Chiasson Cut, Finnie Sent to WHL as Red Wings Trim Roster to 55

The Red Wings might have needed all hands on deck to ice enough players in their dense preseason schedule, but now that the schedule is down to the final three games, Detroit made a couple cuts.

Wednesday afternoon, the Red Wings released Alex Chiasson from his professional tryout and sent prospect Emmitt Finnie back to the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. The moves cut the roster down to 55 players who will participate in the final three games of the preseason, starting with Thursday’s home game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Chiasson entered camp after spending last season recovering from hip surgery, returning to the same Red Wings team that he last played for in the 2022-23 season. In that cameo, he was a particularly effective net-front player on the power play, scoring six goals and nine points in 20 games.

[Read More on Chiasson’s Journey: Chiasson: “I Remember My Last Game Here. I Wasn’t Sure if That Was Going to Be My Last One”]

“Things have gone really well,” Chiasson said of his recovery Friday. “But being back here and getting the opportunity to play tonight—I remember my last game here. I wasn’t sure if that was going to be my last one.”

Chiasson signed the sixth professional tryout of his career to attend Red Wings training camp, but this one didn’t end in a contract.

Finnie, a seventh round pick in the 2023 draft, earned an entry level contract in the spring after a breakout season in Kamloops. A speedy, hard-working forward, Finnie tallied 59 points in 62 games for the Blazers before playing in three AHL games with the Grand Rapids Griffins to end the year.

Because Finnie isn’t 20, he has to return to major junior by rule unless he makes an NHL roster. It was abundantly clear that wouldn’t be the case, so he heads back to junior looking to build on his late bloom.