Red Wings Waive Jonatan Berggren as Roster Pressure Mounts
So here’s what’s unfolding in Detroit right now, and it’s a move that quietly says a lot about where the Red Wings are heading. On Monday afternoon, the team placed forward Jonatan Berggren on waivers, a decision that immediately caught attention given his draft pedigree and unfinished NHL story. Berggren, a former second-round pick taken 33rd overall back in 2018, is now facing a defining moment in his career.
At 25 years old, Berggren has yet to fully carve out a permanent role at the NHL level. Over parts of four seasons with Detroit, he’s appeared in 169 games, mostly in depth or bottom-six roles. During that stretch, 31 goals and 33 assists have been recorded, which adds up to 64 points. Those numbers aren’t insignificant, but they also haven’t been enough to lock him into a consistent everyday spot in the lineup.
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Last season was probably his most stable run in the league. Berggren suited up for 75 games and posted 12 goals and 12 assists, often playing limited minutes but showing flashes of skill and creativity. This year, though, things haven’t clicked the same way. With modest ice time once again, he’s managed just six points in 15 games, and scoring chances have been harder to come by.
The timing of this waiver move isn’t accidental. It comes shortly after Detroit called up John Leonard from the AHL, and Leonard’s performance has been impossible to ignore. Playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins, he’s been on a tear, helping lead the team to a remarkable 22-1-0-1 record. With 19 goals and 10 assists in just 20 games, Leonard has been finding the net almost every night, and that momentum has clearly earned him a shot at the NHL level. He’s expected to step into a larger role immediately, potentially filling spots that were previously occupied by Berggren.
Berggren is currently on a one-year “prove-it” deal worth about $1.8 million for the 2025–26 season. The goal was simple: establish himself as a full-time NHL player. With that mission still incomplete, he now enters the 24-hour waiver window, where another team could claim him outright. Given his age, skill set, and near first-round status, interest wouldn’t be surprising. Teams dealing with injuries or looking for low-risk upside, like Vancouver, could see him as a worthwhile gamble.
If no claim comes in, Berggren could be sent back to Grand Rapids or retained as organizational depth. But if another team takes a chance, it might be exactly the fresh start he needs to finally turn potential into permanence at the NHL level.
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