Red Wings Claim Defenseman Englund

The Detroit Red Wings claimed defenseman Andreas Englund from the Calgary Flames via waivers on Saturday.

UPDATE: The #RedWings today claimed defenseman Andreas Englund off waivers from the Calgary Flames. pic.twitter.com/W6nlSt8hPc

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) September 26, 2026

I don’t really get this move.

It’s obviously a depth pickup. Englund was headed to the Calgary Wranglers, he didn’t even make the Flames’ lineup. It’s not like the Red Wings are getting a top defenseman. Waivers doesn’t work that way.

So where does he slot in with Detroit?

That’s a lot easier to look at if Simon Edvinsson remains unsigned and Jacob Bernard-Docker remains injured. Englund slots in on the third pair or as the seventh defenseman, depending on what the team does with Axel Sandin-Pellikka.

And there will always be injuries. But there won’t always be injuries all the time. So what if Edvinsson is signed, JBD is healthy, and ASP is in Grand Rapids getting prime power play minutes?

Then you’re looking at something like Moritz Seider and Edvinsson on the top pair, Justin Faulk and Albert Johansson on the second pair, and Ben Chiarot with JBD on the third pair, leaving William Wallinder – out of waiver options – as the seventh defenseman. Does Englund push JBD out or Wallinder to Grand Rapids? Those are going to be interesting questions to see answered.

A lot of the initial talk is about him making Detroit harder to play against. I’m not sure I buy that. I’m on the record as saying that there’s more to being hard to play against than hitting and fighting. But it’s a nearly zero-risk move so I’m curious to see it play out.

I would be intensely frustrated if I were Jacob Bryson though, because this sure seems like Shawn Horcoff is saying Bryson isn’t a suitable fill-in.