An update on the Red Wings health heading into Wednesday's game against Winnipeg
Today, Detroit Red Wings forward Tyler Motte participated in his first practice since suffering an upper body injury on Oct. 17 against the New York Rangers. That is of course a positive sign for his return to the lineup, though after practice, coach Derek Lalonde suggested that Motte's return is still not quite imminent. The Red Wings host the Winnipeg Jets Wednesday night, then will be off until a Saturday evening game with the Sabres at Little Caesars Arena.
"First practice today, so I don't think he'll be available for Wednesday, but...in a unique part of our schedule, we're gonna get two more quality practices, we'll get a better feel of his availability for Saturday," Lalonde said, when asked for an update on Motte's status. Motte can potentially provide a significant boost to a struggling penalty kill for the Red Wings at the moment.
Meanwhile, Motte's return to full health would eliminate the emergency conditions under which Marco Kasper was called up to replace him. That means the Red Wings would need to do some tinkering with the roster and salary cap, but there should still be a place for Kasper, and Lalonde's remarks seemed to reinforce that.
"We'll get to that," the coach said, when asked about potential follow-up roster moves once Motte is fully available. "I'd love to have that problem when we get there. Obviously, Marco has given us some really good hockey and a spark."