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02
February
February
Red Wings MASS injury mess almost over (knock on wood)
No comments Posted in: Hockey!Tagged with Red Wings
Lilja, Holmstrom, and Franzen might be back real soon!!
Lilja:
The long wait appears to be nearing an end for Red Wings defenseman Andreas Lilja. After sitting out 11 months because of a concussion, Lilja is expected to take a major step toward his comeback with a conditioning stint at Grand Rapids (AHL).
The Wings are in the process of finalizing the details. The stint would last three games or six days, with an option to be extended for two games. He still would be on long-term injured reserve and would not count against the salary cap or the 23-man NHL roster.
“If everything goes good, I’m hopeful by sometime (this) week he’ll be down there,” Wings general manager Ken Holland said.
Lilja did not accompany the Wings on their four-game road trip, which continues Tuesday in San Jose.
Holland said they’ll try to time Lilja’s conditioning stint to where he can play the most games. The Griffins play five games in nine days starting Friday.
Holmstrom:
Tomas Holmstrom might return Tuesday from a fractured foot sustained on Jan. 5.
Franzen:
Forward Johan Franzen, out since Oct. 8 with a torn left ACL, is scheduled to return to the lineup Feb. 9 in St. Louis. That would give him three games before the Olympic break. General manager Ken Holland said the only question mark is Franzen’s conditioning level.
With all these returning players this could be an interesting time for the Wings. They will be slightly more than $600,000 over the salary cap and one player over the 23-man roster limit when Franzen is activated, forcing them to make a move. It’s hard to say who would go looking at the players near the bottom of the roster there’s Patrick Eaves, Brad May, Drew Miller, Kirk Maltby, Ville Leino…..dang. I don’t want to have to make that choice, all of them have had a solid season so far. If I had to make a move it might have to be Ville Leino. He was a new signer this year so it I almost feel bad saying that based on about half a season but the Wings were expecting something close to a 20 goal season from Leino but with only 4 goals and 7 points in 42 games he is seriously lacking offensively. Babcock has noticed this as well making him a healthy scratch multiple times this season. Sucks to be Leino at this point in the season when so many were excited to have him around in the beginning. I guess we’ll see what happens. Good luck Holland.
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