Breaking: Husso Clears Waivers, Watson Re-Called to Detroit
As expected, Ville Husso will be assigned to Grand Rapids, while Austin Watson joins the Red Wings for tonight's game in New York
The Red Wings made official some expected roster moves this afternoon, ahead of tonight's game in New York. Via a team press release this afternoon, Detroit assigned Ville Husso to Grand Rapids and called up Austin Watson for tonight's game in New York.
The slightly complex logistics of the move arose because Jeff Petry and Christian Fischer—whose absences necessitated the call-up first of Justin Holl and now of Watson—were unavailable due to injury, but neither is expected to miss more than a week. Therefore, the Red Wings couldn't move them to injured reserve to find an additional roster spot.
Instead, Husso had to clear waivers and take an assignment to the Griffins (it's not yet clear whether this will be a "paper" transaction or he will actually report to GR) to make room for Watson, who will serve as Detroit's 12th forward tonight.
Again, neither Fischer, nor Petry's absences are expected to exceed the week, so—barring an especially strong impression—Watson is unlikely to spend much time in the NHL at the moment. His calling card is as a fighter, but emergent Rangers tough guy Matt Rempe is not expected to feature in the New York lineup, so Watson will be without a heavyweight opponent.