Team Outlook
After years of skepticism surrounding the long-term direction of the Yzerplan, the Red Wings are beginning to look like an organization whose patience is finally paying off. Detroit has assembled a competitive NHL roster that blends emerging young talent with contributors in their prime, and the results are starting to materialize, with the team firmly in the playoff conversation and poised to snap an eight-season postseason drought. For much of the rebuild, organizational depth often limited clear pathways for young players, but that dynamic is now shifting as several prospects are breaking through at a faster rate while others face increasing pressure to translate pedigree into fantasy-relevant roles. This edition highlights three prospects whose stock is trending upward and three whose current market value may exceed their realistic long-term upside.
Buy Candidates
Sebastian Cossa, G (23)
Why Buy?
Cossa remains one of the most physically imposing goaltender prospects and his development arc has clearly stabilized after an uneven early professional transition. At 6-6, he naturally takes away space, and over the past two seasons his technical game has caught up to his frame. His movement is more controlled, post integration is cleaner, and rebound management has improved, allowing his size to work as an advantage rather than a liability. There was real concern when he was briefly sent to the ECHL in 2022–23, but that chapter is firmly in the rearview mirror after two strong, confidence-building AHL seasons. Hockey Prospecting now pegs him at a 58% chance of becoming an NHL goaltender, reflecting that steady progress.
Cossa remains a classic patience play with a clearer runway than before. Detroit’s current crease is anchored by John Gibson, who has been excellent after a rocky start and still has another year on his deal at age 32, while Cam Talbot is 38 and an unrestricted free agent after this season. That creates a realistic opening for Cossa to step into a backup or 1B role as early as the 2026–27 season. Goaltenders with Cossa’s draft capital, organizational investment, and upward trend rarely stay discounted for long. If another manager is still anchored to early volatility, this is an increasingly narrow buy-low window before his value firms up.
Trey Augustine, G (20)
Why Buy?
It might seem strange to recommend buying both Detroit goalies, but they are both starter quality, and they could not be more different. While Cossa brings size and athleticism, Augustine’s game is built on efficiency, reads, and technical precision, paired with a real championship pedigree. Augustine has already won Under-18 World Championship gold (U18WJC) once and Under-20 World Championship (U20WJC) gold twice, consistently elevating his play in high-pressure environments. He has yet to capture an NCAA championship, but Michigan State looks well positioned to make a serious run this season. Long term, which goalie ultimately emerges as the starter may come down to fit, whether Detroit prefers a more athletic, net-covering presence or a calmer, technically driven option once both are NHL-ready.
Augustine is an ideal hedge within the organization. His development curve continues to trend upward, even if it lacks the flash of Cossa’s profile, and his composure and tracking stand out in big moments. Hockey Prospecting is more conservative on Augustine, currently assigning him a 38% chance of becoming an NHLer, but that number may undersell how projectable his game is at higher levels. In deeper leagues, this is exactly the type of asset to acquire while he remains slightly overshadowed, as Detroit’s system is increasingly positioned to produce at least one long-term answer in goal, and Augustine’s path to relevance remains very much alive.
Carter Bear, LW (19)
Why Buy?
Bear is a young prospect whose game already shows strong translatability. He plays with pace, purpose, and a willingness to attack inside ice, traits that tend to age well as competition increases. His motor runs hot, he consistently arrives in scoring areas rather than circling the perimeter, and his overall approach points to a player who can contribute in multiple ways even if his offensive ceiling is still coming into focus. In Detroit’s development environment, those habits matter, and they often translate into real NHL utility.
The Achilles injury from March 2025 understandably gave some managers pause, but that concern is quickly fading into the background. After a slow start to the 2025-26 season, Bear’s production jump to roughly 1.4 points per game, after starting at 1.1 points per game, reinforcing that he is back to full speed after a slow start. Even if his scoring settles lower long term, his Fantasy Hockey Life card highlights elite peripheral value, shots, hits, and blocks all sit near the top of the WHL. That profile makes him an easier hold in dynasty formats and raises his floor considerably. Tenacious players with this level of engagement tend to force their way into NHL minutes, making Bear a strong speculative buy before his value catches up to his toolkit.
Sell Candidates
Max Plante, C (19)
Why Sell?
Plante has emerged as one of the most productive forwards in college hockey this season, leading the NCAA in both points and points per game with an outstanding offensive output. After a modest breakout last year, he has taken another notable step forward, driving play with creativity, pace, and a nose for dangerous areas. That production spike has been impossible to ignore and has helped Plante climb in fantasy rankings. His game clearly translates in the college environment, and he has shown the ability to elevate his performance in difficult situations. However, his recent U20WJC was disappointing and serves as a reminder that high-end international success has not yet fully materialized.
The recommendation to sell here is not a judgment on his overall quality, Plante is unquestionably a very good player, but rather on relative value and timing. His stock right now is arguably as high as it will ever be, and it is unlikely that his true long-term projection will match a pNHLe of 89. More realistic NHL comparables at this stage skew toward players like Christian Fischer or Conor Garland, solid contributors but not perennial top-line scorers. That said, there is still an outside path where Plante could take a leap akin to Cutter Gauthier if everything breaks perfectly. If you can secure Gauthier-like value for him on the high end of his current market range, selling now while his perception and production are peaked makes strategic sense. If you aren’t getting close to that full value, holding for a little longer isn’t unreasonable, but patience should be paired with pragmatic valuation.
Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, RW (19)
Why Sell?
Brandsegg-Nygård offers an enticing mix of size, competitiveness, and pro-ready habits, and his transition to North America has gone smoothly so far. Drafted in 2024, he has already logged nine NHL appearances, unusually early for a Red Wings prospect, and his AHL production has been solid in his first professional season. That combination of early NHL exposure, respectable AHL numbers, and physical profile has helped prop up his dynasty value, especially in leagues that favor power forwards or reward hits and effort-based play.
The concern is that his long-term fantasy ceiling likely does not match his current market perception. While he plays hard, pressures defenders, and wins battles, his offensive creation has yet to consistently separate him from a bottom-six projection. Hockey Prospecting is notably bearish, assigning him just a one percent star probability, which aligns with the eye test suggesting more of an energy winger than a true scoring driver. If a leaguemate is buying into the early NHL cameo and AHL production as signs of top-six upside, this is a sensible window to sell and potentially turn that optimism into a clear upgrade before his role settles into something more complementary.
Emmitt Finnie, C (20)
Why Sell?
Finnie had his moment early in the 2025–26 season, flashing enough creativity and touch to enter the conversation in deeper prospect circles, but his long-term projection has grown less certain as the year has progressed. He is a rugged, high engagement forward who plays with an edge and is more than willing to finish checks. That physical involvement boosts his fantasy peripheral profile, but it also highlights a key limitation, when Finnie is consistently delivering hits, he is not controlling the puck. At higher levels, sustained offense is driven by possession, and there are legitimate questions about whether his timing- and finesse-based scoring game can survive when he is not dictating play.
Finnie increasingly looks like a long shot rather than a future lineup staple. His strong peripheral coverage, well over a hit per game, does give him a usable floor in banger formats, but his Evolving Hockey player card is concerning, with both offensive and defensive impacts grading out below average. That combination makes it difficult to envision him earning consistent ice time in scoring situations, especially as more complete and possession-driving prospects move ahead of him on the depth chart. If his junior production or early-season momentum is still inflating his perceived value, this is a reasonable window to sell before the gap between fantasy usefulness and real offensive upside becomes clearer.
Summary
| Player | Role | Key Insight |
| Sebastian Cossa | Buy | High-upside goaltender stabilizing his development curve |
| Trey Augustine | Buy | Efficient, composed goalie with long-term NHL potential |
| Carter Bear | Buy | Early-stage winger with translatable habits and upside |
| Max Plante | Sell | Dynasty stock at its peak, time to capitalize |
| Michael Brandsegg-Nygård | Sell | Physical winger with uncertain offensive projection |
| Emmitt Finnie | Sell | Great early arrival, facing a narrow NHL path |