Detroit — The Red Wings need to have their opening-night roster turned into the NHL by 5 p.m. Monday
If everyone were healthy and ready to play, the decisions might not be as difficult for general manager Steve Yzerman and his staff.
But the Wings are slightly banged up right now, and that could affect how the lineup looks Thursday against Tampa Bay.
“Certainly we have a number of question marks that we’ll see (about) when we get to Monday,” coach Jeff Blashill said after Saturday’s 3-1 loss in Buffalo in the preseason finale. “We have a whole bunch of guys who we don’t know who’ll be available or not. We’re taking it day by day. We’ll make decisions when we have to make decisions, and not before that.”
The goaltending and defense are set. There don’t appear to be any issues for the Red Wings in those positions.
It’s up front, among the forwards, where questions loom.
Primarily, the health of Michael Rasmussen and Givani Smith, both of whom missed games at the end of the week; and perhaps some among the group of Dylan Larkin, Robby Fabbri, Adam Erne and Vladislav Namestnikov, all of whom didn’t play Saturday.
And, then, what to do about Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno? They are two prospects who possibly have done enough to earn NHL jobs, but might be better served spending time with the AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids, if not enough ice time is available in Detroit.
It’ll be interesting, to be sure.
Here is how the three position groups are evolving heading into opening night:
Forwards
► In: Tyler Bertuzzi, Erne, Fabbri, Sam Gagner, Larkin, Namestnikov, Rasmussen, Mitchell Stephens, Pius Suter, Filip Zadina.
► On the bubble: Taro Hirose, Raymond, Carter Rowney, Bobby Ryan, Smith, Veleno.
For this exercise, Stephens is assumed to be on the roster.
The speedy, tenacious Stephens seemingly solidified a spot Saturday by arguably being the Wings’ best forward, after a string of good preseason performances. Stephens likely will be the fourth-line center.
Ryan, 34, in camp on a professional tryout, likely will be signed to a one-year contract. Ryan had two goals and two assists in six games, but he also brings important veteran intangibles that could help the Wings.
Rowney could fill the role of being an extra forward, able to step in when needed.
Smith would appear to have a roster spot locked up, but the severity of his injury clouds his outlook. Also, Smith didn’t have a consistently productive preseason.
Which leaves us with Raymond and Veleno, two young players fans are longing to see in the NHL — but the Wings’ front office have a development plan in place.
If either player isn’t playing meaningful minutes, or isn’t in the NHL lineup consistently, the decision is easy: Put them in Grand Rapids and let them gain experience with plenty of playing time in the AHL.
“In some games, some of the young guys played well, and in some games, they didn’t play quite as well,” Blashill said. “What’s best for guys’ development matters. So, if a young guy is going to play fourth-line minutes for us and not be on any special teams and he can be on both specialty teams and play way more in (Grand Rapids), those decisions are generally pretty easy — and it also gives you more depth for when you have injuries.”
Then again, injuries already might create an opportunity for others.
Raymond, in particular, was an interesting case. After an impressive three-game start (two goals, four assists), the 19-year-old went pointless in three games and didn’t make an impact.
“He wasn’t as good the last three (games),” Blashill said. “It’s hard for any player to be excellent every night, but that’s the reality of how hard the league is. Did he get tired? I can’t answer that. He’s played a lot of hockey, like some other guys. But the reality is, this is what the league is a lot of times and you have be effective when you don’t have your legs, and it’s a learning process.”
Defense
Yzerman stated before the season the Wings would open eight defensemen and nothing has changed during the exhibitions.
Nick Leddy will play with Moritz Seider, Danny DeKeyser with Filip Hronek, and Marc Staal with Troy Stecher. Jordan Oesterle and Gustav Lindstrom will be extras.
Seider, the Wings’ top prospect the last couple of years, showed he is ready for the NHL after starring in Grand Rapids and the Swedish Elite League. But there were definitely plays where Seider looked like the 20-year-old defenseman he is, so pairing him with the veteran Leddy will be beneficial.
DeKeyser looked close to his pre-back surgery days, which would be a huge boon to the unit.
Goaltending
Thomas Greiss and Alex Nedeljkovic both worked out kinks during the exhibition season, with Nedeljkovic, in particular, working his way back, capped by Saturday’s 35-save game.
“He got tested a lot, especially the first half of the game and he was real good,” Blashill said. “He saw the puck well.”
In all, the Wings played eight games in 11 days this exhibition season, a far cry from last season’s pandemic-ravaged three intra-squad scrimmages.
The games left Blashill with ample opportunity to evaluate and experiment.
“It’s good to go through them; it’s experience for a number of guys,” Blashill said. “It kind of shows how hard the league is on a night-to-night basis. Certainly, these aren’t the teams we’re going to face in terms of the makeup of the roster; there’s going to be a lot better players in the lineup.
“(But) it does show our young guys the relentless nature of the league. You have to show up every single night.”
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tkulfan