The Detroit Red Wings sent John Leonard down to Grand Rapids on Dec. 30 after the forward posted four points (2 G 2 A) in 7 games with the main roster. On the evening of Jan. 4, Leonard is reporting back to Detroit for more NHL time. Hopefully he didn't have to unpack or repack too much of his bag.
Leonard, signed to the Grand Rapids Griffins this offseason, led the AHL in scoring through the first two months of the season, with 19 goals and 10 assists in 20 games. Called up by Detroit in mid-December, Leonard filled in on Detroit's second line for an injured Patrick Kane, though he would end up playing in a few different spots in the lineup through his seven games with the main club,
After sending Leonard down, the Red Wings played three games, beating only the Winnipeg Jets on New Years Eve, and suffering back-to-back losses against the Pittsburgh Penguins to start the new calendar year.
Their second loss to the Penguins, a 4-1 matinee stomping served as the back half of a home and home series with Pittsburgh on Saturday. Coach Todd McLellan was clearly frustrated with the team postgame.
"The Pittsburgh team were everything we wanted to be tonight and weren't." Coach McLellan told reporters postgame. The Red Wings next practice, on Sunday, saw Coach McLellan shaking all of the forward lines up, with Dylan Larkin, Emmitt Finnie and Lucas Raymond all taken off the top line, according to reporting done by MLive's Ansar Khan.
Instead, Detroit's usual second line (DeBrincat-Copp-Kane) was promoted, with Larkin on the second line with Marco Kasper and Elmer Soderblom and Raymond and Finnie on the third and fourth line wings.
Changes made to the Detroit Red Wings' lineup as John Leonard gets call-up
Several hours later, the Red Wings announced that they had recalled Leonard from Grand Rapids after just two games back with the Griffins. Leonard showed a solid game offensively in his brief showing with Detroit in December.
However, more key for his return after such a short stint was his ability to play smart defensive hockey as well. The Red Wings have had a lot of swings between good and bad play, but Leonard has shown himself to be the same player night in and night out both in the AHL and NHL this season.
Leonard has three more games with Detroit before he becomes subject to waivers if the Red Wings decide to send him back down. At that point the Red Wings would need to either sign him to a new contract or let the forward potentially get scooped up by a new team.