the future.
The Mason Appleton deal would simply be sending him somewhere that he could get minutes at a minimal cost, giving Detroit a fourth round pick in this year’s draft, which they don’t currently have. It's not earth shattering, but it works.
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