This afternoon, the Detroit Red Wings announced that they were calling up defenseman William Lagesson from the Grand Rapids Griffins. Detroit signed Lagesson this summer as a blue line depth option, but he was always likely to spend the bulk of the season in Grand Rapids. Now, after 11 games as a Griffin, he appears poised for some NHL action.
Lagesson has played 100 games over four seasons in the NHL, split between the Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Anaheim Ducks. It is not yet clear whether he will play tonight for the Red Wings in San Jose.
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Arguably more significant than Lagesson’s call-up itself are the potential implications. One possibility is that Simon Edvinsson’s injury is more serious than the Red Wings initially believed. Edvinsson missed Saturday’s game in Los Angeles after suffering a lower body injury blocking a shot Friday night in Anaheim. Derek Lalonde said after that game that he “hoped” to have Edvinsson available tonight, when Detroit takes on the Sharks. However, if Edvinsson has suffered some sort of setback or if the Red Wings arrived at a more severe prognosis than the initial one, perhaps the team determined it needed immediate reinforcements.
Alternatively, Lagesson’s arrival could have nothing to do with Edvinsson. Instead, it could be a referendum from Detroit brass on the rest of a struggling D corps. Since trading Olli Maatta, the Red Wings bottom four has consisted of some combination of Ben Chiarot, Jeff Petry, Justin Holl, Erik Gustafsson, and rookie Albert Johansson. None of that quintet has covered itself in glory during Detroit’s present 3-6-1 run, so perhaps calling up Lagesson is a move designed to make not just one but two of those players a scratch when Edvinsson returns to full health.
We should get more clarity on which implication is more accurate later this afternoon, after the Red Wings conduct their morning skate in San Jose.
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