How do the Detroit Red Wings make room for rookie standouts?

Do you smell that folks?

No, you're not imagining things. It's the smell of the hockey season fast approaching. The various training camps and prospect games have all ended and many teams across the NHL have started playing pre-season games.

That's no different for the Detroit Red Wings, who play their first preseason game against the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago on September 25th. If you're reading this after, "Yay the Red Wings won!"

No matter what time you're watching this, we will all be watching the Red Wings preseason to see what prospects potentially break through and who's destined for the Grand Rapids Griffins. We also get to get our first glimpse of the line combos and defense pairings that we're likely to see during the regular season.

It's important to remember, that preseason games mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. This is just a time for players to get back to NHL form, meaning getting them used to the travel, speed, and physicality of the game again. This also serves as the perfect time to judge which prospects are ready for the big leagues and who need a bit more time to ripen in the American Hockey League (AHL) or, in some cases, back in Europe.

Who could potentially lose their NHL spot?

While the Red Wings seem to have more or less the same team they did last season, they once again didn't leave any room for a prospect to make it into the lineup. While we were all a bit upset that the Red Wings didn't have a single first or second-year player on the team last season, it was obvious that it was for the best. Simon Edvinsson was able to develop into what is likely the Red Wings second best defenseman while Jonatan Berggren was able to develop his style and hone the proper skills necessary to maintain that style.

Now the obvious answer to this question is that any other prospect wanting to make the roster this season needs to beat out a veteran. While this isn't necessarily uncommon, it's gonna be difficult for many of the Red Wings prospects. Most of the prospects fighting for a roster spot this season are forwards. That means they have to prove they are better than either Joe Veleno, Tyler Motte, or Christian Fischer. So while it's not an impossible task, it's gonna be hard for any of them to prove that they are better than established NHLers.

While both Edvinsson and Berggren are likely to be on the team full-time in the 2024-25 season and play fairly prominent roles. Albert Johansson is a different case altogether. Johansson, unfortunately, suffered from being in the AHL for too long and lost his waiver exemption status from his entry-level contract. Unfortunately, there is another log jam on defense. Including Johansson, the Red Wings currently have 8 defensemen. This means that Johansson could see his fair share of time in the Red Wings press box.

Lucky for you, I just may have a solution to this problem as well as a few others. Justin Holl played 38 games in the 2023-24 season where he recorded five assists. With how many players are on the Red Wings blue line again, Holl is the obvious candidate to be sent down to the minors, where his cap hit would be buried and the Red Wings would regain about $1.2 million in cap space as well as open up a spot on the roster. This would allow Johansson to get more looks on the team and also open up a spot for prospects like Marco Kasper or Nate Danielson to potentially get a spot.

The only other way to make room for other prospects is moving a goalie. As it stands, the Red Wings are in line to carry three goalies again next season. Something that general manager Steve Yzerman has been very vocal about not wanting to happen again.

Unfortunately, it seems like nobody wanted one of either Alex Lyon or Ville Husso, assuming he was even shopping one or both of them around in the off-season. If you can't move them in a trade, both can move down to the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins. However, you run the risk of taking away starts from Sebastian Cossa who's projected to be the starting goaltender for the Grand Rapids Griffins next season. That's something you want to avoid as much as possible.

There is always the likelihood that there are no prospects on the roster other than Edvinsson and Johansson. This would be fine as neither of them has played a significant amount of NHL games to be considered anything other than a rookie. While this may not be what most fans would like, it's a reality that we as fans may have to deal with.