Justin Faulk is heading into a season that could say plenty about both his future and the Detroit Red Wings’ plans.
Detroit made a major bet on the veteran defenseman last season, paying a steep price to bring in offense from the blue line. The Red Wings sent a 2026 first-round pick, a 2026 third-round pick, AHLer Justin Holl and prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov to the St. Louis Blues to land Faulk.
The production was solid enough, but not enough to change the team’s fate. Faulk, 33, finished with 40 points in 78 games, and Detroit still came up short in the playoff race.
The club went 9-15-5 over its final 29 games, a stretch that buried its postseason hopes. The offense the Red Wings were chasing never fully showed up late in the year, as Detroit ranked third-worst over that span at 2.55 goals per game.
The other side of the puck wasn’t any cleaner, with the defense sitting in the bottom ten and allowing 3.34 goals per game during that same run.
Now Faulk enters the final year of his contract with a $6.5 million cap hit and a modified no-trade clause. When this season ends, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.
That puts real pressure on what comes next. Detroit needs more from him if it’s going to get back to the postseason and end a playoff drought that has now lasted a decade. Faulk’s 40-point season is a decent starting point, but the Red Wings will want something closer to the form he showed from 2021 to 2023, when he posted 97 points in 158 games.
There’s still plenty of pedigree here. The Minnesota native was a second-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2010, and he has nearly 1,060 NHL games on his résumé along with three All-Star selections. Even if the scoring doesn’t jump, that kind of experience carries weight in a Detroit blue line that keeps getting younger.
That veteran presence could matter just as much as the numbers. Faulk is expected to work in Detroit’s top four on the second pair with Ben Chiarot and continue on the second power-play unit. He also gives the Red Wings a steady voice for a defensive group that includes Moritz Seider, Simon Edvinsson, Axel Sandin-Pellikka and Albert Johansson.
With that young talent pushing for jobs, Faulk may not be around much longer in Hockeytown. For now, though, the Red Wings are hoping this is the season they finally get the best version of him since the trade.
In Other News...
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For Edmonton, the challenge may be less about interest than about price. If Detroits internal valuation of DeBrincat is anywhere near the sentiment coming from its fan base, the Red Wings would likely need a much stronger package to even consider moving him. That creates a familiar trade-board problem for the Oilers and any other suitor, because the gap between what a team is willing to offer and what Detroit believes DeBrincat is worth could be the difference between a serious negotiation and a nonstarter. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Front Office Search Hints At A Bigger Reset
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The move fits a broader moment for the Red Wings, who remain in the middle of trying to build something more sustainable while keeping pace in a tough division. Around the league, cap pressure and contract negotiations are forcing teams to make careful long-term calls, and Detroit appears to be approaching its own off-ice decisions with that same kind of urgency. The next hire will not just matter for the front office chart - it could shape how the franchise resets the way it evaluates talent, priorities, and the next phase of its rebuild. [Read more 🡒]
Moritz Seider Just Strengthened His Case As Detroits Next Franchise Leader
Moritz Seider added another major line to his resume this week, earning The Hockey News Rod Langway Award as the NHLs best defensive defenseman for the 2025-26 season. It is another reminder of how central he has become to the Red Wings, with Seider logging all 82 games, skating more than 25 minutes a night and taking on top competition all season long.
For Detroit, the honor only sharpens the conversation around where Seiders rise leads next. He is already being viewed as the kind of player who can anchor a blue line for years, and the bigger picture now includes a possible Norris Trophy down the road and, eventually, the possibility that he wears the captains C for the Red Wings. [Read more 🡒]