The early magic that came with Jonatan Berggren when he first arrived to play for the Detroit Red Wings vanished long ago. Now, it would appear that he may also be doing a disappearing act.
On Monday, the Red Wings placed the fourth-year right-winger on waivers. If he clears waivers at noon ET on Tuesday, Berggren will likely be assigned to the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins.
Berggren (DET) on waivers
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 15, 2025
In 13 games this season, Berggren has tallied just two goals. He is a minus-3. Berggren hasn’t scored since October 25. Clearly out of favor, he’s been a healthy scratch for nine of Detroit’s past 10 games.
It’s a far cry from last season, when Berggren scored 12 goals and collected 24 points in 75 games. And it’s a long way from his rookie campaign of 2022-23, when Berggren delivered 15 goals in 67 games.
It’s also worth noting that in 169 NHL games, the Swedish winger is a combined minus-31.
Red Wings Need More Complete Game From Berggren
Unable to produce consistently enough to fill a top-six forward role, the Red Wings needed Berggren to do more for them than contribute offensively. Too often, his defensive game and his work along the boards are found to be lacking.
“Some of it’s understanding how I need to play without the puck, how I need to play for 17, 14, 12 minutes a night so that I have an impact on the game, not just offensively,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said of players like Berggren. “They have to accept that.”
Some team will give him a try despite the recent struggles pic.twitter.com/vJpyg5GtJ9
— Benchrates (@benchrates) December 15, 2025
Berggren was the 33rd player chosen in the 2018 NHL entry draft, the last in which Ken Holland was GM of the Red Wings. Should the Red Wings end up losing Berggren on waivers, it will leave no players from that draft year remaining in the Detroit organization.
His departure would also leave only two players on the Red Wings roster that the Holland regime was bringing into the team – captain Dylan Larkin and center Michael Rasmussen.