'Tough roster decisions' ahead for the Detroit Red Wings.

The Detroit Red Wings are, fortunately, getting healthier by the day and while that is welcomed news for the team it also means that Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde is going to have some difficult decisions to make over the coming days and weeks.

The Red Wings have seen their forward depth tested as of late with forwards Jakub Vrana, Robby Fabbri and Filip Zadina all out of the lineup for a variety of reasons but some of their young guns have done an admirable job of answering the call. Players like Elmer Soderblom, who has 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points in 18 games this season, and Jonathan Berggren, who has 5 goals and 7 assists for 12 points in 21 games this season, have stepped up for the Red Wings but are also likely candidates to get replaced due to the fact that neither player would have to pass through waivers to be sent down to the American Hockey League.

Lalonde acknowledged this week that there would be no easy decisions on that front, but welcomed the tough choices because it also means that his roster is finally getting healthy.

“Probably get through the weekend and have some of those tough roster decisions, but knock on wood, let’s get there,” said Lalonde as per Mlive.com. “We’ve been here a few times this year where we thought we were getting the wagon back and someone else went down. Those (young) guys, we want them to make it tough on us.”

The Red Wings play the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and it could very well be that Lalonde and his staff haven't yet made up their minds about who will be going down to the AHL to make room for the aforementioned returning players. Today's game could help sway the Red Wings' bench boss one way or another, but he will have plenty of time to make any decisions following the game given that the Red Wings won't play again until Wednesday when they take on the New Jersey Devils.