Red Wings assign veteran forward to AHL

The Detroit Red Wings announced Friday morning that they assigned forward Zach Aston-Reese to their American Hockey League affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins. Aston-Reese was recalled earlier in the week along with two others to help the Red Wings deal with a multitude of injuries to members of their forward group.

The 29-year-old did see action during his recall as he dressed for Detroit’s 6-3 loss on Monday night at the hands of the Dallas Stars. Aston-Reese played just 6:21 in that game on 11 shifts and was held scoreless while dishing out two hits.

The Staten Island, New York native has been one of the most polarizing forwards in recent memory as his defensive analytics and impacts are among the best in the NHL, while his offensive abilities are very limited. Aston-Reese has never topped 17 points in an NHL season, and his 10 goals last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs were a career-high. This year with the Griffins in the AHL, Aston-Reese has dressed in 20 games, registering four goals and three assists.

For the second consecutive year, Aston-Reese was a fall signing as he inked his one-year, two-way deal with Detroit back on October 8th. Aston-Reese is currently making $775K in the NHL while being paid $300K during his time in the AHL.

Despite being sent down, Aston-Reese will likely remain one of the Red Wings best options should they need to make a recall later in the season.