Of all the moves the Detroit Red Wings could’ve made to create a place in the lineup for winger James van Riemsdyk, sending John Leonard back to the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins was the easiest one.

That doesn’t mean it was the best one.

Still, that’s the choice the club made on Tuesday, shipping Leonard back down to the Griffins – even though he’s done everything asked of him and looked effective in all seven games he played for the club.

Leonard accounted for 2-2-4 totals over that span, giving a team lacking in consistent depth scoring another threat. Even the guy he was called up to fill in for, Patrick Kane, was impressed.

“He played well,” Kane said. “I think you see his anticipation for the play, his ability to get to the net. He’s got a great shot. He’s proved that in the minors as well, scoring a lot of goals.

“But yeah, he did a great job. And, you know, that line was still, you know, finding ways to be effective.”

Against Toronto on Sunday, in what would be his last game with the Red Wings, Leonard dropped down to play alongside Marco Kasper and Nate Danielson as Kane returned to the lineup. He was alternating on that line with van Riemsdyk during practice on Tuesday, so perhaps the handwriting was already on the wall.

Red Wings Lacking Depth Scoring

While it’s absolutely true that the game is about more than just scoring goals, Leonard was displaying an all-around game during his time in Detroit. His defensive play was far from substandard.

His awareness without the puck was very responsible. Unlike a lot of guys who fill the net with pucks in the AHL, Leonard played the game just as solidly when his team didn’t have the puck.

“I liked his game,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “You could see his speed, creativity.”

Evidently, they didn’t like his game enough to keep him.

What’s even more perplexing about this move is that the Red Wings didn’t need to ship a player out to make room for van Riemsdyk. They are now going with 22 players, one under the NHL roster limit. But since Leonard is on a one-way contract, they aren’t saving any money by sending him down, other than the NHL per diem he’d receive when the team is on the road.

Perhaps it’s merely a numbers game. Maybe the Wings want Leonard playing every night in GR rather than being in and out of the lineup in Detroit. It could be that he’ll be back before long.

Let’s hope so.

Someone needed to give way to get van Riemsdyk and his nine goals back into the lineup.

That someone shouldn’t have been Leonard.