Craig Custance of The Athletic takes a look at Detroit's roster for next season.

He discusses a log jam of forwards, the goaltenders and the defense...

Vying for spots: Dennis Cholowski, Joe Hicketts, Libor Sulak

Unrestricted free agents: None

Notes: There’s no way to sugarcoat it. This isn’t a good defense. Up front, you can see the progress of the rebuild. There is high-end, young talent, ready to contribute. The D is just hanging on and the real help probably isn’t arriving for another year, at the earliest, unless a trade speeds the process.

Right now, as constructed, the Red Wings have three third pairs. If the losses pile up, that’s going to be the culprit. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; one more down year is probably in the best long-term interests of the franchise, and the defense is going to look significantly different when the Red Wings emerge from the rebuild. Only Danny DeKeyser is signed beyond next season among those projected in the top six.

In the short term, the Red Wings have to find time for Filip Hronek, who had a breakout season in the AHL and has earned the opportunity to develop in the NHL. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to have him sitting in the press box for games. It was just development camp, so you don’t want to overreact, but Cholowski looked good there.

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