Injured Red Wings defenseman to miss 6-8 weeks after undergoing surgery
The Detroit Red Wings have been without defenseman Jeff Petry since their victory over Columbus on January 2; he's undergone surgery and will miss several weeks.
The Detroit Red Wings have not had veteran defenseman Jeff Petry for exactly a month now, as he was hurt on January 2 during Detroit's victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets and has not played since.
Minutes ago, it was reported by NHL analyst Frank Seravalli that Petry has undergone successful surgery, and will be out for at least the next 6-8 weeks, putting a potential return in late March or even early April.
Petry had been playing in his 2nd year with the Red Wings since being acquired in the summer of 2023 by GM Steve Yzerman in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has six points (1G, 6A) in 34 games played this year.
During Petry's absence, the Red Wings re-called young defenseman Albert Johansson from the Grand Rapids Griffins; he's fit in nicely on the Detroit back end, and has been getting more comfortable at the NHL level with each passing game.
In all likelihood, this could be Petry's final year in the NHL; it's very unlikely that he'll be offered another contract by Yzerman, especially considering the emergence of Johansson along with the expected arrival of highly-touted defensive prospect Axel Sandin-Pellikka to North America in time for next year.
The son of former Detroit Tigers World Series-winning pitcher Dan Petry, Jeff Petry is just 29 games away from reaching 1,000 for his career.
