TAMPA, FL. –The Detroit Red Wings called up three forwards under emergency conditions ahead of their next game.
Sheldon Dries, John Leonard and Eduards Tralmaks were tabbed to join the Wings under emergency conditions on Wednesday, March 11, one day ahead of the Wings’ next game, at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit). Center Dylan Larkin isn’t expected to play this trip after injuring his right leg Friday, and Andrew Copp suffered an injury to his left leg in Tuesday’s game. Both games were losses against the Florida Panthers, the latest dropping the Wings into the top wild-card position in the Eastern Conference playoff standings.
To call up a player under emergency conditions, a team has to believe it is in a position to have less than 12 forwards, six defensemen or two goaltenders available.
The Wings (36-22-7) already had called up 2024 first-round draft pick Michael Brandsegg-Nygård up after the Larkin injury. That they called up three forwards ahead of the game against Atlantic Division rival the Lightning implies there might be two forwards besides Copp unavailable. Brandsegg-Nygård missed a chunk of the second period Tuesday, but he did finish the game.
The designation matters because once past the trade deadline (Friday, March 6), teams are allowed five call-ups, but that does not apply to emergency conditions. Teams also are allowed to call up a player in case of emergency, and should that emergency not materialize – such as Sunday, when the Wings called up Leonard as an emergency, only to send him back when he was not needed after all – he can be immediately sent back down.
Dries, Leonard and Tralmaks have all played big roles in Grand Rapids’ domination of the American Hockey League this season. Leonard, 27, leads the Griffins with 27 goals and also has 14 assists in 34 games. Dries, a 31-year-old Macomb native and Western Michigan alumnus, is third in scoring, with 37 points (20 goals, 17 assists) in 48 games; and the 29-year-old Tralmaks has 18 goals and 10 assists in 49 games.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings injury update: 3 forwards get short-term call-ups
Reporting by Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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