The Detroit Red Wings preseason is coming to a close and the club has had a busy couple of days. Prior to playing their final preseason game on Saturday night, a slew of roster moves were announced.
Bertuzzi, Hicketts Assigned To Grand Rapids
#RedWings assigned following to @griffinshockey Fs Aubry, Bertuzzi, Criscuolo, Lorito, Svechnikov and Ds HIcketts, Paetsch and Russo.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) October 8, 2016
No surprises here. With the offseason acquisitions of Thomas Vanek, Frans Nielsen, and Steve Ott to go along with youngsters Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou knocking, there are simply no roster spots for two key hopefuls. 21-year old Tyler Bertuzzi had an intriguing preseason and will likely break through as a skilled bottom-six grinder in the next couple of years. He leads by example on the ice and is quite vocal off of it. Evgeny Svechnikov showed a lot of potential during Friday’s preseason game against the Maple Leafs. His two goals led the team to victory, letting a ripper go from the top of the left circle and using his body to get to the net front cleaning up a rebound.
On defense, little Joe Hicketts proved that he can perform in a big way by throwing his weight around and driving possession with speed to burn. At twenty years old, he has some developing to with the Grand Rapids Griffins before he gets a shot at the big club. Coming off a huge season in Grand Rapids where he scored 39 points, Robbie Russo will return to lead the team’s defensemen. Surely, he’ll be called upon as one of the team leaders if he can continue with his offensive production and responsible defensive play.
Finally, goalie Jared Coreau was assigned to the Griffins this afternoon. The only way he was going to get called up was through a Jimmy Howard trade. The goaltending tandem of Petr Mrazek and Howard will at least start the season.
Jurco, Saarijarvi to IR
#RedWings announce they've played Tomas Jurco (back), Tomas Nosek (knee), Vili Saarijarvi (wrist) and Dan Renouf (knee) on injured reserve.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) October 8, 2016
Four players were placed on the injured reserve list prior to Saturday’s game. These are not new, as the club is simply making the IR status of these players official in order to trim the roster down for the regular season.
The most interesting injured player is Tomas Jurco, who will have to fight for a roster spot upon his return from a back injury. Jurco has bounced back and forth between Detroit and Grand Rapids over the last couple of seasons as he tries to find the offensive brilliance he showed spurts of playing for the Griffins. Unfortunately, Jurco’s confidence is shot after being put in Mike Babcock’s doghouse in 2014-15 and being scratched for ten games at a time last season. He’s expected to return shortly after the start of the season.
Vili Saarijarvi underwent wrist surgery in August after injuring himself during an offseason prospect camp. Drafted in the third round of 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Saarijarvi has had a tough go with the Flint Firebirds as the team’s off-ice drama reached an all-time high last season. Despite this, Saarijarvi’s offensive production was impressive. He was traded from the Firebirds to the Mississauga Steelheads, where his development will pick up this season.
Frk, Callahan, Jensen to Waiver Wire
#RedWings placed Frk, Callahan, Tangradi, Jensen and Lashoff on waivers today. They have until noon Sunday to clear.
— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) October 8, 2016
As expected, four of these five players cleared the waivers. Mitch Callahan, Eric Tangradi, Nick Jensen, and Brian Lashoff will all report to Grand Rapids. Callahan raised some eyebrows with his play early in the Red Wings preseason, but it wasn’t enough for another team to take on with their choice of Ott as the team’s agitator.
The Carolina Hurricanes, however, did find value in 23-year-old Martin Frk as they claimed him off the waiver wire. This is, put lightly, frustrating for Red Wings fans. Frk recorded 44 points in 67 games last season for the Griffins, including a professional-high 27 goals. He has a booming shot and would have been one of four right handed shots on the team’s forward group. Once again the team has lost a solid depth player for absolutely nothing. The mismanagement of this team’s roster is beginning to really show itself. And it’s only going to get worse as veteran players return from injury and more youngsters will be forced onto the waiver wire.
Red Wings Preseason Comes To A Close
After all of these moves, the Red Wings roster is currently sitting at 26 players. As the preseason comes to a close, they must have a 23-man roster set by Tuesday afternoon.
Head coach Jeff Blashill is going to start the season with eight defensemen. If Niklas Kronwall‘s knee is not healed in time, he will be placed on the injured reserve. This means that the chances of one of Mantha or Athanasiou starting the season with the team is slim. Especially considering that Blashill didn’t like their play Saturday night.
"I didn't think him or AA were good enough. They've got to be better than that," Jeff Blashill on Anthony Mantha & Andreas Athanasiou 2nite
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) October 9, 2016
Again, more frustration for Red Wings fans with statements like this. These young players were asked to step up and impress everyone during the Red Wings preseason, and offensively they did. Defensively they did not show up in the exhibition season finale, but the rest of their preseason play was noticeable. It may have to take an injury or slow start for these two to get back up.
Blashill and co.’s roster management skills will be put to the test this week as the regular season gets underway. The Red Wings begin their season with a trip to Florida. They play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, October 13 and the Florida Panthers on Saturday, October 15. Both games will be on FOX Sports Detroit.
If you were Coach Blashill, what would your starting lineup be?
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