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Detroit Red Wings Reassign Austin Watson

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11/3/2025: The Red Wings announced today that they’ve reassigned Watson back to AHL Grand Rapids. The Red Wings played in three games from Oct. 30 through Nov. 3, but Watson didn’t dress for any of them.

The main benefit for Watson during this recall was financial: he will receive a prorated bump in pay, as he has a $775K NHL salary and a $375K AHL salary. That will make it more likely he will be able to exceed his $400K guarantee by the end of the season, should he be recalled again down the line. He also gains pension credits for those three games for which he was on the NHL roster.

Therefore, while this recall did not pay any on-ice dividends for Watson, the Red Wings’ choice to provide the veteran with some additional time on its NHL roster did have some financial benefits for the player.

10/30/2025: According to a team announcement, the Detroit Red Wings have recalled forward Austin Watson from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Detroit has had an open roster spot for the last few days after reassigning prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard on Monday.

Despite taking Brandsegg-Nygard’s spot on the active roster, there’s little chance for consistent playing time for Watson. Even without veteran Patrick Kane for the foreseeable future, the team has Elmer Soderblom, who has a much higher ceiling than Watson, to fall back on.

If Watson does enter the lineup at any point over the current recall, the Red Wings will know exactly what to expect. The 11-year veteran is in his second year with the organization, scoring three goals in 13 games for Detroit last year, averaging 7:51 of ice time.

The only value Watson can provide is his physicality and aggression. Since debuting with the Nashville Predators during the 2012-13 season, Watson has accrued 722 PIMs in 528 games while collecting 1,245 hits. Interestingly, he’s been more of an offensive contributor in the AHL, scoring 94 goals and 176 points in 298 games while managing 221 PIMs. It’s important to note that before his time with the Griffins, Watson had only managed 90 PIMs in the AHL.

Detroit begins a four-game road trip through the NHL’s Pacific Division tonight against the Los Angeles Kings. Given that no teams on the trip are particularly physical, the earliest Watson could be expected to enter the lineup is next Friday against the New York Rangers, who have the third-most hits to start the 2025-26 campaign.

Red Wings Assign Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

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The Detroit Red Wings have reassigned top prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Brandsegg-Nygard played through the first nine games of his NHL career to start Detroit’s season. He recorded one assist, one penalty, and a minus-five through those appearances.

Brandsegg-Nygard’s first NHL sample was filled with up-and-down performances. Detroit was outscored one-to-six at even-strength when the Norwegian rookie was on the ice. At the same time, the Red Wings managed 5.06 expected-goals-for to only 2.78 expected-goals-against in Brandsegg-Nygard’s minutes. That difference not only gives Brandsegg-Nygard a Detroit-leading 64.5 expected goals-percentage (xGF%), it also gives him the eighth-worst goals-above-expected (-4.06) among NHL forwards.

Those numbers all suggest that Brandsegg-Nygard ran into a string of bad shooting luck to start his career. He’s long been a top prospect, and earned the 15th-overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft after potting 28 points in 53 games in Sweden’s second-tier pro league, the HockeyAllsvenskan. His imposing two-way presence helped Mora IK earn a promotion to the SHL for the 2024-25 season. Brandsegg-Nygard chipped in 17 points in 53 games at Sweden’s top level, before ending last season with the first five games, and three points, of his AHL career.

He earned a spot in the NHL out of training camp this season, and showed through an impressive ability to make plays even when shots weren’t going his way – emphasized by a team-leading 28 hits. An assignment to the AHL should give Brandsegg-Nygard a chance to rediscover his puck luck, but it’s hard to imagine Detroit will want him out of the lineup for too long.

Red Wings’ Patrick Kane To Miss Fourth-Straight Game

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Future Hall-Of-Famer Patrick Kane won’t travel with the Detroit Red Wings for the start of their upcoming five-game road-trip, but could join the team partway through, head coach Todd McLellan told broadcast reporter Daniella Bruce. Detroit will visit the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, then head for a series of games on the west coast, with McLellan insinuating Kane could be ready for the latter stretch.

Kane was injured in last week’s win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, after taking a hard fall into the boards. He has missed three games since – a run that will grow to four absences on Tuesday. Kane has continued to bring electric offense to the Red Wings lineup. He has five points in five games, making him one of only two Red Wings scoring at-or-above point-per-game pace. The other is scoring leader Dylan Larkin, who has 13 points in nine games.

With Kane’s productive offense usually comes meager defense, a routine that hasn’t changed this season. Alongside center Marco Kasper and winger Alex DeBrincat, Kane’s line has outshot their opponents 51-to-37 at even-strength, but been outscored two-to-three. That imbalance, and Kasper’s mere one point in nine games, could be a sign of even more offensive upside to come once Kane is back to full health.

Until their star winger can return, Detroit will continue to deploy the hard-nosed Mason Appleton in a top-six role. Appleton stepped into the elevated role in Saturday’s win over the St. Louis Blues. He didn’t manage any scoring in the six-goal effort, but brought a helpful amount of grit to the top of Detroit’s offense. With how well the scorers performed, Detroit should feel no pressure to shake things up ahead of a rematch on Tuesday.

Afternoon Notes: Pesce, Hintz, Finnie

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Amanda Stein, team reporter of the New Jersey Devils, shared mid-game that Brett Pesce did not return for the second period of the team’s matinee tilt vs Colorado. The defenseman notched 6 minutes in the first but missed his final shifts of the period and did not return. 

Especially given the Devils’ hot start, currently atop the league, and their consistent stream of injuries, it is certainly the hope that Pesce’s injury is not serious, and many will keep a watchful eye on further updates today. 

Elsewhere across the league:

  • Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas News wrote earlier today that Stars forward Roope Hintz will miss tonight’s game in Nashville. Given the club’s activation of Oskar Bäck earlier today, it appears the 6’4” center could appear tonight for his season debut. Meanwhile, Hintz was shaken up last night from a big hit into the boards from Taylor Hall, one which gave Hall a charging minor. Further details of Hintz’s injury have not been disclosed, but Dallas will cross their fingers that their star, currently at a point a game pace, is not out long-term. 
  • Kevin Allen of Detroit Hockey Now shared earlier today a story on Red Wings rookie Emmitt Finnie, a former seventh-round-pick who has burst onto the scene. Finnie first earned a spot on the Wings’ roster which was impressive enough, but now he is featured on the team’s top line, with 8 points in 9 games. As mentioned by Allen, few seventh-rounders even make the NHL (20 since 2019) but zero have made an immediate impact like Finnie, who is right among the league’s best rookies so far in 2025-26. His contributions have helped Detroit to a great start as they aim to finally take a step back into the playoffs. Whatever may happen, Finnie’s all-around-game is showing to be an absolute steal from the Wings at 201st overall in the 2023 draft, a franchise no stranger to such throughout their history. 

 

Red Wings Activate, Reassign Nate Danielson

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The Red Wings announced they’ve activated center Nate Danielson from the non-roster list and assigned him to AHL Grand Rapids. He had begun the season there after sustaining an undisclosed injury in a preseason game. He’ll now get his season underway in the minors after missing nearly a month of action.

Danielson, 21, is beginning his second season in the pros. The No. 9 pick of the 2023 draft arrived in Grand Rapids last year to great expectations, particularly after he ended 2023-24 on a 12-goal, 41-point heater in 28 games with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. However, his transition didn’t go as the Red Wings had hoped. The playmaking pivot only contributed a 12-27–39 scoring line in 71 games – fine production for a first-year pro, but not necessarily the level expected from a top-10 pick.

As such, 2025-26 is a crucial season for Danielson to get his offensive development back on track and prove he can compete to be a long-term top-six piece in Detroit. While more comfortable down the middle, he can also play the right wing. That might be important for a team that looks comfortable riding Dylan Larkin and Marco Kasper as their top two pivots for the foreseeable future, allowing Danielson to be one of their wingmen or center the third line.

But his lukewarm initial showing in the AHL means he’s no longer standing out among the organization’s premier prospects. NHL.com ranked him as the No. 5 prospect in the organization over the summer, behind fellow forwards and first-rounders Carter Bear and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard, the latter of whom made the opening night roster but has struggled with one assist and a minus-four rating in eight games.

Panthers, Red Wings, Sabres Among Teams Interested In Yegor Chinakhov

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It has been over three months since Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov’s former agent said that his client had requested a trade out of Columbus. Much has happened since then, including an apparent reconciliation with head coach Dean Evason, but that was short-lived before he ended up back in a fourth-line/press box role in training camp. Following that move, Chinakhov switched his representation at the beginning of the month in hopes of accelerating his departure from the organization.

According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Chinkahov’s new representation at Maverick Sports Management now has permission to speak directly with other teams about facilitating a trade. Among the teams that “have recently kicked the tires” in trade talks with the Jackets are the Panthers, Red Wings, and Sabres, he adds.

All of those Atlantic Division clubs are looking to fill out their middle-six depth for various reasons, and it’s clear why Chinakhov specifically offers some intrigue there. While it’s been a tough go in Columbus for him, particularly over the last 12 months due to injuries and dwindling usage, he’s shown the ability to come up with productive scoring lines when given more considerable ice time. In his career-best 2023-24 season, the former first-round pick averaged 15:10 of ice time per game and managed 16 goals and 29 points in 53 appearances. That was on track for 45 points had he played a full 82-game schedule, and he also managed to record half a point per game last year with 15 in 30 appearances.

He’s by no means a top-six needle-mover for a contender with those numbers, but for teams needing to plug a third-line or fringe second-line hole, he could be of real benefit. The Panthers are without top-six forwards Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk for months, and the ripple effect has been ugly. They’ve understandably gotten off to a sluggish 4-5-0 start and, more concerningly, are only scoring 2.44 goals per game – 29th in the league. Names like Sam Bennett (1-1–2 in nine games), Eetu Luostarinen (1-1–2 in nine games), and Jesper Boqvist (1-0–1 in nine games) have struggled to produce in elevated roles. Getting another body in the mix to ease everyone’s workload is a short-term priority for general manager Bill Zito.

Teams considering Chinakhov a short-term fix can non-tender him at the end of the season. He’s in the final year of a contract that carries a $2.1MM cap hit and an identical qualifying offer that he’s unlikely to warrant with his current trajectory. However, that can quickly change if he manages to return to his 2023-24 form with a new club.

As for the Red Wings, adding forward depth was always going to be a priority for them based on how they entered the season. Leaning into their youth has made them one of the league’s pleasant surprises early on. Still, they’ve struggled to find offensive consistency outside of their explosive first line of rookie Emmitt Finnie, Dylan Larkin, and Lucas Raymond. Only three other forwards have more than four points through eight games, and there’s been a bit of a mix-and-match through the first few weeks with Jonatan Berggren, Elmer Söderblom, and James van Riemsdyk all coming in and out of the lineup.

Detroit presumably hopes Chinakhov can be an upgrade on a similarly cast young winger in Berggren. The latter has never received the kind of leash Chinakhov did previously in Columbus, never averaging more than 13:28 of ice time per game. His career points-per-game pace, though, isn’t too far off from Chinakhov’s. Berggren averages 16 goals and 31 points per 82 games, while Chinakhov averages 16 and 33.

Like Florida, Buffalo’s interest is injury-fueled. Their already semi-questionable forward depth has been decimated in the season’s opening weeks by injuries to Jordan Greenway and Joshua Norris, among others. They’re looking for additional top-nine wing insurance, but with all of Zach Benson, Josh Doan, Jack Quinn, and Jason Zucker off to strong starts, their interest might be more tempered than what Detroit and Florida are bringing to the table.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Detroit Red Wings

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia.  We’re currently covering the Atlantic Division, next up are the Red Wings.

Detroit Red Wings

Current Cap Hit: $83,641,833 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (three years, $942.5K)
D Simon Edvinsson (one year, $894.1K)
F Emmitt Finnie (three years, $821.7K)
F Marco Kasper (two years, $886.7K)
D Axel Sandin Pellikka (three years, $918.3K)

Potential Bonuses
Brandsegg-Nygard: $500K
Edvinsson: $850K
Kasper: $1MM
Sandin Pellikka: $500K
Total: $2.85MM

Considering the season he had overseas, it was a bit surprising to see Brandsegg-Nygard break camp with Detroit but tying for the league lead in preseason goals and points earned him a spot.  Considering he’s just starting out, it’s too early to forecast another contract but if he wants a long-term second contract, he’ll need to be established as a regular top-six player by the time it expires.  Finnie was another training camp surprise where his preseason efforts earned him a spot.  He’s in the same boat as Brandsegg-Nygard when it comes to his next deal though.

That can’t quite be said for Kasper.  His first full NHL season was a strong one where he was in the top six more often than not.  If he stays on that trajectory, he’s someone who could plausibly bypass a bridge deal.  In this market of escalating salaries, a deal might push into the $7.5MM territory even if he remains more of a second liner at that time.  Meanwhile, a bridge pact would check in with a number likely starting with a four.

Sandin Pellikka is also in his first full year in North America and while many expected he’d at least start the season in AHL Grand Rapids, he also broke camp with the big club.  If he has the type of impact they hope he will (as an offensive top-four defender), he’s someone that they might look to sign to a long-term deal coming off his entry-level pact.  But again, it’s far too early to forecast, given that he’s only a handful of games into his NHL career.

Edvinsson is a different case.  A full-time top-four player in his rookie year, he’s someone who appears to be living up to his lofty draft billing.  GM Steve Yzerman doesn’t dole out a lot of long-term deals but this is a case where it wouldn’t be surprising to see him try to do so.  They did this with another young blueliner recently who we’ll get to later but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them use that price tag as an internal ceiling for an Edvinsson extension.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

F Jonatan Berggren ($1.825MM, RFA)
D Jacob Bernard-Docker ($875K, RFA)
D Ben Chiarot ($4.75MM, UFA)
D Erik Gustafsson ($2MM, UFA)
D Travis Hamonic ($1MM, UFA)
D Justin Holl ($3.4MM, UFA)
F Patrick Kane ($3MM, UFA)
G Cam Talbot ($2.5MM, UFA)
F James van Riemsdyk ($1MM, UFA)

Potential Bonuses
Kane: $4MM
van Riemsdyk: $750K
Total: $4.75MM

Once again, it took until the eve of free agency for Kane and the Red Wings to work a deal out.  This one gave him a bit less in guaranteed money by $1MM but added $1.5MM in incentives, giving him a chance at beating his earnings from last season.  He’ll earn $2.5MM of those after just 10 games and another $500K by the time he reaches 50 games so as long as he stays healthy, he’s a $6MM player this season.  In this market, that’s not a bad price tag for a winger who is probably best served as a second-line winger at this point but can move up in a pinch.  While he turns 37 next month, he could plausibly keep playing for another couple of seasons with this type of contractual structure.

Berggren was largely a regular last season after spending most of his sophomore year in the minors but wasn’t able to match his rookie-season numbers, yielding this bridge deal this summer.  He’ll need to establish himself a little higher on the depth chart or he risks becoming a non-tender candidate when he gains arbitration eligibility next summer.  As for van Riemsdyk, he didn’t need a late-summer deal this time around after a decent showing in a depth role with Columbus.  Notably, $500K of his bonuses are playoff-dependent while the other $250K kicks in at 50 GP.  At this point in his career, he’s likely to remain around this price point on one-year deals.

Chiarot’s contract was a surprise three summers ago, both in terms of money and term.  He remains a top-four blueliner for Detroit but is someone who is trending more toward being a fourth or fifth defender given that he’ll be 35 when his next contract begins.  A two-year deal could still be doable but a drop down to a price tag starting with a three looks likely at this point.  Holl has cleared waivers for the second straight year and is in Grand Rapids where his cap charge has dropped to $2.25MM.  If he made half of what he makes now, there might have been a taker for him on waivers.  Accordingly, despite teams passing on him for free now, there still could be enough of a market for him to land around $1.5MM on a one-year prove-it type of contract next summer.

Gustafsson had a so-so first season in Detroit as an offense-first defender, picking up 18 points in 60 games but also struggling defensively.  He lost his roster spot and is now in the minors, carrying a reduced cap charge of $875K.  He’s likely to land closer to half of his current cap charge unless he’s able to come back and be productive.  Hamonic was a depth defender last season in Ottawa and has had a similar role this season.  At 35 and with some heavy lifting in minutes in his prime, he’s unlikely to land much more than this if he gets a contract for next season.  Bernard-Docker also spent most of last season in a depth role with the Senators and is merely looking to establish himself as a full-time player.  He’s arbitration-eligible but unless he’s a regular, he’ll be a non-tender candidate, even if they want to keep him around since he entered the season with 144 games of NHL experience already.

Talbot was brought in via free agency in 2024 to help shore up the goaltending position.  However, he was more of a platoon-level piece than a true starter, resulting in them attempting to shore up that spot this past summer.  Still, this price tag for a serviceable backup at a minimum is pretty reasonable in this market.  He’ll be heading into his age-39 year if he looks to play next season so his next contract, if there is one, should be a one-year pact around this price point.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Mason Appleton ($2.9MM, UFA)
F Andrew Copp ($5.625MM, UFA)
F Alex DeBrincat ($7.875MM, UFA)
G John Gibson ($6.4MM, UFA)
D Albert Johansson ($1.125MM, RFA)
F Elmer Soderblom ($1.125MM, RFA)

While the idea of signing a medium-term deal has grown in popularity around the league lately while looking for a more favorable cap environment next time, DeBrincat was one of the first to do so after being acquired in 2023.  It bought Detroit three extra years of control but allows DeBrincat to hit the open market at 29.  A max-term contract should be achievable for him at that time and given his offensive consistency as a legitimate top-six winger who typically collects between 65 and 70 points most years, he should be in a good position to push past the $10MM mark.  Detroit won’t be able to use an internal ceiling if they want to retain him.

Copp was brought in via free agency in 2022 on the heels of a career year offensively.  He hasn’t been able to match that in Detroit although he brings enough other elements to the table to give them at least a reasonable return.  Still, even in this inflated market, he’ll be hard-pressed to match this price tag if he remains in the 30-point range offensively.  However, another multi-year deal should be doable at least.

Appleton had a quiet contract year in Winnipeg which limited his market this summer.  However, if he can get back to the 30-point range where he was in 2023-24, he could push for something closer to the $4MM range on his next deal.  Soderblom split the last two seasons between Detroit and AHL Grand Rapids, making a low-cost bridge deal this summer a guarantee.  He’ll have arbitration rights two years from now and if he’s a regular in their bottom six, doubling this cost doesn’t seem unreasonable.

Johansson got his first taste of NHL action last season, seeing regular action on the third pairing.  Given the inexperience, a bridge deal was the only play here as well.  Like Soderblom, he’ll have arbitration rights next time out and assuming he remains a regular top-six piece, doubling this price tag (at a minimum) should be doable.

Gibson was much better in Anaheim last season after some tough years but with Lukas Dostal in place as the starter of the present and future, the Ducks opted to move him with Yzerman seeking another short-term upgrade.  If he can get back to being a starting-caliber netminder, the Red Wings will do quite well with what’s left of this contract.  However, if he remains more of a platoon piece, he’ll be a considerable overpayment, albeit one they can easily afford right now.  He might be more in the $5MM range on his next deal, if not a bit lower.

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Kane To Miss The Next Two Games

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The Red Wings won’t have a key veteran winger available to them for the next two games.  Team reporter Danielle Bruce mentions (Twitter link) that Patrick Kane will not be accompanying the team on their upcoming two-game road trip due to an upper-body injury that also kept him out on Sunday.  However, he did skate on his own today and will be re-evaluated to see if he can return when the team returns home on Saturday.  Kane has two goals and three assists through his first five games this season while playing a little more than 17 minutes a night.

Red Wings’ Emmitt Finnie Off To Impressive Start

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Missing the playoffs for the last nine years, the Detroit Red Wings have had several top-15 overall picks in the first round and have several above-average prospects remaining in their pipeline. That’s what has made Emmitt Finnie’s emergence all the more inspiring.

Given that the team has had so many higher-end selections in the first round, Finnie had been treated somewhat as an afterthought in Detroit’s system, since he was drafted in the seventh round only two years ago. He had a relatively unimpressive year with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers, scoring nine goals and 35 points in 64 games with a +11 rating.

He followed up his draft year with a productive campaign, scoring 19 goals and 59 points in 62 games. Still, it wasn’t enough at the time for Finnie to even chart on most Red Wings’ prospect boards, given that forwards scoring lower than a point-per-game average in the Canadian Major Junior system aren’t usually close to being NHL-caliber talents.

In his final year with the Blazers, and as the team’s captain, Finnie put it together on offense. Unfortunately, the team didn’t qualify for the WHL playoffs, but Finnie led the way on offense, scoring 37 goals and 84 points in 55 games. He finished the campaign with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, scoring one goal and five points in 10 games with a -4 rating.

At the beginning of training camp, few would have believed that he had a legitimate opportunity to crack the Red Wings’ roster. Still, as the team continued their search for a linemate next to Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, Finnie’s work ethic stood out amongst the pack. General Manager Steve Yzerman has been criticized in recent years for not promoting more youngsters to the roster from camp. However, many Detroit fans recognize this as being the mantra of the franchise for the past several generations.

As the preseason progressed, Finnie remained on the roster, leading to unexpected optimism that he might stay with the team for the regular season. He finished Detroit’s preseason action with two goals and four points in seven games with a 16.7% shooting percentage, averaging 14:28 of action per game.

He has already surpassed those scoring totals in fewer games in the regular season.

At the time of writing, the 20-year-old is tied for third on the Red Wings in scoring, with two goals and five points in six games with a +7 rating, with both of those goals coming in yesterday’s win over the two-time defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers. Still, there’s an argument to be made that anybody with a pulse may be able to engineer points at a relatively easy pace next to Larkin and Raymond.

That’s true to some degree, with Finnie only averaging a 43.4% CorsiFor% at even strength and his -0.7 Expected +/-. However, he’s tied for first on the team in hits (21), and has an excellent 96.7% on-ice save percentage at even strength, which is even more remarkable considering he begins nearly 2/3 of his shifts in the defensive zone.

There are few arguments this early in the season that Finnie is a bona fide top-six winger, nor is there any hope of him driving his own line anytime soon. However, he’s showing a degree of fearlessness that hasn’t been seen from a Detroit prospect in some time, and the team is better off for it.

Kane Ruled Out For Sunday's Game

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Red Wings winger Patrick Kane suffered an injury late in Friday’s victory over Tampa Bay when he crashed hard into the boards.  He’s now set to miss at least one game due to the injury as Max Bultman of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that the veteran has been ruled out of playing tomorrow against Edmonton.  The 36-year-old is off to a strong start to his season with two goals and three assists in his first five outings, good for third on the team in scoring but he won’t be adding to those totals for at least a few days.  There’s no word yet on if he’ll miss any more time beyond Sunday’s outing.

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