This afternoon, the Detroit Red Wings announced their latest round of roster cuts to officially meet the salary cap heading into opening night of the 2024-2025 season. While that meets the NHL’s 5 p.m. deadline today to become cap compliant, it doesn’t mean the roster is set ahead of Thursday’s season opener.
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In fact, the last member of the 23, Austin Watson, has already been fired with the goal of sending him to Grand Rapids, where he had just earned a two-way contract through the PTO he arrived with. This move is essentially a maneuver by the Red Wings to achieve a bit of cap building. My colleague Connor Earegood did a great job explaining that concept in detail this afternoon, but in short: because cap hits aren’t really annual, but rather accumulate over the course of the season, the Red Wings can save money on the cap by minimizing time Watson spends money on NHL roster.
Read more: How the NHL salary cap structure works and how it affects Red Wings roster moves
To reduce the roster to 23 players in accordance with NHL rules, Detroit sent Justin Holl, Sheldon Dries, Joe Snively, William Lagesson and Brogan Rafferty to the Grand Rapids Griffins. None of this came as a surprise, as a preview of it had already been given when that cohort was placed on exemption yesterday.
Of that group, Holl is clearly the most important cut, and the idea of ​​ceiling construction is also relevant to him. He was signed to a three-year contract before that season, so the fact that he is in this position is something of an admission of an error in free agent judgment. Getting back to “cap building” though, it’s worth noting that Holl was at the Red Wings practice today (instead of on the road to Grand Rapids), perhaps suggesting another paper transaction with the goal of maximizing cap space.
Entering the preseason, the only questions surrounding Detroit’s roster were marginal. However, Marco Kasper did make . With Kasper, Watson and Holl, Derek Lalonde’s memory is correct that Grand Rapids is a phone call and a two-and-a-half hour drive away. The Red Wings don’t need any of those three to play Thursday night, and all could be made available immediately if an injury necessitates it.
Also from THN Detroit
How the NHL salary cap structure works and how it affects Red Wings roster moves
How Austin Watson turned a PTO into a contract with the Red Wings
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