On the Wings

The Griffins clear day roster was released yesterday - the AHL requires that all teams submit a list of 22 players at the deadline (March 1). These are the only players eligible to play in the remaining games of the season and in the playoffs. Players may be added only in case of injury. The only exception is that college and junior players may be added when their respective seasons end.

I was surprised to find upon reading the list that Valtteri Filppula was on it and Josh Langfeld was not. Surely the Griffins aren’t expecting Detroit to send the promising young Filppula down anytime soon. I mean, he’s playing on the top line right now - filling in for Henrik Zetterberg. He’s clearly made an impression on both Babcock and the Wings Organization, so I don’t see them being too eager to demote him. We should have enough roster space to keep him once the team gets healthy - as long as Tomas Kopecky doesn’t return this season, which, Ansar Khan points out, seems unlikely:

Doctors told him he could be ready to play by April. The team will decide in the next few weeks whether it’s worth the risk of having him play this season. It doesn’t sound like he will play. (via Mlive)

So why bother putting Fil on the Clear Day Roster? According to Joe Conklin of the Grand Rapids Press:

The Wings expect a long playoff run, but they want to keep their options open if there’s an early exit. Filppula isn’t subject to waivers, and he’d come back to Grand Rapids the same way Brett Lebda did last year. It also appears Langfeld is with the Wings for the long run.

I suppose that makes sense, especially considering the fact that Langfeld is considered a veteran (played more than 260 games as of the beginning of the season) by the AHL and would put Grand Rapids over the limit of 5 veterans per team. They’re not necessarily expecting to get Filppula back, but he’s on there just in case.