The Detroit Red Wings placed forward Fabian Brunnstrom on waivers Sunday, TSN’s Bob MacKenzie reported. Any NHL team can now claim Brunnstrom — if he clears, he’s likely headed to Grand Rapids for a spell. No corresponding roster move was announced.
Brunnstrom came to camp on a tryout basis but earned a contract with a solid preseason. He saw action in just one of the Red Wings’ first eight games, though — the 7-1 shellacking at Washington — and recorded a minus-one rating with no shots.
One option to fill Brunnstrom’s roster spot is to bring defenseman Brendan Smith back up to finish serving a five-game suspension — Smith started the year on the roster and knocked three games off the penalty.
Detroit could also bring up another forward — Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist and Chris Conner being the leading potential options there, though Grand Rapids is already shorthanded at forward.
