Helene St. James of Freep.Com reports today that, as a result of the arthroscopic knee surgery Red Wings defenseman Brian Rafalski underwent, the 37-year old Dearborn native will miss the next 3-4 weeks of action.
Early reports were that Mike Babcock didn't expect Rafalski to be out long, but they cleaned out some loose particles from Rafalski's knee and need to give it proper time to heal up before committing him back to the ice. As a result, the Wings have recalled defenseman Doug Janik from Grand Rapids and will have him in the lineup tonight against the Avalanche.
To make salary room for Janik, the Red Wings placed Kris Draper on injured reserve, retroactive to the start of the season. Draper is just about ready to return from a groin injury and will be available to be taken off the IR for Thursday's game if necessary (because Rafalski and his $6M cap hit will be on Injured Reserve by then). Here's to hoping that Ericsson's back spasms heal up soon. Rafalski was leading all Red Wings in terms of plus/minus with a +5 rating and 2 assists on the young season.