Red Wings News: Niklas Kronwall Sustains Shoulder Damage

Update (7:43 PM): I should note that I was, of course, wrong on the Hay PTO, which was completely unrelated to Kronwall's injury. Bad guess on my part. - Matt

Update (3:08 PM): Good news: Ryan Doherty reports that the results of a CT scan of Kronwall’s shoulder were negative, which means there is no tear. Bruce MacLeod calls it a sprained shoulder.

Nik himself told Doherty he’ll be out a week, though Ansar Khan puts it at 10 days.  Apparently because the injury is not as serious as it seemed at first, the team has decided not to call up anyone from Grand Rapids.

Also, according to Doherty, Brett Lebda (wrist) will return to the lineup Friday after sitting out last night’s game. - Matt

Update (10:16 AM): The AHL transaction wire indicates that the Griffins have signed defenseman Darrell Hay to a professional tryout, which should mean news of the call-up of either Kyle Quincey or Jonathan Ericsson is coming soon. - Matt

Update (10:00 AM): George Malik clarifies the injury, calling it a “sternoclavicular cartilage” issue. It’s Kronwall’s sternum, not strictly his shoulder, that was hurt on the play. - Matt

Update (9:58 AM): Thanks to Megan for posting the following comment on the possible call-ups below:

"

Of the two that could be called up, Ericsson would be the better choice. He’s the second best defenseman on the team, posting a +4 rating and 19 points (via griffinshockey.com). Quincey has struggled more than usual this year. He is -3 with 9 points. From games that I’ve been to, you can see that he is not playing at the level he played at last season. He tends to lose the puck and this often leads to scoring chances for the opposing team.

"

- Matt

 The Wings came back from a 2-1 deficit to beat the Phoenix Coyotes 3-2 in regulation last night, but they lost a key piece of their blueline in the process. 

At 10:50 in the third period, Niklas Kronwall went shoulder-first into the boards, following a hit by Craig Weller, and left the ice in pain.

Early reports are indicating that it is a clavicle injury—a shoulder injury, essentially.  Piet Van Zant explained to Helene St. James more specifically that the injury is "to the joint that connects the sternum to the clavicle."

Kronwall will be out at least a week.

It's already assumed that there is a tear in the cartilage, but he'll be undergoing an MRI to determine the extent of the damage, as  noted by The Hockeytown Blog.  We should hear more definitive news today.

Ansar Khan reports that the Wings will call on either Jonathan Ericsson or Kyle Quincey while Kronwall is recovering.  They could see the ice as soon as Friday due to Brett Lebda's sore wrist.  

Babcock sees this as an opportunity to gauge the depth of the defense, as he told Bruce MacLeod, "We've got some kids in the minors...that I wanted to look at anyways.  We'll find out what kind of depth we have."