Red Wings Player Unhappy With Demotion

For the first seven games of the IIHF World Championship, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Erik Gustafsson was among Sweden’s most productive players. He dished out six assists and owned a plus-five rating as the Swedes began the tournament 6-0.

Then he was told to grab some bench.

With the arrival of Washington Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin, Gustafsson was told to surrender his third-pairing slot alongside Red Wings teammate Simon Edvinsson. Gustafsson skated as the seventh defenseman for Sweden’s last three games.

Going for gold.💪🇺🇸

Game Recap👇https://t.co/DncpGkSvxm#MensWorlds #IIHF @usahockey pic.twitter.com/0Ivj2Ymb7Z

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Two of those games were losses, including Saturday’s 6-2 setback to the USA in the semifinals. Gustafsson is making no attempt to hide his dissatisfaction over the hand he’s been dealt.

“It sucks to sit seventh,” Gustafsson told Swedish website Aftonbladet. “I’d rather sit in the stands.”

Red Wings Defenseman Sees Limited Ice Time

In Sweden’s final group stage game, a loss to Canada, Gustafsson played about 10 minutes. He saw no ice time as the Swedes downed Czechia in the quarter-finals. Saturday, he skated 8:14 against the USA and was minus-one.

“It sucks,” Gustafsson continued. “I don’t know if I should say much . . . I’m sitting on the bench and can’t do much.”

Gustafsson was a late addition to Sweden’s roster just prior to the start of the worlds. He was replacing Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres when Dahlin withdrew due to injury.

Edvinsson also saw limited duty in Saturday’s loss. He was on the ice for 10:06 and was minus-one. Detroit forward Lucas Raymond, who’s second on the Swedish team in scoring with 4-6-10 totals, was held off the scoresheet against the USA. Raymond, in fact, didn’t have a single shot on goal. He was minus-one in 18:36 on the ice.

Detroit Cup Winner Helps Danes

Denmark’s Cinderella run at a gold medal came to a crashing halt Saturday via a crushing 7-0 loss to Switzerland in the semifinals. Still, the Danes did beat Canada in the quarter-finals and will play Sweden on Sunday for the bronze medal.

That victory over the Canadians made an entire nation proud and at least one Danish fan quite wealthy.

Time to fight for the MEDALS!💪 #MensWorlds #IIHF

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— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 24, 2025

“I had a friend who sent me a screenshot of him betting money on us winning,” Danish assistant coach Andreas Lilja told Aftonbladet. “So he was happy.”

Lilja, 49, won a Stanley on the Red Wings defense in 2007-08. He played 298 NHL games for Detroit from 2005-10.