Red Wings reassign forward prospect to AHL

The Detroit Red Wings have announced that forward Jonatan Berggren has been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. The news comes shortly after the Red Wings reassigned another forward, Zach Aston-Reese, to the AHL.

With J.T. Compher set to return and Dylan Larkin inching closer to a return of his own, the Red Wings seemingly have decided to send down two of the three players who were originally recalled after Compher and Larkin were placed on injured reserve.

The subject of early-season trade rumors, Berggren has been shuffled between Detroit and Grand Rapids a few times already this season. The 33rd overall pick at the 2018 draft had a promising rookie season last year when he scored 15 goals and 28 points and does have one stellar AHL campaign on his resume from 2021-22, when he potted 21 goals and 64 points in 70 games.

Berggren would likely be a top-nine regular on another NHL team, but the Red Wings made aggressive moves in the offseason to bolster their lineup. As a result, Berggren got squeezed out and has played in 16 total AHL games this year compared to just seven in the NHL.

Berggren has remained a top-end AHLer and has 15 points with Grand Rapids this season. With this reassignment, he’ll likely re-join the squad for the foreseeable future, although another recall or even a trade to a different organization cannot be ruled out.