What to Watch for the Rest of the Way

Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, and with Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman standing pat outside of sending forward Klim Kostin to the San Jose Sharks, there are plenty of different things to keep an eye on the rest of the season for Red Wing fans.

Does the Playoff Drought End?

The Red Wings have not made the playoffs since the 2016-17 season, but as of March 9, they are in a wild-card spot. The team is on a five-game losing streak and has not looked particularly good. They are missing captain Dylan Larkin due to an injury that has greatly impacted the lineup. They must return to how they played during their six-game win streak before the current losing streak.

Related: How Can the Red Wings Overcome Dylan Larkin’s Injury?

There will need to be several players that step up until Larkin returns to the lineup, and the team’s defense needs to step up and be better as a whole. There are currently a few teams that are closing in on the Red Wings in the standings, and if the team wants to end their drought, they will need to play better than they have as of late.

Is Berggren Here to Stay?

Yzerman’s biggest move at the trade deadline this season was calling up Jonatan Berggren from the Grand Rapids Griffins. Berggren has spent most of the season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Griffins after a solid rookie season last year with the Red Wings. Recently, rumors circulated that Yzerman could look to trade Berggren due to him turning down a contract extension, but that did not happen.

The catch with calling Berggren up is that if he plays in four games with the Red Wings, he will have to be sent through waivers and would likely be claimed by another organization. So, the likely situation is that he will stick with the team for the remainder of the season to showcase himself to hopefully earn a full-time shot next season and a contract extension as he is a pending restricted free agent (RFA) at the end of the season.

Does Anyone Else Get a Call-Up?

There could be a slight chance that Berggren is not the only Griffins player to get a call-up the rest of the way, with defenseman Simon Edvinsson being the most likely option to be called up at some point in the last 19 games of the season. Yzerman seems quite happy with how the 2021 first-round pick has played this season in the AHL. The only issue is that the Red Wings already have seven defensemen on the roster…