Former Detroit Red Wings goaltender Sebastian Cossa, traded to the Utah Mammoth, appreciates the confidence his new club is showing in him.
Former Detroit Red Wings draft selection Sebastian Cossa was traded on the opening day of the 2026 NHL Draft to the Utah Mammoth in return for the 23rd overall selection.
With the pick, the Red Wings selected Kamloops Blazers forward J.P. Hurlbert, who will play locally at the University of Michigan in the upcoming season.
But it closed the chapter on Cossa's time with the Red Wings, which never really got off the ground at the NHL level. He only has one game of NHL experience under his belt at this point, but that will likely change in short order in Salt Lake City.
Cossa, whom the Mammoth have already signed to a two-year, $4 million deal, said that he wasn't quite sure what to expect coming into the summer as a pending restricted free agent.
Speaking on the Utah Puck Report podcast with Jay Stevens of KSL Sports, Cossa said he focused on staying in the moment while watching Michal Postava start for the Grand Rapids Griffins during the Calder Cup Playoffs earlier this spring, while also hearing whispers of potentially being moved.
"For me, obviously, going into RFA this summer, I'd been hearing it through the grapevine for quite a while," he said about the possibility of being dealt. "I went into the playoffs with Grand Rapids. Obviously, I wasn't playing at that point, but I was just trying to stay in the present. We were hoping for a long playoff run there, but I wasn't worried about it too much.
"But obviously, as the offseason gets going, you talk about it a little more — where you'll be next year," he continued. "Obviously, you see that stuff on social media. Still, I wasn't too sure what was going to happen this offseason. I knew it was a possibility, but I didn't know for sure it was happening."
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Known as the Arizona Coyotes before relocating to Utah in 2024, the Mammoth returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2020 and have a bevy of young talent that has helped them earn the reputation of a team on the rise.
"I've heard only good things about the organization, and the people reaching out to me already have made me feel comfortable already," Cossa said of his first impressions of the Mammoth. "It's been great."
After posting a 26-8-4 record with the Griffins last season, Cossa could open the upcoming campaign as Karel Vejmelka's backup with the Mammoth.
If all goes well, he may even develop into the franchise's long-term starter - a future many once expected him to have in Detroit.
But he knows nothing is given at the NHL level.
"It's super exciting," he said. "It's been a long path, and for me, it's going there and earning the job. It's still a big summer for me; I want to go there and earn that and show they made the right decision."
"For me, there's a lot of work to go in, but obviously really excited now."
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