Red Wings’ Daniil Tarasov KHL Rights Move, and Sebastian Cossa Trade Ends a Future-Goaltender Question

The Detroit Red Wings’ goaltending pipeline took a two-part turn on Wednesday, with changes affecting both Daniil Tarasov and Sebastian Cossa. Tarasov, who agreed to a one-year deal with Detroit in early July, saw the KHL rights connected to his playing future change hands. At the same time, the Red Wings dealt prospect goaltender Sebastian Cossa during the 2026 NHL Draft, a move that Yahoo Sports said effectively ends speculation that Cossa could eventually become Detroit’s goalie of the future.

KHL rights are a distinct piece of the European hockey ecosystem. Even when a player signs an NHL contract, rights held in the KHL can influence where that player can play in the interim and how a future return to top-level KHL competition is handled. In Tarasov’s case, the reported rights transfer indicates Detroit’s plans will play out under a different rights arrangement than the one previously assumed, even as the Red Wings retain the immediate benefit of his NHL contract status.

Yahoo Sports further reported that the contract groundwork for Tarasov was already in place, with the one-year agreement reached in early July. What changed most recently was the “rights” portion of the story, suggesting the administrative and contractual pathways that govern a player’s KHL options did not remain static after Detroit’s signing.

For the Red Wings, the other major goalie-related development involved Sebastian Cossa, a prospect whose status had attracted ongoing attention. According to the report, Detroit traded Cossa during the 2026 NHL Draft to the Utah Mammoth. The move also comes with messaging implications, since Yahoo Sports described it as bringing an end to the idea that Cossa would be Detroit’s future goaltending answer.

Draft-day transactions of goaltending prospects can reshape a team’s development map in a way that fans feel more sharply than other positions. Goaltenders often require patience, and organizations frequently weigh the value of keeping a top pipeline arm against the value of acquiring other assets now. With Cossa no longer in the organization, Detroit’s future “who is next” conversation now shifts toward whatever prospects remain in their goalie group and toward any additional acquisitions that may follow.

Detroit’s next test will be how quickly the organization turns its offseason goaltending decisions into on-ice reliability. With Tarasov’s KHL rights now moved, the Red Wings’ staff will be watching not just performance in Detroit, but also the practical path for how his situation is managed through the upcoming season. With Cossa gone, the Red Wings also face a clearer need to develop depth and plan succession behind their current NHL starters, rather than leaning on a single prospect narrative.