The Red Wings announced they’ve recalled defenseman Justin Holl and center Sheldon Dries from AHL Grand Rapids. Defenseman Simon Edvinsson was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 21 in the corresponding move. Detroit had an open roster spot entering today, so only one spot needed to be opened.
The veteran Holl had to wait quite some time for his first recall of the season after landing on waivers in October, but it finally came past the halfway point on the calendar. Holl, who turns 34 tomorrow, is in the final season of a three-year, $10.2MM contract that he signed in free agency in 2023 that virtually carried negative value from the start. He served as the Wings’ extra defender for most of the first year of the deal and then cleared waivers to begin 2024-25, although he still remained up on the NHL roster for nearly all of last season.
This year, though, Holl has seen extended time in the AHL, his first minor-league action since the 2017-18 campaign. The 6’4″, 205-lb righty has leveraged his nearly 400 games of NHL experience into being one of the top shutdown defenders in the league, posting 10 points and a +17 rating in 31 games. With his help, Grand Rapids is off to a historic 32-5-3 start through 40 games.
Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports there’s a flu bug going around the room before tonight’s game against the Capitals. The Wings were already carrying an extra defenseman in Erik Gustafsson , and since they’re already down a lefty with Edvinsson out, it would likely be Gustafsson who draws in if a Detroit defender needs to sit. In case it’s two names heading out of the lineup, though, Holl would see his first NHL action in over nine months.
How Holl plays in whatever limited NHL opportunities he gets down the stretch will be crucial in his positioning for a one-way contract in free agency this summer. He once reliably logged over 20 minutes a game for the Maple Leafs with decent under-the-hood numbers before signing in Detroit. His role with a new team next season won’t climb past the No. 6/7 deployment he’s seen while on Detroit’s roster, but a strong showing in a small sample could go a long way toward convincing a team he can still be a reliable extra option.
Detroit didn’t have an extra forward on hand, so Dries will come in if anyone is sick. The 31-year-old Michigan native is also an experienced plug-in option with over 100 games of NHL experience, although he hasn’t made a big-league showing since skating in a career-high 63 games with the Canucks in 2022-23. He’s now in his second season in the Wings organization with Grand Rapids, where he’s posted 14 goals and 28 points in 32 games.
Edvinsson’s IR placement is only a formality. He’s already been ruled out through the Olympic break with his lower-body injury and there’s no certainty he’ll be ready to return once games get going again in late February.