The Detroit Red Wings are off to an excellent start for the 2025-26 season. Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat are bringing offense in a big way. Emmitt Finnie, Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, and Axel Sandin-Pellikka are becoming essential pieces, despite being rookies.
Heavy.com has proposed a deal that would strengthen the team by acquiring Adam Henrique from the Edmonton Oilers.
Red Wings Acquire:
- Adam Henrique ($3 million)
Oilers Acquire:
- Sebastian Cossa ($863,334)
This deal solves the issue of long-term goaltending for the Oilers. For the Red Wings, it gives them a faceoff ace who can contribute offensively, and hasn’t been utilized to the fullest extent since he was traded to Edmonton.
This proposal has the Red Wings add Henrique, 35, who primarily plays center but also winger. The 6-foot, 195 lb forward was initially drafted in 2008 by the New Jersey Devils. He recorded 27 points in 81 games last year. In six games this season, he has two points, and a 61.3 faceoff percentage while averaging 12:40 per game.
In exchange, the Oilers acquire goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa. Cossa, 22, was drafted 15th overall by the Red Wings in 2021. The 6-foot-6, 221 lb goalie recorded 21 wins, a 2.45 goals against average (GAA), a .911 save percentage (SV%), and one shutout in 41 AHL games. This year, he has a 2.50 GAA and a .914 SV% in two games.
Adam Henrique Can Help the Red Wings in One Major Way
The Red Wings haven’t always been the best team when it comes to faceoffs. In the 2024-25 season, they ranked 22nd among all 32 teams with a 49 faceoff percentage. While faceoff percentage is not indicative of a team’s quality, it doesn’t hurt to have more than once ace in the dot.
Larkin is currently the best faceoff-man on the roster. He has a career 52.8 faceoff percentage. This year, he has won 59.6 percent of the 104 draws he’s taken.
GettyAdam Henrique
Marco Kasper is the next best faceoff-man, owning a 53.1 percent this season. However, the sophomore player shouldn’t be relied on to consistently win the high percentage of draws that he currently does.
Enter Henrique.
The veteran pivot owns a 50.5 success rate in faceoffs in his 17-year career. In 2025-26, Henrique ranks seventh in the NHL in faceoff percentage (61.3%) while Larkin ranks 13th.
Winning more faceoffs puts your team in a better position to succeed, and Henrique does that.
Oilers Have Previous Interest in Sebastian Cossa
GettyCan the Red Wings improve their playoff chances by dealing away a goalie?
The Oilers haven’t had the best luck with goalies recently. Despite having Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard backstop them to back-to-back dances in the Stanley Cup Final, they have come up short at the end of the day.
While Cossa wouldn’t be their savior, he can certainly be their goalie of the future. Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects said as much in a report of his from August.
“If Edmonton does want to get themselves someone who can tag as ‘here’s our goalie of the future,’ he’d be a great bet to go on,” Robinson said on the August 11th episode of The Sekeres and Price Show. “They (Red Wings) are not soured on him by any means. But I think maybe they were hoping he’d be quicker along the path.”
“The fact that they have Augustine there in the system allows him to (potentially) be an expendable chip.”
Robinson also gave a timeline for when Cossa could be NHL-ready.
“Maybe (he) is only a year or two years away,” Robinson predicted. “He could still be a very good player.”
This timeline is important to know, as both Skinner and Pickard are on expiring deals for the Oilers. Having a young prospect who could be a backup or tandem goalie in one to two years would be massive.
The recent acquisition of Connor Ingram does not rule out a Cossa trade. The Oilers newest netminder is also on an expiring deal. If Cossa is ready for regular NHL action next season, the Oilers would only need to extend one of those three goalies to be set in net.
This will be one storyline to follow as the season progresses.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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