The Red Wings called up forward Jonatan Berggren from Grand Rapids on Saturday ahead of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Red Wings called up forward Jonatan Berggren from Grand Rapids on Saturday ahead of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Jonny Burgers is back.
After spending the majority of his season in Grand Rapids, Red Wings prospect Jonatan Berggren received a call up to Detroit's NHl roster on Saturday. The move comes after an injury to Dylan Larkin and a trade of Klim Kostin opened up a forward spot in the lineup.
Berggren is no stranger to the NHL, having played 67 games last season. He scored 28 points as a rookie, earning the affectionate nickname Jonny Burgers (pronounced YAH-ni) from Larkin. Berggren also scored two goals and three assists in nine games during brief call-ups this season, while leading the Griffins this season with 46 points in 43 games. His style of offense features a fair bit of deception, sneaking around defenders into quiet ice where he can score.
Compared to other call-up options from Grand Rapids, Berggren is the most potent offensive threat out of the bunch, which is important to help defer some of the lost scoring from Larkin.
This current call-up looks to be brief, though, at least in the number of games played. Berggren has four games left until he reaches 80 in his career, meaning he would have to be sent down on waivers for a return to Grand Rapids. Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman addressed the situation when asked about it in a post-trade deadline press conference.
"If he is called up, he would need waivers to be sent down after four more games," Yzerman said. "So theoretically, if he plays in that fourth game ... I don't think he'd clear waivers, so we wouldn't take that chance."
As far as the Red Wings hope, they won't need Berggren so long, either. Bergrren's fourth game would be at home against Buffalo on Mar. 16, right around the time Larkin's two-week injury estimation would be running out. However, Detroit does have an open roster spot out of their 23 available, so Berggren might also stay around long-term. Yzerman said he didn't want to put Berggren on waivers, but he didn't say he won't keep him on the main roster.
Regardless of the time span, Berggren brings more firepower to the lineup while Larkin heals up. And for a Red Wings team that's scored just two goals since Larkin went down, that's no nothing burger.
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