Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press answered a few questions from fans.

One question submitted was If four rookie dmen make the team...

Her response,

I’d be gobsmacked if four rookie defensemen make the Red Wings this fall. Maybe if they take a defenseman with their first pick at the draft later this month in Dallas and that somebody can step in right away. Dennis Cholowski, their first-round pick from 2016, will be starting his pro career, and Filip Hronek had a very good first year of pro hockey with the Griffins. Libor Sulak looked good in a shutdown role at the World Championship. Maybe at most two of those push for an NHL job right away, but it seems unlikely.

Among the veterans, I’d expect the opening night lineup to include Niklas Kronwall, Danny DeKeyser, Trevor Daley and Jonathan Ericsson. Xavier Ouellet doesn’t fit into their plans any longer, so I’d expect him either to be in a package deal, or maybe be exposed on waivers. Nick Jensen is a good third-pairing/reserve guy. Mike Green could be back — it’ll depend on what he’s looking for financially. If he could be had for two years at $4-$4.5 million per, I could see a deal materializing. Without him, there’s very little offense from the back end.

more Q & A, draft related...