Dries Gets the Call as Detroit Scrambles Up Front

The Red Wings sent down Michal Postava and called up Sheldon Dries on Thursday, the most immediate roster consequence of the Dylan Larkin suspension. With Larkin off the roster and John Gibson back in net, Detroit needed a body up front for the Chicago game, and Dries — described as "red hot" at the AHL level — was the answer they reached for.

It is a thin answer, at least on paper. Larkin was the franchise center, the captain before that title was stripped from him ahead of training camp. Andrew Copp and Emmitt Finnie are what the depth chart shows behind him at center, and neither projects as a top-line solution. Dries arriving from the minors does not change that math so much as it fills a slot.

The Larkin situation is still very much unresolved — trade talks are ongoing, per the reporting from Thursday, and interim GM Horcoff was set to address the media. Dries getting the call is the operational footnote to a much larger story. Detroit is managing a crisis one roster move at a time.