The Athletic’s Max Bultman suggests that both Red Wings prospect Marco Kasper and pro try-out Austin Watson have earned spots on this year’s Red Wings team, and this morning, he ponders how the Wings might make room on their roster for one or both players.
Bultman starts with Kasper’s case for making the team:
Marco Kasper deserves a spot on this team.
He was noticeable in training camp. He was impactful to begin the preseason. And he closed out his exhibition season with his best game yet Friday night, a two-goal showing against the Ottawa Senators in which Kasper very nearly recorded a hat trick in the first period.
“(He’s) been excellent,” head coach Derek Lalonde said Friday. “Energy. Some finish there. He’s had a really good camp.”
Lalonde went back to a point he made early in camp about the differences he’s seen between Kasper now versus at this time last year, when the coach felt the young forward looked like a “deer in a headlight.”
This time around? Kasper was the story of the preseason for Detroit. He played an up-tempo game, looked confident with the puck and created chances even when short-handed. And he did that all within what looked like a very sustainable framework, not cheating for offense. Getting the two goals Friday was the final piece of the puzzle, adding some production to a lot of good processes.
Of course, he’s still a rookie, and on Thursday, Lalonde noted that Kasper “probably had his fingerprints” on a goal against, being out of position on the penalty kill. But the mistakes were few and far between, and by the end, Kasper didn’t just look like a good prospect. He looked like one of the Red Wings’ 12 best forwards.
Continued (paywall); I’m honestly a bit flummoxed as to what’s going to happen here.
The Red Wings definitely witnessed a revelatory performance from Kasper, but at present, there’s no room for him on the roster without making some decisions–as in waiving Justin Holl, sitting someone like Jonatan Berggren or Joe Veleno, or waiving a goaltender (and Bultman and I are in agreement that Ville Husso looked superb in the preseason).
Just as importantly, Bultman argues that Austin Watson was literally and figuratively impactful enough that he should earn a contract with the Red Wings. That’s doubly complicated because, even assuming that the Wings make room for Kasper on the roster, there’s no room for Watson on the opening-night roster if the Wings are to a) keep three goaltenders or b) keep 8 defensemen with c) Kasper on the roster.
Continue reading The Kasper conundrum
