Carter Mazur’s NHL window is getting narrow fast.
The Red Wings forward has spent much of his pro career battling one injury after another since Detroit took him 70th overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, and the setbacks have only piled up. On his very first shift with the Red Wings in 2024-25, Mazur suffered a season-ending injury. The next season, 2025-26, injuries again cut his year short, holding him to 16 AHL games and eight NHL games.
This season hasn’t offered much of a reset. Mazur has appeared in only three games and has one assist to show for it. He’s also been a healthy scratch in at least two of those games, and when he has dressed, he’s mostly been parked on the bottom line.
That puts the spotlight squarely on what comes next for his NHL future.
Here’s the biggest problem for Mazur: the usage hasn’t been there, and neither has the production. Through three games, his averages have looked like this:
Oct. 6 (vs. OTT): 7:25 ATOI, 0G 1A, 1 shot, +1
Oct. 9 (vs. SEA): 11:36 ATOI, 0G 0A, 2 shots, -1
Oct. 13 (vs. NJD): 6:10 ATOI, 0G 0A, 0 shots, -2
After picking up an assist in the opener, Mazur got a bit more ice time against the Kraken. But in the 3-6 loss, his minutes dropped back down, and against New Jersey he was limited to just 6 minutes of ice time.
Plus-minus isn’t a perfect stat by any means - Moritz Seider, after all, is a career -17 - but in Mazur’s case, the context matters. Against the Devils, he was on the ice for two goals against, played only six minutes, and never managed a shot attempt.
And the leash doesn’t look especially long. Practice lineups suggest the Red Wings aren’t exactly carving out much room for him right now.
With J.T. Compher out with injury but still practicing, Detroit has been using an 11-7 setup, dressing 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
That leaves Mazur as the odd man out.
Still, there’s a path back. Todd McLellan’s lineups point to Mazur likely getting into Saturday’s game against the San Jose Sharks, and if he wants to stick, he’ll have to show he can outperform injured forward Mason Appleton and Grand Rapids call-up Sheldon Dries.
If that doesn’t happen, the waiver wire could become a real threat.
At 24, this is the most important stretch of Mazur’s NHL life so far. The talent is there, but the injuries and the limited opportunity have slowed everything down. Now he has to prove he can stay on the ice and make enough of an impact to force the issue.
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