One of the reasons the Red Wings traded Tomas Tatar to Vegas on Monday was to give Rasmussen a better chance of cracking the Detroit roster next season, Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Trading a productive player to open up a roster spot for a 19-year-old kid is a risky move, but Detroit needs to do whatever is necessary to get more youth and skill into their lineup. Seen as a long-term project when the Wings drafted him ninth overall last June, Rasmussen showed far better than expected in training camp and he has had a productive season (49 points in 38 games) for WHL Tri-City despite missing a significant portion of the season with a wrist injury. There's no downside in giving Rasmussen a nine-game trial in Detroit to begin next season, but the worst thing they could do is keep him around if he shows he isn't ready.