DETROIT — A mix of emotions surrounds the Detroit Red Wings following the\u00a0NHL Trade Deadline. Optimism and apprehension. Excitement and tension.<\/p>\n
Detroit added defenseman Justin Faulk<\/a> and forward David Perron<\/a> before the deadline Friday, then lost captain Dylan Larkin<\/a>\u00a0to a lower-body injury a few hours later in a 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers at Little Caesars Arena.<\/p>\n Faulk is scheduled to make his Red Wings debut at the New Jersey Devils on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN). But Perron won’t play for about two weeks as he continues to recover from surgery to repair a sports hernia, and Larkin won’t play against the Devils, at minimum.<\/p>\n The good news is that Larkin will travel with the Red Wings on a four-game trip. But coach Todd McLellan gave no timeline for his return, and it was telling when McLellan was asked Saturday if there was a silver lining to the injury, considering Larkin played so much hard hockey helping Team USA win gold at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.<\/p>\n “No, there’s no silver lining,” McLellan said with a laugh. “He’s our captain. He’s played extremely well, and any way shape or form that we can have him in the lineup is a good thing for our team. So, there’s no silver lining in rest or anything like that, and he’d probably scoff at the suggestion of that, because he’s a competitor and wants to be in there with his teammates.”<\/p>\n The Red Wings have a lot on the line and little margin for error. They haven’t made the Stanley Cup Playoffs for nine seasons, the longest drought in their 100-year history. McLellan is tired of answering questions about March, saying this is a new group that will write its own story. But it’s on this group to change the narrative.<\/p>\n In 2023-24, Detroit held the first wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference on March 1 and went 3-9-2 for the month. A huge factor: Larkin missed eight games with a lower-body injury. Last season, Detroit held the second wild card in the East on March 1 and went 4-10-0 for the month. Each time, the Red Wings fell out of a playoff spot.<\/p>\n This time, Detroit held the first wild card in the East on March 1. After a 4-2 win at the Nashville Predators on Monday, the Red Wings rose to third in the Atlantic Division. But they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in overtime Wednesday after leading 3-1 in the third period, and then they lost to the Panthers. Vegas and Florida each was on the second game of a back-to-back on the road while Detroit was rested at home.<\/p>\n The Red Wings acquired Perron from the Ottawa Senators for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, but they paid a higher price to acquire Faulk from the St. Louis Blues — first- and third-round picks in the 2026 draft, plus defenseman Justin Holl<\/a>\u00a0and forward prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov. Perron can become an unrestricted free agent July 1; Faulk is signed through next season.<\/p>\n