The Red Wings blueline was dealt yet another blow this season after their 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals Thursday night.
Fractured wrist for Jonathan Ericsson , out at least 6 to 8 weeks, per Jeff Blashill.
— Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) February 10, 2017
Jonathan Ericsson to Miss 6-8 Weeks
The injury is believed to have occurred on a boarding penalty by Niklas Backstrom late in the first period. Here is the hit:
This season, Ericsson has suited up in 51 games scoring one goal and totaling nine points. Of the ten defensemen Detroit has dressed this season, only Ericsson, Danny Dekeyser, and Xavier Ouellet have played more than 35 games, speaking to the amount of shuffling that has gone on. Ericsson got off to quite a strong start to the campaign defensively in the first 20 or so games, but quite recently, he’s played to his 46.91% Corsi-for percentage constantly turning the puck over, a theme with Detroit’s group all season.
The soon-to-be 33-year old Swede ranks third on the team in penalty-killing time on the 16th-best unit in the NHL with 105:09 played. With Alexey Marchenko claimed off of waivers by the Leafs, he now ranks last on the team in Corsi-against per 60 minutes (57.47) and second-to-last in shots against per 60 (31.75). He has recently been paired with Ouellet, but was relegated to the third pair with Nick Jensen tonight with Ryan Sproul drawing in the lineup.
Ericsson is signed for three more seasons after ’16-17 with a $4.25 million cap hit, fourth-highest on the defense. The Red Wings have $14 million locked up for at least three more seasons in Kronwall, Ericsson, and Dekeyser.
The last pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Ericsson got his first real taste of NHL action in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs, where he scored twice in the Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has logged 528 games in his NHL career, picking up 21 goals and 107 points.
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