It's a tired method that the Red Wings employ; where every young player has to fight and earn a spot in the NHL even though they are already probably ready to take the step. The encouraging thing this year is that there should be some spots up for grabs and there likely won't be competition between youth and vets unlike the past. If Pope doesn't earn a spot on the roster, that means he's likely being beat by Frk/Rasmussen/Svechnikov, not Alfie/Legwand/Booth, and that's fantastic news for fans.
I do think we might see an attempt to break in Ras for most of the year and see an effort at the mid way point to clear out some players like Nyquist/Glendening in order to force spots for the rest of the young guys, including Pope, ready to step up. Maybe we see a hockey trade using some of the NHL ready guys to bring back similar aged defensive help and also clear out the glut of forwards we have currently stuck in purgatory.
There are a lot of ways that Kenny can play this offseason and upcoming season, but I can't see a way that Pope would ever sign with Detroit if he didn't get a strong indication that he was going to get a legitimate opportunity at the NHL level in the near future. He could've picked his destination this FA period, and he doesn't seem to have any ties to the area; he could've gone to his hometown of Edmonton, who could use some scoring wingers, if he wanted to, but he chose to sign in Detroit. That to me says they have something in mind for him very soon.