Finally, after a whopping eight preseason games in the last 11 days, the Detroit Red Wings’ preseason has come to an end.
The next game — Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins — counts.
But first, the Red Wings have decisions to make to get down to their 23-man opening-night roster. Here are final thoughts on where they stand and the remaining decisions they have to make.
1. Marco Kasper deserves a spot on this team.
He was noticeable in training camp. He was impactful to begin the preseason. And he closed out his exhibition season with his best game yet Friday night, a two-goal showing against the Ottawa Senators in which Kasper very nearly recorded a hat trick in the first period.
“(He’s) been excellent,” head coach Derek Lalonde said Friday. “Energy. Some finish there. He’s had a really good camp.”
That’s ✌️ for Marco Kasper. 👀 pic.twitter.com/Jgf8yaMQXu
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 4, 2024
Lalonde went back to a point he made early in camp about the differences he’s seen between Kasper now versus at this time last year, when the coach felt the young forward looked like a “deer in a headlight.”
This time around? Kasper was the story of the preseason for Detroit. He played an up-tempo game, looked confident with the puck and created chances even when short-handed. And he did that all within what looked like a very sustainable framework, not cheating for offense. Getting the two goals Friday was the final piece of the puzzle, adding some production to a lot of good processes.
Of course, he’s still a rookie, and on Thursday, Lalonde noted that Kasper “probably had his fingerprints” on a goal against, being out of position on the penalty kill. But the mistakes were few and far between, and by the end, Kasper didn’t just look like a good prospect. He looked like one of the Red Wings’ 12 best forwards.
2. So, if Kasper deserves a roster spot, does that mean he’s getting one? That remains to be seen.
Detroit would have to do some roster maneuvering, although not an unreasonable amount. The simplest path would be to waive Justin Holl, who appears to once again be outside the top six on the blue line and has a contract (two more years at $3.4 million annually) that would almost certainly clear waivers and allow him to be sent to Grand Rapids.
That would preserve Detroit’s depth at the position in case of injury and create the needed space to add Kasper to the NHL roster.
If that’s the way it plays out, it would be hard not to feel for Holl, who signed a three-year deal in Detroit when the team had a clear opening on the right side of its defense for a stopper and penalty killer. That was on July 1, 2023. Six weeks later, the team traded for Jeff Petry, who immediately assumed that role, relegating Holl to a seventh defenseman for most of last season.
Lalonde has maintained, as recently as this week, that he has “full confidence” in Holl — pointing to the team’s unusual health on defense last season. And that’s true. But the fact remains the team has not used Holl as much as his contract or track record would have suggested, and with the team looking healthy again to begin the season, his role again looks like it will be mainly as depth.
That’s valuable, to be sure, but it can still be preserved if Holl were to clear waivers and be sent to Grand Rapids. And that looks like the easiest way for Detroit to clear a roster spot.
3. If Detroit did not go that route, another path would be to waive a goalie. The Red Wings have three, with Ville Husso, Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon all currently slated to make the roster. All three have had their moments this preseason, and right now they look like a true committee in the crease: no clear-cut No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3. They look, basically, like equals.
That can of course change if someone gets hot — and we’ve seen that the Red Wings like to ride a hot goalie, arguably to a fault — but the committee approach would track with how they’ve used the three this preseason, and it would help preserve depth in case of injury.
There was one unexpected goaltending development in camp, though, and that was Jack Campbell entering the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program Friday. Campbell was expected to be a veteran presence in Grand Rapids, backing up top prospect Sebastian Cossa, but now there is a void there. The Red Wings have three options: bring in another goaltender from outside to fill that spot, promote another young goalie prospect (perhaps Carter Gylander?) to pair with Cossa, or send one of their three NHL goalies to Grand Rapids, thereby risking their positional depth to waivers.
If they were to go that third route, Husso’s $4.75 million cap hit would be the most likely to clear. The problem, though, is Husso arguably has the highest upside of the three netminders — which he showed Tuesday by stopping 43 of 44 shots in an exhibition game in Pittsburgh.
Combine that with the fact Detroit will want Cossa getting a significant number of starts in Grand Rapids, and it’s not exactly a slam-dunk option, though it is theoretically possible.
4. If Detroit does keep Kasper, it would naturally raise the question of who would come out of the projected forward lineup, which has largely held intact since projections in the first week of July.
My best guess right now: Jonatan Berggren, which may not be a popular answer and would certainly be a tough break for Berggren, who has paid his dues to the organization.
Berggren is talented, there’s no doubt. Lalonde also gave him credit Friday for his improved wall play — an area that has been a question mark in the past — and said he’s had a “very positive camp,” noting Berggren’s compete level and work ethic. That speaks to how tough it would be to pass over Berggren, who, again, has absolutely waited his turn.
The issue is Kasper has just outplayed him these last two weeks. He’s done the little things, killing penalties and winning battles. He’s gotten to the middle of the ice. And he’s even outproduced Berggren, whose offensive skill and creativity are his calling cards.
I don’t think the Red Wings will want to waive Berggren, because of that talent and what the staff clearly feels is an honest effort to round out his game. He’d likely be claimed somewhere else.
But if Kasper makes the team, Berggren’s lineup spot is the one that looks most vulnerable. Even though he’s a winger and Kasper is a natural center, Detroit could either break Kasper in on the wing or move Joe Veleno out wide to create a line that would have a clear north-south identity with Tyler Motte. Frankly, Kasper makes a bit more intuitive sense with Motte and Veleno than Berggren.
5. Helping Berggren here, though, might be a couple of things that have hindered him in past years, when he was the young player trying to break in. First, Berggren would require waivers to send down, whereas Kasper would not. And second, the role in question is lower in the lineup, which isn’t always ideal for a young player. General manager Steve Yzerman has said he doesn’t want to add prospects to the roster if they’re not going to play a meaningful role, and Berggren’s projected starting place is on the fourth line.
Kasper looks like a potential penalty killer, which would help him add minutes, but fourth-line ice time isn’t especially consistent and certainly doesn’t give as much room for growth as a 20-minute, first power-play role in Grand Rapids. If Kasper doesn’t make the team, expect something like that to be the rationale — along with the fact he doesn’t require waivers.
6. There is one more wild card here: Austin Watson, who has played this preseason on a PTO.
Frankly, I think Watson has probably earned a contract, too. He’s done a bit of everything this preseason. He’s shown some offense, with an assist in his preseason debut and another Grade-A chance Friday night. He’s shown his ability to be physical on the forecheck, with a 12-hit showing in Pittsburgh. And he’s shown a willingness to go a little further, getting ejected from Friday’s game after tackling and then dragging Ottawa’s Jan Jenik away from Moritz Seider.
That play resulted in a heap of penalties — a seven-minute power play for Ottawa and 27 PIMs on Watson’s ledger, including a misconduct — but Lalonde didn’t mind it.
“I like that,” he said. “I think it energized our guys. Obviously, (Seider) is a very important player for us, we don’t want him to get into any of those types of situations. I actually liked it a lot.”
Watson’s toughness is an element the Red Wings have glaringly lacked in recent years. And Lalonde made sure to note his overall play in camp had been good, not just the rough stuff.
Playing on a tryout contract, Watson would be cheap to sign, but again, it’s a matter of space. Watson was asked recently about the idea of playing in Grand Rapids and said, simply: “I’m here to earn a one-way (contract). Any other things like that, we’ll cross those bridges when we get there.”
A one-way deal does not mean a player can’t go to the AHL, though. It just means his NHL salary applies to either team. And for a Detroit team that has been so easily pushed around in recent years, Watson is a player who would make a difference in the organization. It sounds like Lalonde agrees.
If Detroit were to sign Watson and he’s slated to be the 13th forward at first, then that’s OK: It’s a role Watson has some experience with from last season in Tampa Bay. And even if the Red Wings feel they just can’t make room for him in the opening-night 23, they could still sign him now and take their chances with waivers (he’s currently on a PTO, so in theory, he should clear) and plan to bring him back up when the situation calls for it.
For that reason, signing Watson would not necessarily preclude keeping Kasper in Detroit — but it certainly adds more to the roster calculus.
So really, as the preseason ends, the Red Wings’ big decisions are these: Are they convinced Kasper needs to be on the opening-night roster? Are they sold that Watson’s impact is something they need in the system? And if the answer is yes to either or both, who are they willing to waive (or trade) to make it happen?
Rosters are due at 5 p.m. Monday.
And the clock is ticking.
(Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
