Red Wings assign Chelios and Rybar to Grand Rapids

With the preseason coming to a close and the regular season looming, a few more roster cuts were made today. Detroit unsurprisingly sends down defensemen Jake Chelios and goaltender Patrik Rybar to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL.

Rybar is expected to split the cage with Harri Sateri this season. The latter is still with the big club (presumably to start the last preseason game) which may indicate Sateri will be the 1A with Rybar as the 1B. Last year Rybar played in the top Czech league posting a .932 save-percentage in 36 games.

Chelios will be headed to the Griffins to serve in a depth role. Signing as a free-agent this past off-season, he comes from the Carolina Hurricanes AHL affiliates, the Charlotte Checkers, where he recorded 14 points in 41 games.

The Red Wings now sit at 38 players (22 forwards, 13 defensemen, 3 goalies) on the roster. They will need to trim that down to 23 players by the start of the season. With the preseason finale tonight, expect all the remaining cuts to come tomorrow.