Future Red Wing or not, Jonatan Berggren is ready for the NHL

An update on the Red Wings/Griffins forward after a trip to Grand Raids this week.

Jonatan Berggren is currently one of the most polarizing players within the Detroit Red Wings organization.

The 23-year-old forward was an everyday NHLer during the 2022-23 season, playing 67 NHL games, before being downgraded and demoted to an quad-A player for the 2023-24 season.

Berggren spent the majority of the season in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins, appearing in 53 regular season games and scoring at above a point-per-game pace. He also played 12 games for the Red Wings, but effectively had his NHL season deemed over when was nearing the threshold to require waivers.

Berggren was too good for Detroit to risk on waivers, but not good enough to actually stay in the NHL.

Because of Detroit’s handling of Berggren, his name started to surface in trade rumors. It’s still a popular narrative, and possibly true, that he’s already played his last game as a Red Wing.