Detroit — Givani Smith’s position on the Red Wings’ roster is likely secure.
He is out of options, so if the team was to waive him, he’d likely be picked up by another team for nothing.
Smith, 23, signed a two-year contact worth $1.5 million ($750,000 salary cap hit) during the offseason, a sign of the Wings’ faith in him.
He has the physical presence (6-foot-2, 215 pounds) and tough demeanor, the Wings’ need on the roster.
But after three exhibition games, Smith has been relatively silent on the ice. He has no points and a minus-3 rating, averaging 11 minutes of ice time.
More: Red Wings’ power play, under new direction, humming in preseason
Coach Jeff Blashill said Smith could separate himself from the pack among the bottom-six forwards.
“He has to make sure he does a good job of getting the puck out of our end so he’s not playing a ton of defensive zone coverage,” Blashill said. “He has to get the puck deep when he gets into the neutral zone, forecheck hard and when he gets (the puck) in the offensive zone, he has to either take it to the net, or give it to somebody and get to the net and win all those net-front battles.”
Smith played 16 games with the Wings last season with four points (one goal, three assists), a minus-5 rating and 21 penalty minutes. He had a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight) in one game. His willingness to stand up for smaller teammates was noted by players and Blashill.
Consistency has been an issue for Smith.
“(We) talked at the end of a shift last game,” Blashill said. “He has to make sure he’s sprinting all over the ice when he’s out there. Sprinting and stopping. If he does those things, he’s effective.
“He’s had moments of doing a good job. He’s a big body, he’s tough, physical. Some of the physical toughness hasn’t shown sometimes. That’s a preseason thing. Can he be a little bit better? Yes. Has he had a tons of ice time? No, but he has to learn how to be effective in the minutes he’s getting. … That’s likely the (amount) of minutes he’s getting when the regular season starts.”
Cuts are coming
The Wings have more players on the roster than other NHL teams. There are reasons.
The Wings have eight exhibition games this season, which prompts a need for two rosters to evaluate players and get them ready for the season.
The Wings also spent a bit more time than usual in training camp in Traverse City.
“The way our exhibition schedule works out, we spend that time in Traverse City, so we don’t have exhibition games as early as some teams, this year even more,” Blashill said. “We had an extra day in Traverse, so the schedule is real condensed for us. We need to keep more bodies around longer (both for games and evaluation purposes).
“We’ll see after the next couple of games where everything stands.”
Injury update
Blashill said forward Michael Rasmussen continues to be day-to-day, and will not play Thursday. Rasmussen has been unavailable the last three games, after suffering an undisclosed injury late last week.
Forward Tyler Bertuzzi, who the Wings are gradually working back into game shape after back surgery, practiced and has been skating on his own this week.
“We’ll see where it goes from there,” said Blashill, noting Bertuzzi wasn’t in the Columbus game lineup.
Ice chips
Blashill continues to like what he is seeing from forward Kirill Tyutyev.
“When you watch him play he’s strong on the puck, makes a lot of good plays and he has a pretty good mind offensively,” Blashill said. “There’s stuff there, and I don’t foresee him starting in Detroit, but I’ll be interested to see how he does in Grand Rapids. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was able to have lots of success.”
… Blashill can see a roster configuration where both forwards Bobby Ryan (in camp on a professional tryout) and rookie Lucas Raymond make the roster. It’s been presumed keeping both players would be difficult, but with injuries and the impressive play of Ryan and Raymond, the Wings might pull it off.
“If we feel both will help our hockey team, make us a way better hockey team, we’ll keep them,” Blashill said. “We’re not going to release or not keep somebody who is going to make us way better.”
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tkulfan
PRESEASON
Penguins at Red Wings
►Faceoff: 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Little Caesars Arena
►TV/radio: BSD/97.1
►Outlook: The Red Wings near the end of the exhibition season with their next to last preseason game. … The Penguins defeated the Red Wings 5-1 last Sunday in Pittsburgh. … The Wings’ next game at LCA will be the regular-season opener Oct. 14 against Tampa.
— Ted Kulfan