DETROIT - Limited salary cap space might force the Detroit Red Wings to trim a player a couple of days before the start of the season. Or maybe not.

It depends on a few factors, including how much Andreas Athanasiou's contract will be worth and whether they have anyone on long-term injured reserve to start the season, in addition to Johan Franzen.

General manager Ken Holland said Monday he anticipates being slightly over the $75 million cap if everyone is healthy to start the season. That would force the team to trade or waive a player. But Holland said they will wait to see what unfolds in camp and preseason.

The Red Wings' cap figure stands at about $77.5 million, including $2.56 million of dead space from Stephen Weiss, who was bought out in 2015, and Franzen. They could get as much as $3.95 million in cap relief from Franzen, which would take them down to roughly $73.6 million. That doesn't leave a lot to sign Athanasiou, a restricted free agent, and provide a small cushion to recall a player from the Grand Rapids Griffins as a replacement for someone on short-term IR.

Discussions with Athanasiou's agent are ongoing.

"I made a number of offers; we continue to talk," Holland said. "We've had a number of conversations."

Holland declined to reveal what terms are being discussed. Athanasiou, who turned 23 on Sunday, might receive a two-year bridge deal.

Holland said players who underwent surgery - Jonathan Ericsson (wrist), Tomas Tatar (shoulder) and Luke Glendening (ankle) - are expected to be ready for the season opener Oct. 5. He wasn't as certain about Ryan Sproul (ACL) being able to go at the start.

Niklas Kronwall, who has been plagued by a knee issue he said can't be remedied by surgery, is expected to be ready for the start of training camp on Sept. 15.

"If everybody is healthy when we get to opening day, we'll probably have to make a move," Holland said. "I'm anticipating we'll be over by a little bit."

Holland said they would like to carry 13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders but might be forced to go with a 21-man roster due to the cap.

After Athanasiou is signed, they will have 12 NHL forwards, including Luke Witkowski, who Holland said can move between forward and defense (the others are Henrik Zetterberg, Tatar, Frans Nielsen, Gustav Nyquist, Justin Abdelkader, Darren Helm, Riley Sheahan, Glendening, Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha).

It remains to be seen if they have enough cap space for Tyler Bertuzzi (not included in that earlier cap figure), who gives them flexibility because he is exempt from waivers.

They have eight defensemen (Mike Green, Danny DeKeyser, Kronwall, Ericsson, Trevor Daley, Xavier Ouellet, Nick Jensen and Sproul).

Butcher pursuit: The Red Wings will reach out to defenseman Will Butcher when he becomes an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 15. The 2017 Hobey Baker Award winner, from the University of Denver, a fifth-round pick by Colorado in 2013, opted to explore the market rather than sign with the Avalanche. He's a 5-10, 186-pound offensive defenseman (16 goals, 69 points in 82 games the past two seasons) who shoots left. If he's looking to play in the NHL right away, he probably won't select Detroit.

Russo deal close: The Red Wings are close to signing defenseman Robbie Russo, a restricted free agent projected to start the season in Grand Rapids. He played 19 games for the Red Wings at the end of last season (no points).