Following the pre-season finale against the Pittsburgh Penguins (a 3-2 victory for the good guys), the Red Wings announced that the following players have been sent to Grand Rapids:
Joakim Andersson, F
Travis Ehrhardt, D
Landon Ferraro, F
Brian Lashoff, D
Gustav Nyquist, F
Jordan Pearce, G
Tomas Tatar, F
Brent Raedeke, F
Gustav Nyquist had an unbelievable exhibition season and it’s clear he’ll be with the Red Wings sooner rather than later. When asked for a comment after the game, Mike Babcock said that Nyquist “looks like an NHL player” before stating that it’s just the Red Wings’ way to send guys down to the minors to see what they can do for a longer stretch. Tomas Tatar also proved that he won’t be far behind, and will likely get a call-up during the season.
In addition, four players will be waived on Monday at noon — available to the other 29 teams for a period of 24 hours. Should they clear, they’ll report to the Griffins.
Chris Conner, F
Garnet Exelby, D
Doug Janik, D
Joey MacDonald, G
By my count, there are four guys left in camp whose futures are uncertain.
Logan Pyett, D
Pyett will have to clear waivers to be sent down to the Griffins this season, but he was not included in Jim Nill’s list of guys that will be exposed on Monday afternoon. Either he takes Mike Commodore’s spot as the 7th defenseman, or it was a simple oversight. He’s done nothing to prove that he belongs in Detroit, except spend several seasons in the AHL.
Chris Minard, F
Minard didn’t even get into many pre-season games, so I have to assume that he’ll be on the waiver list soon. He’s been a decent bottom six guy in the past, but I can’t imagine he’ll usurp the following guy and take the final spot on the roster.
Fabian Brunnstrom, F
There’s no way he’s not signed. Barring some unforeseen craziness, Brunnstrom is your 14th forward until Jan Mursak is set to return. Brunnstrom will have to be waived to be sent down to Grand Rapids when Mursak returns (assuming no one else is injured in the interim), but that’s a problem the team will deal with “WHEN.”
Ryan Johnson, F
I have no idea how he lasted as long as he did on a tryout. Way to make an impression, guy.
With all of that said, the following is what your final 2011-12 Detroit Red Wings roster should look like:
Bertuzzi — Datsyuk — Franzen
Filppula — Zetterberg — Cleary
Hudler — Helm — Eaves
Miller — Abdelkader — Holmstrom
(Emmerton, Brunnstrom)
Lidstrom — White
Stuart — Kronwall
Ericsson — Kindl
(Commodore)
Howard
Conklin
JAN MURSAK — LTIR
Top Call-ups, F: Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar
Top Call-ups, D: Brendan Smith (after suspension is served), Doug Janik
Top Call-up, G: Joey MacDonald
Has Pearce outplayed McCollum enough to be seen an a future NHL’er? I hope so. Always seems to take him one season to figure things out and he does well in his second season. I have not heard much about him in preseason though. Who goes to Toledo?
If I had to guess, I’d say it’s going to be McCollum in Toledo again. All indications are that he has been underwhelming on nearly every level since being drafted, which is very disappointing. It SEEMS like Pearce has usurped McCollum’s slot on the depth chart, but long term, I wouldn’t give up on McCollum. The Wings have invested a lot in him, and he’s still young enough to turn it around. Plus, Pearce has made it clear that he may have another path to take if he won’t be an NHLer (medical school). I can’t imagine he’s improved his stock enough to be a goaltender for the Red Wings, but it’d be a magnificent story if he did.
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