With Johan Franzen set to return to the Red Wings roster on February 5th, and Andreas Lilja sometime in the near future, Detroit will be forced to squeeze themselves underneath the cap ceiling.

Tomas Holmstrom returned Tuesday night and had no problem being inserted into the roster with Justin Abdelkader being sent to Detroit’s AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids. However, with the return of Franzen, Detroit will be roughly $700,000 over the cap and must trim the roster to accommodate the return of “The Mule”. Franzen suffered a torn knee ligament early on in the season and has remained sidelined since.

Following that, should Andreas Lilja’s conditioning stint in the AHL be successful, he too will return to the lineup and bring with him roughly $1.2 million in salary. It was initially thought that Lilja may never again play hockey after sustaining a concussion during a fight with Shea Weber almost one year ago. Lilja, who was a solid stay at home defenseman on the third defensive pairing, was just finding him game and playing the best hockey of his career when he suffered the setback, which prompted almost 11 straight months of post-concussion symptoms, including the inability to be exposed to stress of any kind without inducing migraine headaches. He has recently been symptom free for 14 days and has been cleared to return to conditioning work.

So let’s take a look at who may be moved and who will be remaining in Michigan this season.

Brad May (cap hit: $482,000)
May has fit in well in Detroit as the resident enforcer, though at 38 has seen his best days come and go. It’s been rumored that May would be waived and would ultimately retire instead of playing in the AHL, or would be traded, however I believe another scenario to be true. May will likely be waived and not picked up, and will be sent to Grand Rapids in the AHL until the postseason, where he may be needed depending on the opponent. He provides a valuable physical presence on the 4th line and has never hesitated in defending his teammates. More than that, May is the quintessential locker room good guy, doing various charity work and possessing one of the most team-first attitudes in the game. He is a fine mentor to have lurking behind the scenes in a year where so many young Red Wings are getting their start. Expect May to kick around Detroit until at least the end of the season.

Ville Leino (cap hit: $800,000)
Ville Leino’s career in Detroit thus far has been and going forward will likely be represented by a small few various numbers. 9 and 13-the number of points (nine) that he scored in thirteen games last season when he showed such promise. 7-the number of points he’s scored in 42 games. 10-as in, minus ten, representing his undesirable +/- stat, and the most damning number of all, his salary cap figure of $800,000. Leino has not performed how the Red Wings hoped he would, often not skating hard enough, losing puck battles and overall just not fitting in on the team. Granted any other season they’d likely give him time to develop, which at 26 years old not many teams would, but this season is unlike many others in Wings past and thus they may be forced to part ways. Leino’s cap hit would free up the most cash for the return of Lilja, and despite his performance, in the eyes of some general managers he may still have promise. Look for the Wings to attempt to deal Leino for a late round draft pick, or picks. Should that attempt fail, Leino will likely be waived and won’t return to Detroit.

Jason Williams (cap hit: 1.5 million)
Williams is an unrestricted free agent after this season and the Wings will have to put quite a bit of thought into whether they want to keep him or trade him. He is the most valuable piece of trade bait on this list and with a cap hit of 1.5 million, he would free up almost enough money for Franzen and Lilja’s returns combined. Williams possesses a booming shot from the point and despite playing forward was used on the blueline during powerplays this season. He is also a right handed shooter, which is extremely rare to find in Detroit. He provides extra offense in a season where offense is very much required. However, should Ken Holland and his crew be offered a substantially valuable trade offer, and be satisfied with the offense of Franzen upon return, they may indeed let Williams go and manage for the future. Part of Detroit’s scoring issues have less to do with just plain inability to score and more to do with chemistry, as they haven’t been a full unit since the third game of the season, and their first game back in North America. Williams status will depend on the offers received for him, if any. As of right now it’s likely 60/40, with him staying put/being traded.

Derek Meech (cap hit: $483,000)
Meech has been in and out of the lineup all season, typically replacing an injured Ericsson or an underperforming Lebda. Kyle Quincey was the odd man out in the defensive log jam last season and has shown to be an overall better option than Meech has been, and Wings brass may not want to make the same mistake twice. What is keeping Meech safe in Detroit is the fact he gets paid next to nothing to be a dependable 7th defenseman and isn’t prone to the type of mistakes Lebda often makes, though has less upside, even if by just a small margin. Ken Holland commented that Detroit will not carry 8 defenders on the roster, thus if Lilja returns, either Meech or Lebda will be on the outs. If Lilja cannot return, Meech will remain in Detroit as a 7th defenseman. If not, it’s likely Meech will be waived as he does not have the same level of experience as Brett Lebda. It will also depend on which player with a higher salary goes. The higher the salary in the player departing, such as Williams or Leino, the more likely it is Meech gets shipped out.

Brett Lebda (cap hit: $650,000)
Lebda has not played particularly well this season, often turning over the puck at the most inopportune moments and has not been in good position far too often. Recently however Lebda has picked up his game and has kept it simple, a far cry from earlier in the season when he often tried to do too much on his own, and coughed up too many pucks in his own end. He, like Meech, is likely picking up his play to avoid being traded or waived. It is unlikely Lebda is waived especially with his adequate performances recently, as he has playoff and Stanley Cup final experience, and has spent a fair bit of time in the Wings system. Look for the Wings to either deal him or keep him, as waiving him wouldn’t be worth losing an experienced defenseman. It’s more likely Meech goes if Lilja returns, since if the Wings thought more of Meech, he’d be starting over Lebda.

The following are a short few players rumored or thought to be potentially traded or waived.

Kirk Maltby-He’s not the agitator he once was, however he has shown a tad more swiftness in his game recently. He’s been an important piece to the Detroit puzzle for over a decade and the team will remain loyal to him. He won’t be going anywhere.

Patrick Eaves-Eaves has shown that he is just the type of role-player Detroit needs in the playoffs. He is a relentless hard worker, goes to the corners, goes to the net and does whatever is needed of him. He has provided offense in an otherwise dry period for the Wings. Has a heavy shot and makes up one of the quickest lines in hockey today, with Darren Helm and Kris Draper. Eaves will be staying put.

Drew Miller-Miller’s been possibly the most pleasant surprise outside of Jimmy Howard in Detroit. His penalty killing is top notch, he’s provided offense in the small chances he’s gotten, and has been just the type of gritty energy player many teams thought he was going to be. All it took was a little change of scenery for this young man to find his game. Miller, like Eaves and Maltby, have secured a job in Hockeytown again.