The Detroit Red Wings are preparing for a match-up against the Seattle Kraken tonight without Tyler Bertuzzi and Filip Hronek. Things will look a bit different for the Red Wings as they continue to focus on the trade deadline.
But Steve Yzerman is going on his eighth cup of coffee of the day and just somehow getting it done. Between the trade deadline buzz, the Red Wings announced that they would be making a roster move ahead of Thursday’s match-up with Seattle.
The Red Wings recalled Adam Erne from Grand Rapids to rejoin the Red Wings crop of forwards. The other part of this was to keep Jakub Vrana with the NHL club, but he will be out of tonight’s match-up as a healthy scratch.
The hope is that he can iron some things out in his game away from the puck, as coach Derek Lalonde alluded to. It sounded like it was more of a Lalonde-driven move since Vrana was being scratched, and it was not a “paper move” for asset protection. The hope was that Erne could jump into the lineup and provide a fresh set of legs and give some assistance on the penalty kill operations.
Detroit Red Wings recall Adam Erne; scratch Jakub Vrana
In his time since being called up, Vrana got into five games with the Red Wings, scored a goal, and tallied an assist for a pair of points. He may not have tapped into the scoring touch as he had in prior seasons, but there’s hope that he can clean up some aspects of his game and return to the Red Wings lineup and get the offense going after being scratched.
As for Erne, he’s logged 43 games with the Red Wings, with six goals and eight assists for 14 total points. He was sent down and joined the Griffins, where he played nine games before earning his call back to Detroit.
Erne had just five assists with the Griffins in his nine-game stint. He’s likely expected to join the team’s efforts to play better defensively and be a special team jump, as hinted above. Yzerman may have more in store for the Red Wings as the trade deadline continues to creep closer.
With that in mind, Erne would likely return if roster spots open up in potential trades. Nonetheless, Erne will likely suit up and be in the team’s bottom six as they take on the Kraken on home ice.
Do not count out Vrana returning to the lineup, he’s merely sitting out to see if Erne can sure up the team’s defense a bit.