Red Wings Place Dominik Shine On Waivers

The Red Wings placed forward Dominik Shine on waivers ahead of tonight’s season finale against the Panthers, PuckPedia reports. Still technically eligible to dress tonight, he’ll be sent to AHL Grand Rapids tomorrow in the likely event he clears to join their playoff run.

Shine has been one of the best stories in hockey this season. This year’s Detroit nominee for the Masterton Trophy, the 32-year-old scored his first NHL goal – three of them, in fact – after several years as a farmhand in Grand Rapids, mostly on minor-league deals.

Saying Shine is a Michigan lifer feels like an understatement. The Pinckney native only left to play four seasons of junior hockey for the USHL’s Lincoln Stars but has since returned to his home state for every season, playing four years at Northern Michigan before joining Grand Rapids in 2017. He spent all of his time there on minor-league deals until finally earning his first NHL contract from the Wings midway through last season amid a career year offensively. He ended up playing in nine games for the Wings down the stretch, notching one assist.

This year, Shine upped things to a new level. Grand Rapids’ captain played a major role in an electric early-season surge, rattling off 21 goals and 37 points in 38 games en route to earning a two-year, two-way extension from the Wings in January. Now signed through 2028, he got another call-up in short order and ended the season with three goals in 18 NHL games for Detroit, remaining up on the roster since the Olympic break.

The 5’11”, 177-lb righty has been a 13th forward at best, averaging just 6:56 of ice time per game, but his dedication to the organization – and to the sport for waiting so long to get a big-league opportunity – has been deservedly lauded in Detroit. His poor possession play and propensity for some untimely penalties – the flip side of playing with the energy he does – will likely prevent him from ever jumping into a regular role, but he’ll now play out the next two years in similar spot duty call-up deployment before likely beginning to contemplate retirement at the end of his current deal.