Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Red Wings are down to 48 players on their roster as they enter the last week of exhibition season.

Monday saw forward Adam Marsh assigned to his junior team, Val d’Or, and forward Colin Campbell released from a professional tryout, though Campbell will join the Grand Rapids Griffins for their camp.

The roster has to be at 23 players from the start of the regular season through the trade deadline. Players on injured reserve (such as Johan Franzen) do not count against the roster.

The Wings take a 3-0-1 record into the last four exhibition games. They are at the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday, then play the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday in Hamilton, Ont., and host the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

This stands to be a telling week on many fronts. Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall are supposed to see if they far enough along in their respective recoveries from knee problems to join practice come Tuesday. Newcomers Frans Nielsen and Thomas Vanek, along with Tomas Tatar, are expected back mid-week after a few days off following the World Cup of Hockey. That trio likely will play Saturday.

Anthony Mantha has looked good in the two exhibition appearances he has made, producing a goal in each game. Jeff Blashill has said he wants Mantha to get into five games, so that means he’ll play in a back-to-back situation this week. Mantha can be sent down without waivers, so the bigger statement he makes that he belongs in the top nine, the better. Andreas Athanasiou likewise is waiver exempt, but he stood out last season for being able to create chances within a limited role, and he's got a set of legs that can outpace most opponents.

On defense, Xavier Ouellet would seem to have locked up a spot given his past appearances with the Wings, but fellow defense prospects Ryan Sproul and Nick Jensen are both waiver-eligible, too.

The Wings have 28 forwards on the roster, 15 of which are NHL regulars. However, that includes Tomas Jurco, who is injured, and Zetterberg. There’s also Teemu Pulkkinen, who is expected to play this week for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery in the off-season.

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

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