Red Wings Getting Healthy Means Benching Someone Who Doesn't Deserve It

So, after half a season of bad breaks and hard luck streaks, the Detroit Red Wings can finally look forward to a steady stream of good news.

The injured reserve list in Detroit, which at one point swelled to nine regular roster players, is getting thinner by the day.

Tuesday night, Niklas Kronwall will return from a knee injury that has had him sidelined since Nov. 22. 

By the end of this week, Jason Williams and Tomas Holmstrom could return from their injuries sustained in early November and early January, respectively.

Already present at practice for the past couple of months, defenseman Andreas Lilja may soon return from a concussion he sustained last February in a fight with Nashville defenseman Shea Weber.

Lilja had been suffering from headaches since the incident right up until a couple of weeks ago.

Lilja has been headache-free for nearly two weeks and, should he receive a doctor's clearance, could be available by February.

Last, but quite certainly not least, Johan Franzen is well on his way to returning before the Feb. 15 Olympic break.

Should everything go as planned (which, at least this season, is something none of us should count on), Detroit could be completely healthy by mid-February.

These five players returning is certainly welcome news for the Red Wings, however, it also means that at least one player who deserves to stay in the lineup, will be benched.

To illustrate how this will happen, let's first take a look at the defense.

With Kronwall coming back tomorrow, it means that either Brett Lebda or Derek Meech will be scratched.

Odds are that Meech, the less experienced of the two, will be the odd man out, but, if recent play is a factor, Lebda may be the one riding the stationary bike during Tuesday's game.

Meech chipped in two assists in the Wings' win over Minnesota last Thursday, while Lebda's last point was an assist on Dec. 11 against Anaheim.

While Kronwall is an enormous upgrade over either of the two, head coach Mike Babcock will need to chose between keeping a player with more experience or one who may be heating up offensively.

Regardless, this may eventually be a moot point as Lilja returning may mean both Lebda and Meech will be locker room lounge buddies.

Lilja was on his way towards a career year last season prior to his injury and had emerged as the team's best shot blocker.

If he is able to even partially recover his game, his big body and physical play could be a serious improvement over either of Lebda or Meech's inability to physically dominate opponents.

Ultimately, I don't think any Red Wings fan will be crying in their beer if Meech and Lebda get bounced from the lineup, however, the situation gets a bit more complex when considering the forwards.

There are currently five forwards who are likely candidates for being scratched once Holmstrom, Williams, and Franzen return: Kirk Maltby, Ville Leino, Justin Abdelkader, Drew Miller, and Brad May.

Of these five, Brad May and Ville Leino are both taking turns in the press box on a regular basis.

If we can assume Mike Babcock sees the returns of his regular roster players reason to bench both at the same time, that still leaves one player of the remaining three on the outside looking in.

Maltby has himself been scratched a handful of times this season and, though his play has actually improved slightly over the past couple of seasons, is not at all the player he was in the past.

Still, given that the Wings are nowhere near where they'd like to be in terms of points and playoff position, Maltby's experience may prove too valuable to part with down the stretch.

Justin Abdelkader wasn't even supposed to be in the NHL this year.

Despite his surprising play in the playoffs last season, the plan was always to have the 22-year-old spark-plug spend one more year in the AHL.

Instead, he's played 48 games with the big club this year and has fit in well as a fourth-line energy player.

His numbers aren't very good (3G, 3A, minus-10) but, for players like Abdelkader, numbers really don't tell the whole story.  He is leading the team in hits and has, at times, provided some momentum-changing energy with his competition level and physical play. 

Given his performance thus far, sending the kid down to the minors is easier said than done.

That leaves Drew Miller.

The waiver-wire pickup has been one of the few pleasant surprises this year in Detroit. 

Reminding some of the aforementioned Kirk Maltby (though, Maltby as he was a decade ago), Miller has turned out to be a ferocious fore-checker, a solid defensive player (he's a plus-4) and even has a bit of an offensive upside (6G, 6A in 49 games).

Like Abdelkader, Miller is on a two-way contract, so, the option is certainly there to send him to Grand Rapids should the need arise.

But, looking at these three players, Mike Babcock's decision may come down to youth or experience.

Miller and Abdelkader could provide the kind of enthusiasm and energy teams need to get through the final two months of the season and (hopefully) into the playoffs.

Then again, benching a four-time Stanley Cup champion during a critical time in your team's season isn't exactly a move most coaches would make.

Each of them deserves to be on the roster as the team tries to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time in 18 years, but one of them, clearly will not be.

Nevertheless, in light of all of Detroit's problems this year, having too many worthy players and not enough roster spots is one they won't mind dealing with.