After using their first-round pick this year to acquire Justin Faulk from the Blues, the Red Wings figured their best path toward recouping one was trading Sebastian Cossa.
That's exactly what they did Friday night, sending the goaltender they traded up to draft 15th overall five years ago to Utah for the 23rd overall pick in this year's draft. With it, they selected the sort of prospect they lack in their pipeline: a skilled, goal-scoring forward in J.P. Hurlbert.
"I've been at this long enough now to know that things can change over time, and your needs change," Steve Yzerman said Saturday after the conclusion of the draft. "It’s not necessarily that — we hadn’t given up on Sebastian Cossa. It’s just that, looking where we are today, what we have coming in goal presently and what we have coming behind, we're looking to add dynamic players and we had a chance, we felt, 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 net."
Yzerman said that several teams inquired in the lead-up to the draft "about our goaltenders, in particular Sebastian: ‘What are you going to do? What are your plans with Sebastian?’"
Cossa, 23, is coming off his best season as a pro, posting a .915 save percentage and a 2.33 goals against average in 39 games for AHL Grand Rapids. But he wasn't as strong down the stretch and was the team's backup in the playoffs to 24-year-old Michael Postava, an undrafted prospect signed by the Red Wings last offseason.
Cossa had also been jumped on the organizational depth chart by 2023 second-round pick Trey Augustine and had reportedly requested a trade.
All of that went into Yzerman's thinking on Friday night, plus the fact that Cossa would have needed to be on the Red Wings' roster next season to avoid being exposed to waivers.
"With the goalie depth that we have, with John Gibson in net, and with Trey Augustine, Michael Postava -- and we'll find a good solution for a backup goaltender for the Red Wings (next season) -- we felt that if we could get a high enough pick or prospect we could afford to trade Sebastian's rights," Yzerman said. "When we were able to get the 23rd pick from Utah, and with the players that we felt were going to available at 23, we were comfortable making that move. We wouldn't have traded Sebastian had we not been comfortable with the depth that we have in goal."
Yzerman also named Carter Gylander, Michal Pradel and 2026 third-round pick Michal Orsulak as part of the organization's future in the crease.
Once the Red Wings set their draft board, Yzerman said that Hurlbert was "one of a small group of players that we estimated might be there (at 23)" that would be worth the acquisition cost to Detroit.
A winger with an NHL-caliber shot who's drawn comparisons to Jets sniper Kyle Conner, Hurlbert finished fourth in the WHL in scoring last season and first among rookies. And "once 23 rolled around," said Yzerman, "he was without a doubt the prospect we wanted the most."
That meant Cossa was headed to Utah, where he'll vie for a significant role next season on a rising young team in the West.
Meanwhile, the Red Wings will hope that either Augustine or Postava is ready to be their No. 1 when Gibson's contract expires next summer.
"Obviously, where we picked Sebastian at the time, we had very high hopes for him, and he's an excellent young man," Yzerman said. "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, you pivot, and you do what you think is right."
