The Hockey News’s Connor Eargood has a theory as to how Marco Kasper could have actually won a roster spot over Austin Watson, but found himself assigned to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins due to Detroit’s salary cap issues:
Right now, Detroit has 28 players on its preseason roster, five of whom are being sent down to the AHL once they clear waivers. Among the other 23, the Red Wings have scrappy forward Austin Watson still on his professional tryout, with an NHL contract likely to follow.
There’s just one problem: Detroit doesn’t have the cap space to sign Watson — at least not yet.
To clear cap space, the Red Wings have to wait for the players it put on waivers to clear, including Justin Holl. The 32-year-old blueliner makes $3.4 million average annual value, but he was placed on waivers for the purposes of a Grand Rapids assignment Sunday afternoon. The Red Wings still have to pay Holl his contract, but not all of it will count against the cap hit. Detroit can deduct $1.15 million from Holl’s cap hit. That turns Detroit’s $198,194 in potential cap space into $1,348,194.
That $1.3 million should be more than enough room to sign Watson to a contract. That is the next step in Detroit’s preseason roster moves.
But once Watson signs, things could get interesting. The Red Wings can’t send Watson down to Grand Rapids while he is on a PTO, but they can do that once he signs a real contract. In the realm of speculation, Detroit could send Watson down in order to call up Kasper.
Continued; I’m not certain what to say here. I believe that Kasper was sent down to Grand Rapids for now because Watson will be utilized as the Wings’ 13th forward, but PuckPedia did post this Tweet on Sunday night:
Expecting Austin Watson to sign a 2-way deal with #LGRW.
— PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) October 7, 2024
Was in camp on a PTOhttps://t.co/X9ec6wkdhQ
I think that it is in the “realm of speculation” to suggest that this is all cap chicanery, but I also think that, by the end of the season, we’re going to see all of Kasper, Carter Mazur and Nate Danielson on the Red Wings’ roster as injury replacements and/or call-ups.
