It’s no secret that the 2025-25 season wasn’t exactly the best one for the Detroit Red Wings. The latest March collapse was bad enough. That situation led to the Wings missing the playoffs for the 10th straight season.
And tried as they Red Wings did to add talent at the trade deadline, it just wasn’t enough for the Wings to make things different.
It was among those moves that one in particular added insult to injury this season: The Justin Faulk trade.
After the Red Wings missed out on big-name defenseman like Quinn Hughes, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Rasmus Andersson, GM Steve Yzerman pivoted to Faulk. Yzerman got the deal across the finish line by sending a 2026 unprotected first-round pick, a 2026 third-rounder, and prospect Dmitri Buchlenikov.
The third-rounder originally belonged to the San Jose Sharks. So, it’s not really that big of a deal. Buchlenikov was a second-round pick in 2022. He currently plays in Russia, scoring 14 goals and 25 points in 44 games. There might not be too much there.
But it’s the first-rounder that could come back to bite the Red Wings. As it stands, that pick figures to be the 15th overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
Given where the pick landed at the end of the regular season, it will most likely be there. There’s a chance the pick could move up, and that’s what could make matters worse for Detroit.
St. Louis Could End Up with Top-10 Pick Thanks to Red Wings
The Red Wings’ pick could still see a major shift. According to NHL Draft Lottery rules, teams can move up as much as 10 spots. Since this pick is at 15th, it could end up 5th overall at most. But realistically, it could end up in the top 10.
That’s nothing to sneeze at.
Suppose the Red Wings end up landing, say, 8th overall when the NHL Draft Lottery is said and done. That could make the Faulk trade look even worse. It was bad enough that Detroit could not make the playoffs.
On top of everything, they gifted the Blues another potentially high first-round pick.
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Detroit Faces Major Question Regarding Faulk
The Red Wings face one major question regarding Faulk this offseason. The 33-year-old blueliner will be heading into the final year of his current seven-year contract. That means that he will be eligible to sign an extension on July 1.
Detroit will certainly be looking at what it will take to re-sign Faulk. However, things may not be quite so easy. Faulk currently carries a $6.5 million cap hit. It’s unlikely he’ll fetch that much on his next contract.
But if it’s a short-term deal, the Red Wings may not get much of a break. The cap hit might come down on a longer-term deal. However, would Detroit feel comfortable about signing Faulk to, say, a four-year deal?
That’s a major offseason storyline the Red Wings will need to address in the coming weeks. If the Wings are not keen on re-signing Faulk, it might not be a bad idea for Detroit to explore a trade for Faulk this offseason.
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