Red Wings waive Renouf and Witkowski, release Brubacher, assign Pearson to AHL

The Detroit Red Wings have placed defensemen Dan Renouf and Luke Witkowski on waivers, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Friday.

Also according to Friedman, Red Wings defensemen Brian Lashoff and Ryan Murphy went unclaimed after being waived on Thursday.

After Friedman’s announcement, the Red Wings announced they had assigned Murphy and Lashoff — as well as forward Chase Pearson — to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League. The Red Wings also released defenseman Adam Brubacher from his professional tryout.

Renouf, 27, split the 2020–21 season between the Colorado Avalanche (18 GP) and the AHL’s Colorado Eagles (5 GP). He signed a one-year deal with Detroit on July 29, returning to the organization in which he played from 2015–16 to 2017–18.

Witkowski, 31, is a natural right-handed defenseman who has also spent time playing wing in the NHL. Like Renouf, Witkowski returned to Detroit as a free agent in July. He spent the 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons with the Red Wings but played the following two seasons in the Tampa Bay Lightning organzation.

Pearson, 24, had a breakout year with the Griffins in 2020–21 but is still firmly on the NHL bubble. He scored eight goals and 22 points in 28 AHL games last season.

Brubacher, 25, does not have a contract for 2021–22. He joined the AHL’s Manitoba Moose at the end of last season after a four-year career at the Rochester Institute of Technology, scoring two goals in his first seven professional games.

Without Renouf, Witkowski, Lashoff, Pearson, Brubacher, or Murphy, the Red Wings currently have the following 33 players in training camp: