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Detroit Red Wings Forced to Make Emergency Roster Moves After Multiple Injuries

Originally posted on House of Hockey | By Tom Banks | Last updated Mar 21, 2025 1:08 PM ET

The Red Wings are pushing for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and after several injuries to the roster, they've recalled two forwards from the Grand Rapids Griffins.

After falling off in recent weeks, the Detroit Red Wings now sit four points back of the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, although optimism remains about their push for a Stanley Cup Playoffs berth that would break an eight-year drought.

However, to go along with their struggles, they are now dealing with several major injury issues, and ahead of their latest must-win clash on Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights, they've made two intriguing roster moves.

As announced on social media, the team have recalled forward Austin Watson and defenseman Brogan Rafferty in an emergency capacity, with both Elmer Soderblom and Erik Gustafsson missing practice on Thursday.

In 56 games at the AHL level this season, Watson has a solid 16 goals and 37 points, showing why he's got 517 games of NHL experience under his belt, while Rafferty has 6 goals and 19 points in 50 games on the blue line, bringing much more than solid offense to the table.

While Watson has the support of the Red Wings fans, some on social media are confused about the Rafferty call, but all in the fanbase are hoping that both Gustafsson and Soderblom don't miss any action in this post-season chase.

Simply put, if the Red Wings want to get back into Stanley Cup Playoffs contention, they need to desperately start stringing wins together, but if they're relying on emergency recalls from the AHL, that doesn't bode well for their chances as they look to finally turn things around under the leadership of GM Steve Yzerman.

This article first appeared on House of Hockey and was syndicated with permission.

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