The Detroit Red Wings’ waiver claim of Calgary Flames defenseman Andreas Englund left plenty of people scratching their heads, and for good reason. On the surface, the blue line looked close to settled already, with the last few spots coming down to a tight fight involving Axel Sandin-Pellikka, Anton Johansson, Jacob Bernard-Docker, and William Wallinder.
Then Englund entered the mix, and the picture got a lot less clear.
At 30, Englund brings 200 games of NHL experience and has worn six teams’ colors, or seven if you count the Flames. Last season, he appeared in just three games for the Nashville Predators and didn’t record a point. That makes it tough to see exactly where he fits, especially if his arrival means blocking a young defenseman like Johansson from taking a real step forward.
The more unsettling possibility is that Englund isn’t about Sandin-Pellikka or Johansson at all. He could be tied to the unresolved situation with Simon Edvinsson, and that’s where this claim starts to look like a safety net rather than a clean roster move.
The Red Wings still haven’t signed Edvinsson, and that delay has already stretched uncomfortably close to the start of the season. Negotiations apparently didn’t even begin until two weeks ago, when Shawn Horcoff formally took over, and with puck drop now just four days away, Edvinsson still hasn’t signed. That deal should have been done months ago.
If the process drags into the regular season, Englund could end up serving as Edvinsson’s temporary replacement.
That would suggest two things at once: the Edvinsson talks may still have room to stall, and Detroit doesn’t seem fully comfortable asking Sandin-Pellikka or Johansson to handle that temporary top-pairing role. In other words, the Red Wings might prefer a veteran who hasn’t played a full season in four years over one of their more promising young defenders.
That kind of caution raises its own question. Is this a knock on the front office, or a sign that the prospect pool still needs more time?
The approach also echoes the kind of caution Tyler Johnson once described from his time with Steve Yzerman. The idea, in that view, is to avoid rushing prospects and let them spend too long in the AHL instead of taking the next step.
Around the NHL, though, teams are handing real responsibility to young players like Lane Hutson, Macklin Celebrini and Porter Martone. That doesn’t mean Sandin-Pellikka or Johansson are on that same level, especially with Sandin-Pellikka already having 68 career NHL games. But it does underline how much less risk the Red Wings seem willing to take compared with clubs like Montreal or Philadelphia.
There is still a simpler explanation, of course: Englund could just be insurance if the Edvinsson deal keeps dragging. Even that version isn’t exactly ideal. It leaves the Red Wings waiting on their No. 2 defenseman, with no clear answer on whether this gets cleaned up in a couple of days or stretches on for weeks.
In Other News...
Red Wings Just Sent A Clear Opening Night Message To Fans
The Red Wings used Wednesdays practice to send a fairly clear preview of how they may want to open the season, and it came with a few notable wrinkles. Detroit ran a potential opening night lineup that leaned on several younger players in important spots, along with some new line combinations as the club continues trimming the roster ahead of Fridays deadline.
One of the more interesting pieces was in net, where Daniil Tarasov was the goaltender in the drill instead of John Gibson. The blue line also had a different look with Albert Johansson on the top pair next to Moritz Seider, while the team works toward settling its final group before facing the Rangers on opening night. [Read more 🡒]
Dylan Larkins Red Wings Exit Now Feels Like A Matter Of Time
Dylan Larkins situation has gone from a simmer to a full-blown storyline around the Red Wings as the season opens without him in the lineup. The captain has been sidelined by an upper-body injury since preseason, and even before the first puck dropped, the uncertainty around his future only grew after he requested a trade from Detroit.
Larkin has said he is trying to stay professional and win back the trust of his teammates, while also acknowledging the frustration on both sides with how this has played out. The list of teams he would accept a deal to has grown, which only adds to the sense that his time in Detroit is becoming harder to picture, even if the final step still hasnt happened. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Opening Night Picture Still Feels Far From Settled
The Red Wings have kept their roster untouched on the waiver wire, even with the preseason picture still shifting around a few key names. With Dylan Larkin and Jacob Bernard-Docker injured, Detroit is operating with a little less clarity than it would like this time of year, while the addition of Andreas Englund and the chance for prospects such as William Wallinder, Anton Johansson and Axel Sandin-Pellikka to get real reps has added a different kind of intrigue to camp.
Simon Edvinsson is another piece hanging over the process, with the defenseman still unsigned but around practice as he waits on a new deal. He has been working with the group but not taking part in scrimmages or preseason games, leaving one of the more important roster questions unresolved as opening night draws closer and the Red Wings try to sort out exactly what their lineup will look like. [Read more 🡒]