Injuries could spell a reprieve for Detroit Red Wings swingman Luke Witkowksi.

He cleared waivers Monday but was not assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins. General manager Ken Holland said there are “too many moving parts with all the injuries” the Red Wings have ahead of Thursday's season opener against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Wings were off Monday. They expect to have a better handle Tuesday on who might be available Thursday among injured defensemen Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley. Mike Green already has been ruled out. Forward Evgeny Svechnikov also is dealing with an injury.

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Cuts over the weekend trimmed the roster to 31 players. It has to be reduced to 23 by 5 p.m. Tuesday. Witkowski was waived on Sunday.

On Monday evening, the Wings put Green on injured reserve and placed Svechnikov and defenseman Brian Lashoff on non-roster injured reserve, trimming the roster to 25.

Another factor shaping the Wings’ decision is they want to be as close to the $79.5 million salary cap ceiling as possible with the opening roster, because that maximizes the relief they can achieve via Long-Term Injured Reserve (the contracts for Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen).

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