With the roster needing to be trimmed down to 23 players by Wednesday afternoon, the Red Wings got a step closer to finalizing their team by placing forward Mattias Ritola on waivers.
If Ritola clears waivers -- teams have until noon on Tuesday to put in a roster claim -- then he will be assigned to Grand Rapids like many other players have recently. If a team does claim him, then he will no longer be a part of the Wings' organization going forward.
For Detroit, the hope is that Ritola will clear waivers and be able to spend more time in Grand Rapids. They're not ready to give up on him as a player, but going through waivers is his only route to Grand Rapids.