Red Wings place Jacob Bernard-Docker on waivers

Bernard-Docker, who has missed the entirety of the new season to this point as he deals with an upper-body injury, was activated from injured reserve. With the Red Wings having seven defensemen on their active roster already, they’ll look to get Bernard-Docker through waivers so that he can ramp up while playing with their AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins.

A first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft at No. 26 overall by the Ottawa Senators, Bernard-Docker held on to essentially a full-time role at the NHL level for the second time in his career last year. In 63 games with the Wings, the 26-year-old notched five points on a goal and four assists while skating to an even plus/minus rating on an average of 14:48 of time on ice per game.

The 2025-26 campaign was Bernard-Docker’s first year with Detroit’s organization, and he spent the entirety of his professional career with Ottawa until midway through the 2024-25 season, when he was acquired by the Buffalo Sabres as part of the deal that saw the Senators and Sabres swap forwards Josh Norris and Dylan Cozens.

Bernard-Docker had 4 points in 15 games in Western New York, and the year prior as a Sen, he had a career-best 14 points in 72 appearances. For the totality of his NHL career, Bernard-Docker has 7 goals, 22 assists and 29 points in 207 games played.

Widely projected as the last-place team in the Atlantic Division, that is exactly where the Red Wings find themselves through the first two-plus weeks of the regular season. Their six points on a record of 2-3-2 gives them the third-worst position in the Eastern Conference standings, better than only the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets.