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Carter Mazur’s Shrinking Role Has Detroit Boxed In
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- Carter Mazur’s Shrinking Role Has Detroit Boxed In
The Detroit Red Wings already made one waiver decision this month. Defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker went on the wire Oct. 17 , cleared the next day and was assigned to the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins . Carter Mazur is the forward that same math points to next, and Detroit has no quieter way to do it.
Mazur has played three of Detroit's eight games this season, with no goals, one assist and a minus-2 rating . He has not been in the lineup since Oct. 13 against the New Jersey Devils, sitting out a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 15 and a 4-3 shootout win over the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 17. The Red Wings play at the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 9:40 p.m. ET.
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Carter Mazur Is No Longer Exempt From Waivers
Mazur signed a two-year contract with the Red Wings on July 1 with an average annual value of $875,000 , a deal that carries him through 2027-28. The term is not what complicates a demotion. Mazur, 24, is past his exemption: CapWages lists his waiver status as requiring waivers . Detroit cannot send him to Grand Rapids without putting him on the wire first and giving every other team a look at him.
What the Red Wings Risk on the Wire
Clearing is not a given. Another club can file a claim and keep him, and Detroit would have no way to block it. Bernard-Docker drew no claims. Mazur is a different profile: a third-round pick in 2021, 70th overall, 24 years old, with 12 NHL games on his record at $875,000 against the cap. That is the kind of contract a team short on forward depth can absorb without thinking long about it.
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His case for staying is thin at the moment. He has not scored, he has sat for two straight games, and the Red Wings won both of them.
The decision is not forced yet. Detroit can keep Mazur in the press box as long as it wants, and nothing has to happen before the Kraken game. The moment the Red Wings want the roster spot back, though, the only route to Grand Rapids runs through waivers.
