Yesterday, the Detroit Red Wings assigned right wing forward Mitch Callahan back to the Grand Rapids Griffins. It was a move that was a long time coming considering the amount of games he has played in and the time on ice that he was given.

Surprisingly, Callahan doesn’t have the worst shot differential numbers in his time with the team but he isn’t going to get the ice time to explore that anymore than he has thus far.

Callahan in his time with the Griffins is actually a solid enough player. He puts up points and does all of the little things well. It remains to be seen if he can do that at the next level as he hasn’t been given much of a chance. It wouldn’t surprise me if he ends up has a bottom six grinder on this team with a bit of scoring touch.

The Wings are in the beginning of a rebuild whether they want to admit it or not. Identifying players that they want to keep around is going to be the first step. A player like Callahan is easily replaceable but his worth needs to be evaluated. He is going to be stuck in a no man’s land as of this off-season.

Where does he go?

He won’t make or break the team but at this point in his career it feels like he should’ve been utilized more than he has. It’s a problem you’ll see with plenty of the players in Grand Rapids. Hopefully a philosophy change is coming or “seasoned” players are going to just move on and play elsewhere.