Red Wings Head Coach Todd McLellan told reporters, including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press that Patrick Kane will not be back until after Christmas, due to an upper body injury. Kane last played on December 13 against his former Blackhawks, managing to finish the contest despite injury, but has been absent for the team’s last four games since, in which they’ve managed to win three.
Red Wings Rumors
Red Wings Activate Mason Appleton
The Detroit Red Wings have activated forward Mason Appleton off of injured reserve. Appleton hasn’t played since sustaining a lower-body injury on November 29th. He has missed nine games since.
Appleton has filled a bottom-six role in his first year with the Detroit Red Wings. He has nine points, 22 penalty minutes, and 28 hits through 26 games. Only two Red Wings forwards – Marco Kasper and Dylan Larkin, who have each played nine more games than Appleton – have been penalized more. Appleton carved out that depth, grinder role across the last four seasons with the Winnipeg Jets. He typically held close to 20 points a season, but grew to 14 goals and 36 points in a career year during the 2023-24 season. Even with that rise, Appleton’s biggest impacts tend to come away from the puck and down the lineup.
Appleton returned to the lineup in Sunday’s overtime win over the Washington Capitals. He recorded one shot and two hits, while serving alongside Elmer Soderblom and Nate Danielson on the fourth-line. The Red Wings will continue to ease Appleton back into his hard-nosed role with four games left on the schedule in 2025. Based on how quick he returns to full health, Appleton could end up back outside of the lineup when winger Patrick Kane returns from a short-term injury.
Blues Claim Jonatan Berggren Off Waivers
The Blues have claimed winger Jonatan Berggren off waivers from the Red Wings, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. The team moved center Nick Bjugstad to injured reserve to open up a roster spot for him, per Matthew DeFranks of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
When Detroit waived Berggren yesterday, the motivations weren’t clear. They might have been attempting to open a roster spot for Mason Appleton to come off injured reserve, or the Wings simply may have been looking to give the fourth-year Swede a fresh start elsewhere. If they were hoping to sneak him through to the AHL, though, they’ll be disappointed with today’s outcome.
Once a standout who led Sweden’s top junior league in scoring in his draft year, Berggren cracked the Wings’ lineup for the first time in 2022-23. He’s been a fairly efficient depth scorer ever since, averaging a 15-16–31 scoring line per 82 games despite averaging under 13 minutes of ice time, but had seen his role slashed in Detroit this year. He’s been a healthy scratch more times (18) than he’s played (15) and has only suited up once since Thanksgiving.
There’s long been optimism about what Berggren’s production could look like if given an expanded role. He hasn’t seen minor-league action in two years but was one of the AHL’s top scoring presences from 2021-24, recording 49 goals and 127 points in 130 games for Detroit’s affiliate in Grand Rapids.
The 25-year-old may now get that chance on a decimated Blues team that’s missing three of its top four wingers in Dylan Holloway, Jordan Kyrou, and Jimmy Snuggerud. Their injury crunch has recently forced veteran Robby Fabbri into a top-six role after signing a two-way deal just days ago, plus emergency AHL call-ups Hugh McGing and Matt Luff sliding into the bottom six.
Now, their low place in the standings pays some dividends in the form of the third-highest waiver priority in the league. In addition to adding some short-term depth, Berggren could continually slot into a top-nine role for St. Louis down the stretch if they sell off rumored trade chips Brayden Schenn, Mathieu Joseph, and Oskar Sundqvist.
In claiming Berggren, the Blues are on the hook for his $1.825MM cap hit for the remainder of the season. He’ll be a restricted free agent next summer with arbitration rights.
Bjugstad has already missed three games with an upper-body injury, which he sustained seven days ago on Dec. 9 against the Bruins. As such, he’s eligible to come off IR at any time. The 33-year-old pivot has four goals and an assist in 25 games this season.
Image courtesy of Walter Tychnowicz-Imagn Images.
Patrick Kane Out At Least Two Games With Injury
- The Athletic’s Max Bultman reported today that Detroit Red Wings veteran Patrick Kane “tweaked something” upper-body during Detroit’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, and is out for at least the next two games. Kane, a future Hall of Fame winger, is a key offensive producer for the Red Wings. He has 23 points in 24 games this season and as one might expect plays a significant role on the club’s power play. The Red Wings slotted John Leonard into Kane’s vacated second-line right winger role, per MLive’s Ansar Khan. Leonard was an AHL All-Star last season and has scored 19 goals and 29 points in 20 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins this year.
Red Wings Place Jonatan Berggren On Waivers
The Red Wings placed winger Jonatan Berggren on waivers Monday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Whether he’ll be assigned to AHL Grand Rapids if he clears or if they’re purely exposing him to the rest of the league for a change of scenery remains to be seen.
Berggren has been a frequent healthy scratch this season after he made a career-high 75 appearances last season. The 25-year-old has only played 15 of Detroit’s 33 games and has been in the lineup just once since Nov. 24.
Defensive deficiencies and a lack of physicality have long kept the 5’11” Berggren from advancing higher in the Wings’ lineup. However, he’s always made the most of his limited minutes offensively. Since entering the league with Detroit in 2022-23, he’s averaged 15 goals and 31 points per 82 games despite seeing under 13 minutes of deployment per night.
He’s kept up that reputation in 2025-26 despite increased role instability. His six points in those 15 outings are good for 0.40 points per game, eighth on the team. With middle-six names like Marco Kasper (four points in 33 games) and J.T. Compher (11 points in 33 games) having such bearish seasons offensively, it’s a tad surprising Berggren hasn’t gotten more of an extended look to help jumpstart the Wings’ depth.
Now, the 2018 second-rounder lands on waivers for the first time in his career and could have a new home as soon as tomorrow. If he’s not claimed, the fact that he’s already cleared waivers could boost his trade value since there wouldn’t be a concern about surrendering assets for him only to lose him on the wire if he doesn’t work out.
Berggren is making $1.825MM this season as part of a one-year extension he signed shortly before free agency opened. He’ll be arbitration-eligible at the end of the season.
Red Wings Recall John Leonard, Assign Erik Gustafsson To AHL
The Detroit Red Wings shared tonight that forward John Leonard has been recalled from AHL Grand Rapids, and former NHL standout defenseman Erik Gustafsson is going back down in a corresponding transaction.
Leonard, 27, was inked to a one-year, two-way deal with Detroit over the summer. It was unlikely such was a signing to directly benefit the Red Wings, as the forward is more known as an AHL star at this point, however, his production with Grand Rapids has become too hard to ignore. The former UMass Minuteman native ranks third in league scoring, with 29 points in 20 games, and his 19 goals, just shy of one-per-game, ranks first in the AHL. The Griffins have an insane 22-1-1 record this season, boasting a team full of accomplished veterans, but they will certainly miss their leading scorer for as long as he stays with the big club.
Such a name as Leonard being called up may not excite Detroit fans as much as that of a top prospect, but Leonard’s goal scoring prowess in the AHL is seriously impressive, and well deserving of a chance at the highest level.
A sixth-round selection of San Jose in 2018, Leonard has mostly been an AHL “hired gun” of sorts, bouncing between various organizations in the last three seasons, including a standout 36 goals for the Charlotte Checkers last year, leading them to the Calder Cup finals. With 17 points in 70 career NHL games between San Jose, Nashville, and Arizona, Leonard’s NHL forecast is limited. However, he could earn an opportunity with Detroit, as Mason Appleton landed on IR late last week.
On the other hand, Gustafsson has bounced between Detroit and Grand Rapids throughout the season. The once highly productive offensive defenseman remains a skilled power-play specialist, but his defensive metrics have become too large at age 33. Gustafsson has appeared in just one game with Detroit, in late November, and otherwise is an extra depth option. With an expiring contract, the hope is that the veteran can find a change of scenery and end his NHL tenure on a higher note, but until then, he returns to be an elite AHL producer for the top ranked Griffins.
It is not often that a player sustains a near goal-per-game pace in the AHL, and Leonard could bring a spark to the Wings lineup, depending on his role. Considering his elite AHL production, perhaps the older brother of Capitals’ forward Ryan Leonard could finally earn his way into a legitimate NHL role after years of working to earn it.
Red Wings Place Mason Appleton On IR, Recall Erik Gustafsson
The Red Wings announced that winger Mason Appleton has been placed on injured reserve, retroactive to Nov. 29, with a lower-body injury. Coming up from the AHL is veteran defenseman Erik Gustafsson to take his place on the active roster.
Appleton is already eligible to come off IR after missing at least seven days. He was only ticketed for a seven-to-10-day absence initially, so he’s already behind schedule and shouldn’t miss too much more time as a result. He won’t play tonight against the Oilers, but could return for this weekend’s tilt against the Blackhawks.
Appleton’s two-year, $5.8MM deal is the largest contract Detroit handed out to an external unrestricted free agent last offseason. The longtime Jets forward was brought in as a bottom-six fixture but has been deployed more as a top-nine piece, skating most of the time with some mix of Nate Danielson, Alex DeBrincat, and Marco Kasper. His production, though, hasn’t changed one bit from his career average. His three goals and nine points in 26 games fall right in line with his 0.35 lifetime points per game.
His ice time has also dipped. He’s averaging 13:34 per game for the Wings after skating at least 14 per game in each of the last five seasons for Winnipeg and Seattle. That’s despite playing a larger role on Detroit’s penalty kill than he did for the Jets. His 5-on-5 numbers aren’t anything special this year, either – he’s been outscored 17-14 and is bottom-three among Detroit forwards in most possession metrics.
They’ll no doubt be looking for smoother two-way play from him on the other side of this injury. In the meantime, Gustafsson will get his second stint on the roster this season after Simon Edvinsson left yesterday’s 4-3 win over the Flames with a lower-body injury, making him questionable for the second half of their Alberta back-to-back tonight. Detroit already had righty Travis Hamonic available as an extra, but Edvinsson is a left shot – as is Gustafsson – and they likely don’t want to force anyone to their offside.
Gustafsson is a skilled puck-mover and a great power-play option – he racked up 60 points with the Blackhawks back in 2018-19 – but he’s a defensive liability at even strength and wasn’t a good fit in a Detroit lineup that desperately needed to improve its 5-on-5 play to make a run at the playoffs this season. In the back half of a two-year, $4MM deal, he landed on waivers to begin the season and has spent most of the year in Grand Rapids aside from a five-day recall in November. He logged a -1 rating and two shots in his lone appearance of the season back on Nov. 26 against the Predators.
The veteran of 516 NHL games has dominated the minor-league circuit as his name circulates in trade talks, awaiting his next extended NHL opportunity. He’s clicking at a point per game through 14 appearances and is tied for second on Grand Rapids with a +13 rating.
Craig Smith Announces Retirement
As expected, forward Craig Smith has hung up his skates after 14 years in the NHL. The Magnuson Hockey Agency, which represented Smith, announced the retirement.
Smith’s professional career began back in 2009, when he was selected with the 98th overall pick by the Nashville Predators. He spent two years following the draft playing for the NCAA’s University of Wisconsin, scoring 27 goals and 76 points in 82 games while being named the program’s captain in his second season.
Impressively, after a standout performance for Team USA at the 2011 IIHF World Championships, Smith jumped right to the NHL in the 2011-12 season with the Predators. He finished 12th in Calder Trophy voting that year, scoring 14 goals and 36 points in 72 games — good for eighth in scoring on the team.
Due to some injury troubles, Smith skated in four games for the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, which would serve as the only AHL playing time Smith had throughout his career. Over the next eight years, Smith scored 148 goals and 294 points in 589 games with Nashville, averaging 14:57 of ice time in a middle-six role. He had a far lesser track record of success in the postseason, tallying seven goals and 16 points in 52 games from 2012 to 2020.
After his five-year, $21.25MM extension with Nashville concluded after the 2019-20 season, Smith reached free agency for the first time at 33 years old. Due to the pause caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith had to wait until mid-October to sign his next contract, which became a three-year, $9.3MM deal with the Boston Bruins.
He enjoyed a pair of relatively productive seasons with the Bruins before transitioning to a bottom-six role in his final season. In the last year of his deal, Smith was traded to the Washington Capitals in the trade that sent Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway to New England.
The Madison, WI native would only sign two more NHL contracts after that trade — one with the Dallas Stars, and another with the Chicago Blackhawks before ultimately ending his career with the Detroit Red Wings. Smith finished his career with 220 goals and 452 points in 987 games, becoming the fifth-highest scoring Wisconsin-born player behind Joe Pavelski, Phil Kessel, Gary Suter, and Ryan Suter.
We at PHR congratulate Smith on a solid career and wish him the best in his next chapter.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports.
Canucks, Red Wings Have Reportedly Spoken About Quinn Hughes
Following up on his report from Saturday Headlines, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has reported on another team that has spoken to the Vancouver Canucks regarding a potential trade for star defenseman Quinn Hughes. In today’s rendition of 32 Thoughts, Friedman shares that the Detroit Red Wings have inquired about Hughes’ availability.
Like his update linking Hughes to the New Jersey Devils, it doesn’t appear anything is imminent with the Red Wings, either. About New Jersey, Friedman said, “I do not believe there is anything imminent. I don’t even know that they’re anywhere far along. But I do believe that a conversation was had about where things stand and where they might be going.” It appears similar conversations have been had with Detroit.
This isn’t the first report linking the Red Wings to Hughes, although it is the first confirming that the interest is legitimate. A week and a half ago, Jeff Marek of The Sheet reported that Detroit was a team to watch if the Canucks were open to moving Hughes, citing defenseman Simon Edvinsson as a potential headliner that could head back to Vancouver.
Additionally, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period suggested that Lucas Raymond would be of the most interest to the Canucks. For what it’s worth, although he didn’t mention a specific name, Friedman believes that if they were to move Hughes, Vancouver would only trade him unless a prominent center was coming back, which would make Edvinsson or Raymond a non-starter. There’s no indication the Red Wings would have any interest in moving either, even if they were able to acquire a defenseman of Hughes’ caliber.
Although the Red Wings don’t have the benefit of rostering Hughes’ brothers, the family’s connection to Detroit runs deep. Before debuting in the NHL, Hughes spent nearly four years in southeast Michigan, playing for the United States National Team Development Program before playing for the University of Michigan Wolverines.
Notably, during the 2018 NHL Draft, Detroit surprisingly selected Filip Zadina, who’s now playing for the NL’s HC Davos, while Hughes was still on the table. The Canucks selected Hughes one pick later with the seventh overall pick.
Much like it would be for any team, acquiring a consistent Norris Trophy candidate such as Hughes would be a franchise-altering move for the Red Wings. The team already has a top-pairing defenseman in Moritz Seider, though he doesn’t offer the same offensive profile as Hughes.
Regardless, whether it be with Detroit or New Jersey, it doesn’t appear that the Canucks are close to trading Hughes or even firmly entertaining the idea. However, with their position in the standings and the fact that Hughes is expected to become an unrestricted free agent after next season, teams from around the league are beginning to gain confidence that the Canucks could end up moving him now rather than lose him for nothing after next year.
Rangers Searching For Blueline Power Play Help
With blueliner Adam Fox landing on LTIR last month due to an upper-body injury late last month, the Rangers find themselves without their top blueliner and a key threat offensively from the back end. While they won’t be able to add someone who can log the nearly 24 minutes per game that Fox can, finding someone who could help in the offensive zone in a more limited role could be more doable.
To that end, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that New York is looking to see if they can acquire someone to help quarterback the power play. One player he suggested as a possible option is former Ranger Erik Gustafsson who is currently playing in the minors after the Red Wings passed him through waivers unclaimed back in October.
Interestingly, offense from the defense hasn’t been an issue for the Rangers in the early going this season with their blueliners combining for 16 tallies, good for fourth in the league. Fox only has three of those while newcomer Vladislav Gavrikov is leading the way with six.
However, Gavrikov, nor any of their other defenders, is a natural power play threat. As a result, the Rangers have, at times, gone with five-forward units while Braden Schneider is second among New York defenders in power play ice time per game; he has all of one goal in 29 outings this season. With Gavrikov not being utilized at all with the man advantage, their existing options are limited.
The Rangers currently have a power play success rate (19.4%) that checks in just below the league average (20%) while offensively, they’re in the bottom third of the league in total goals scored. Filtering by conference, they’re the lowest-scoring team in the East in terms of goals per game. Suffice it to say, there is certainly a void for GM Chris Drury to try to fill here.
However, their salary cap flexibility is rather limited. Per PuckPedia, the Rangers are more than $1MM into LTIR already and while Fox being on there gives them some short-term wiggle room, they have to get back into compliance when he’s activated (or just over the $95.5MM ceiling as Matt Rempe is also on there at the moment). That means whoever they look to get needs to be someone who has a cap hit that can be cleared off the books when Fox comes back.
That’s not the case with Gustafsson. In the final season of a two-year deal, he carries a $2MM cap charge, one that’s lowered to $850K while he’s in the minors. Gustafsson could fit the extra role they want to fill as he did a few years ago with them but the higher cap charge means that Detroit would either need to retain or New York would need to send someone the other way to partially offset the money. Whether they find a way to make that work or find someone else to fill that void, it appears that Drury is searching for some outside help on the back end.