The Red Wings aren’t sure whether or not defenseman Jonathan Ericsson will be ready for the start of the regular season, notes Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News. He’s dealing with a soft tissue injury sustained early in training camp and has already been ruled out of their final two preseason games. That could pave the way for youngster Dennis Cholowski to break camp with Detroit but it would likely be on a short-term basis as he is waiver-exempt so having him as a reserve wouldn’t make too much sense from a development perspective.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- Senators winger Rudolfs Balcers is out indefinitely due to a lower-body injury, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). The 22-year-old split last season between Ottawa and AHL Belleville and acquitted himself reasonably well with 14 points in 36 games. He’s undergoing tests to determine the full extent of the injury but it certainly sounds as if he won’t be available when the regular season gets underway next week.
- While the Canadiens were suggested as a team that had been pursuing other restricted free agents beyond Sebastian Aho this summer, GM Marc Bergevin indicated in an appearance on TSN 690 that Aho was the only one they tried to add via the offer sheet. The five-year contract they tendered was matched by Carolina and Montreal wound up only making minor tweaks to their roster this summer. Bergevin also noted that goalie prospect Cayden Primeau has garnered some trade interest but the team has little interest in moving him.
- Bruins winger Joakim Nordstrom is still working his way back from the broken foot he sustained in the Stanley Cup Final which means he may not be ready for the start of the season, notes NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty. As a result, the team may wait a little longer to announce their final cuts, especially with center David Krejci not fully healthy at the moment either.