Five years ago, Steve Yzerman and the Red Wings traded up in the first round of the draft to select Sebastian Cossa No. 15 overall. Tonight, they traded Cossa to Utah for the No. 23 pick -- and selected winger JP Hurlbert.
The move allowed the Red Wings to recoup a first-round pick and add a talented player to their pipeline after they sent their own first-rounder (No. 15 overall) to the Blues last season in the Justin Faulk trade.
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 Grand Rapids. But he wasn't as strong in the second half of the season and was the team's backup in the playoffs to 24-year-old Michael Postava.
Cossa appeared in just one NHL game over his time with the Red Wings, coming on in relief in the 2024-25 season. He had been jumped by 2023 second-round pick Trey Augustine in Detroit's pipeline in the crease and had reportedly requested a trade.
Hurlbert, a Texas native, is a skilled scorer with an NHL-caliber shot who racked up 42 goals and 97 points in 68 games last season for the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL. He's committed to play at the University of Michigan starting next season.
He's described as a dangerous player in the offensive zone who will be a staple on the power play: His instincts and pure skill are a rare commodity at this stage of the draft, and if Hurlbert can add pace and translate his game to the NHL level, he's going to be an impactful top-six player.
Hulbert, listed at 6'0, has been compared to star goal-scorer Kyle Conner of the Jets, "because he can sling it, it's the release, that release freezes goalies, and the Red Wings need more of that," NHL analyst Kevin Weekes said on ESPN Friday night.
The big question now is how the Red Wings proceed with Dylan Larkin and his trade request.
"It's tough to get a sense of when (they'll make a move) because Yzerman doesn't really give those tells to anybody, but there is an expectation that he's going to get it done," NHL reporter Emily Kaplan said Friday night. "I know Steve has told teams that have called about Larkin, 'We'll send him to camp next year. He's under contract. We're not under pressure to make this trade.'
"But when you have a captain that's unhappy, that wants to move on, it behooves you to do it. And they could get a bounty in return. If you look at some of these trades we've seen this offseason, we're talking about multiple first-round picks, franchise-altering stuff."
Just on Friday night, the Ducks sent young center Mason McTavish to the Blues for two first-round picks; McTavish scored 41 points last season and has a career-high of 22 goals. Earlier this week, the Senators sent winger Brady Tkachuk to the Panthers for three first-round picks and a second-rounder.
Larkin, a center in his prime coming off his fifth straight 30-goal season who's under contract for five more years, should have more trade value than both of them.
