Red Wings Recall Austin Czarnik Under Emergency Conditions

The Red Wings have recalled center Austin Czarnik from AHL Grand Rapids, per a team announcement. He’ll join the team before Thursday’s home game against the Coyotes. No corresponding transaction is needed with ample cap space to execute the move, and the Red Wings do not burn one of their three remaining post-deadline standard recalls, either.

Czarnik, 31, has been papered between leagues a remarkable seven times this year since clearing waivers during training camp. However, this is his first summons to the majors since the calendar turned to 2024. He’ll draw into the lineup against Arizona if center Joe Veleno, who left Tuesday’s 7-3 loss to the Sabres after taking a slapshot from Buffalo defenseman Connor Clifton to the side of the head, cannot play.

The Detroit native played 18 games with the Red Wings earlier this season, marking his eighth straight season in the league since making his debut with the Bruins in 2016. An undrafted free-agent pickup by Boston in 2015 after four years with Miami University, Czarnik immediately established himself as a high-end minor-league producer with 61 points in 68 games during his rookie season with AHL Providence. He’s remained a top-six fixture in the AHL ever since, but the 5-foot-9, 170-lb center hasn’t been able to establish himself as a full-time NHLer for more than a season at a time.

Czarnik is in the back half of a two-year, two-way deal signed with Detroit in 2022. The deal carries a cap hit of $762.5K and pays him $775K in the NHL and $450K in the minors this season. He’s now with his fifth NHL organization, spending time with the Flames, Islanders, and Kraken between his stints in Boston and Detroit.

He’s finally beginning to show signs of slowing down in the minors, posting nine goals and 26 points in 39 games with Grand Rapids. That works out to 0.72 points per game, his lowest-ever production rate throughout a full season in the minors. He hasn’t done much better in the NHL, posting a lone assist and a -3 rating through his 18 showings, but he’s also been used quite sparingly, averaging a career-low 8:44 per game. His possession metrics don’t signal he deserves a higher role, either, logging a 40.6 CF% and 42.1 xGF% at even strength.

Czarnik will be a UFA at the end of the season. When the Red Wings are back up to 12 healthy forwards without Czarnik, they must return him to Grand Rapids or add him to the roster from his emergency loan, burning their second of four post-deadline recalls.