The Detroit Red Wings reduced their active roster to 23 players on Monday, assigning goaltender Carter Gylander to the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins ahead of their 101st franchise season opener against the New York Rangers at Little Caesars Arena on Friday, Oct. 2 at 6:30 p.m.
Grand Rapids Griffins and Carter Gylander Assigned
Detroit’s filing brought the active group to 14 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goaltenders. Alongside Gylander’s reassignment to the Grand Rapids Griffins, the club adjusted several player statuses to finalize the roster.
Defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker landed on injured reserve retroactively dating back to Sept. 24. Meanwhile, defenseman Andreas Englund received an immigration non-roster designation, and forwards Carter Bear and Chase Stillman were placed on injured non-roster status.
Detroit Red Wings Projected Lineup and Forward Combinations
The projected lineup revealed several novel combinations across the forward units and defensive pairings. The middle units incorporated new faces and young talent, slotting newcomer Viktor Arvidsson and last season’s breakout performer Emmitt Finnie into expanded roles alongside veteran J.T. Compher centering the unit.
Dylan Larkin and Carter Mazur skated as the extra forwards.
On the back end, Detroit’s pairings showed a notable influx of young talent.
Todd McLellan Warns of Roster Fluidity
Todd McLellan is never one to shy away from being blunt.
“We have to put the puzzle together. What I can tell you too is that on Monday, the roster will go out and you’ll see names or whatever. That could change real quick. There could be paper moves. There could be moves made for waiver reasons. There could be something in the hopper somewhere else where you have to buy time. Remember, we don’t play until Friday. So, got to submit Monday. We got to go for four days before we play, and there could be some movement and stuff in there.”
Todd McLellan
Those potential adjustments are highlighted by how hard returning skaters worked during the exhibition schedule. Brandsegg-Nygard had three hits in Saturday’s contest and eight in Tuesday’s win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Michael Rasmussen capitalized on his size during preseason action, logging significant ice time, physical play, and net-front presence following a difficult 2025-26 campaign where he logged just 14 points and six goals in 64 games while seeing his average total ice time dwindle to just 12:39.
Marco Kasper also made a strong case for sustained minutes, exhibiting the physical edge and two-way contribution the coaching staff evaluated closely through the fall. In Saturday’s game against Columbus, Kasper provided helpers on both goals, showcasing the physicality the Red Wings lacked in 2025-26.
The practice session also raised immediate questions regarding health and availability. Notably absent from the projected starting lineup were Dylan Larkin and Simon Edvinsson. Edvinsson did not skate at all, with the extra defense pairing including presumed depth defenders in Andreas Englund and William Wallinder.
Between the pipes was surprisingly not John Gibson, but presumed backup Daniil Tarasov drew into the net. The goaltending deployment could indicate a day off for Gibson before the start of the season or a potential injury holding Gibson out of the lineup as Detroit faces a Friday deadline to finalize its roster cuts and set its opening night lineup at home in Hockeytown.
