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Detroit Red Wings: Trevor Daley out as injuries continue to mount

By Bob Heyrman |
TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 23: Trevor Daley #83 of the Detroit Red Wings skates in his 1000th NHL game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on December 23, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Red Wings 5-4 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 23: Trevor Daley #83 of the Detroit Red Wings skates in his 1000th NHL game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on December 23, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Red Wings 5-4 in overtime. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Just when you think things couldn’t get much worse for the Detroit Red Wings, they lose another defenseman.  Trevor Daley broke his foot prior to the contest on New Year’s Eve.

Trevor Daley took a puck off the skate at some point during practice the moring prior to the Detroit Red Wings blowing a three-goal lead to lose 4-3 to the Florida Panthers on New Year’s Eve.  It is another blow to an already clipped defense core.

The Wings are already trying to tread water without Mike Green and Danny DeKeyser, and they aren’t doing a very good job.  The boat is taking on water, and they need someone from Grand Rapids to come up and provide them with a safety vest for a while.

Daley just played his 1000th game in his hometown of Toronto before the Holiday break, and he is expected to be out somewhere between 3-5 weeks with that broken foot.  Daley plays like a top-4 defender for the Detroit Red Wings.  He’s a good shot blocker and a valuable penalty killer.

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This is unfortunate on a couple of different fronts.  Earlier in the week head coach Jeff Blashill mentioned both DeKeyser and Green are both “weeks” away from returning to the Wings lineup.  Adding Daley to this list adds another minute’s plugger unavailable.

Now the team will rely much too heavily on the likes of Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson, and Nick Jensen.  I have no issue with the team dressing Luke Witkowski, he should be utilized primarily on the PK and log no more than 14 minutes a night.  I like him but he is a fringe NHLer.  I personally think he would be best served as a 4th line grinding winger rather than a 6th defender.

Sometimes Blashill opts to dress 11 forwards and 7 defenders, I have no issue with Witkowski being that 7th defender.  When he is, he merely plays 6-8 minutes, but brings a sense of toughness to the team.  He allows the team to play loose and fearless.  They know if something happens he is sitting there and is able to provide a physical presence whenever it is needed.

Dennis Cholowski and Filip Hronek will both need to log more minutes here on out, likely more than Blashill would like but they are the best option he has.  I do expect Witkowski to be rolling into the lineup a bit more often but I also expect the Wings to call someone up from Grand Rapids until either Green or DeKeyser is ready to return.

I would expect the call to be between Joe Hicketts and Libor Sulak.  In my opinion, the “safe” selection would be Hicketts along with the fact he can kill penalties and had a cup of coffee in the league under Blash’s watch.  I like Sulak but I don’t think he is quite ready for the NHL yet.

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In other news, Darren Helm is expected to return to the lineup tonight.  Anthony Mantha skated with the team yesterday but isn’t quite ready yet.  The fact that he was on the ice with the club gives me the idea that he is indeed close to returning to the lineup.

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