Yet another Red Wings forward lands on Injured Reserve
While the Detroit Red Wings have activated Patrick Kane off Injured Reserve, they've conversely placed forward J.T. Compher on Injured Reserve.
The good news for the Detroit Red Wings is that they're expecting to have Patrick Kane available potentially as soon as tonight when they play the Vancouver Canucks (8:00 PM, FanDuel Sports Detroit, Sportsnet, 97.1 The Ticket).
Kane has been absent for the last several games after sustaining an upper body injury late last month against the Dallas Stars; the Red Wings have managed to win 5-straight games without him.
But as the Red Wings activated Kane from Injured Reserve, they announced at the same time that forward J.T. Compher was taking his place on the list retroactive to the injury he suffered on January 25 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Compher was hit up high by Tampa's Elim Lilleberg as he skated into the offensive zone; Lilleberg was later suspended for a pair of games by the National Hockey League Department of Player Safety.
Compher's production in his 2nd year with the Red Wings has fallen off; he managed a career-best 19 goals last year, but is currently on pace to reach just 9 goals. His current AAV (average annual value) is $5.1 million.
Coincidently during the same game, forward Michael Rasmussen was hurt when he was intentionally tripped by Lightning star forward Nikita Kucherov as he was preparing to score on Tampa's vacated net; Rasmussen was later seen needing assistance from the team medical staff to make it down the tunnel toward the dressing room.
Kucherov received no punishment for his actions, though he could be dealt with by Red Wings players when they once again face each other on February 8 at Little Caesars Arena.
