The Detroit Red Wings do not have a first round pick in the 2026 National Hockey League draft. They traded it, along with a third round selection, to the St. Louis Blues for defenseman Justin Faulk in March.

At the time, the Wings were in a good position to reach the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs. They thought adding Faulk would bolster their chances of making the postseason for the first time in almost a decade.

Instead, Detroit collapsed, losing 13 of their last 19 games. The team now has the longest playoff drought in the NHL at 10 seasons.

Besides giving up a first round draft pick, the Wings could lose their team captain this offseason. Dylan Larkin has asked for a trade, preferably to a playoff contender. Larkin has played his entire career in Detroit. But he turns 30 in July and wants to win a Stanley Cup while he can still play at a high level.

Helene St. James covers hockey for the Detroit Free Press. She says Larkin’s desire to leave traces back to the Winter Olympics in February, when he and Team USA won the gold medal.

“I was there covering the team, and I’ve never seen him look happier,” she says. “I think it really hit home to him what he has been missing out on in Detroit.”

Larkin has a no-trade clause but can waive it if General Manager Steve Yzerman finds a team willing to acquire Larkin.

Deal or no deal?

St. James says Yzerman doesn’t have to trade Larkin. If he does, he would want a similar player in return.

“He would need to get an established NHL player in his mid-to late-20s who can play center,” she says. “They really need value players now.”

Larkin listed the Florida Panthers as one of his preferred destinations. They won the Stanley Cup in 2025 but missed the postseason in 2026. And they have already made a big roster move that makes a deal for Larkin unlikely.

Florida acquired Larkin’s Olympics teammate Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators on June 21. Like Larkin, Tkachuk was a team captain and their statistics are similar. But Tkachuk is three years younger than Larkin. And the Panthers gave up several draft picks, including two first-rounders in this year’s draft.

St. James says trading Larkin for draft picks would set Detroit’s rebuild back by several years.

“Those guys are not going to materialize into NHL contributors for a few years, especially later in the draft,” she says.

A new leader waits in the wings

If Yzerman refuses to make a trade, then it would be up to Larkin to decide if he wants to play in 2026-27 or sit out the season. Either way, Yzerman and head coach Todd McLellan could pick a new captain to replace Larkin.

St. James says defenseman Moritz Seider would likely be that player.

“He has emerged as a leader in every respect, on the ice and off the ice,” she says. “He shows up all the time.”

Seider, 25, captained Germany’s national team in the 2026 Olympics. He was also the first player Yzerman drafted when he became GM in 2019.