After tonight's preseason win over Buffalo, the Red Wings assigned four prospects to Grand Rapids -- forwards Justin Abdelkader, Cory Emmerton, Jan Mursak and Mattias Ritola.

Abdelkader, Emmerton and Mursak are starting their first full season as pros. Ritola was a rookie last winter.

That leaves 29 players on the Detroit roster. All teams must have rosters of 23 or fewer active players by 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Still battling for roster spots are forwards Ville Leino, Darren Helm, Darren McCarty and Aaron Downey, defensemen Jonathan Ericsson, Derek Meech and Kyle Quincey.

Also, goalie Jimmy Howard, who was slated to go to Grand Rapids, will remain with the Red Wings until he's ready to return from a broken finger. He will count against the salary cap, but on a pro-rated basis (days with the Red Wings last winter). Howard's cap hit shouldn't be large enough to bump a player to Grand Rapids, but he will count against the 23-man roster limit.