Per the Red Wings official Twitter feed:
NEWS: The Red Wings have removed Jan Mursak from IR and assigned him to
@griffinshockey of the AHL.
This is good news for the speedy right-shooting Slovenian who broke his ankle in an ugly collision with the boards during a preaseason which looked like it would have ended with him earning a full-time roster spot with the club.
The terms of the CBA allow the Wings to send Mursak down to play with the Griffins for no more than 14 days without forcing him to clear waivers. Mursak has been skating with the Wings when he could, but this will give him some game experience to get back up to speed. Counting tonight's game at the Lake Erie Monsters, Grand Rapids will play six games during the two-week stretch in which Mursak is eligible to remain with them: Two home games this Friday and Saturday, then two back-to-back road games at Abbotsford next week before a final home game against the Houston Aeros on his last day of eligibility.
Mursak's return from the conditioning stint will likely run very close to the return of Patrick Eaves from the broken jaw he suffered on November 26th against Nashville. It will be very interesting to see how the roster shakes out when both of them return. If Mursak can pick up where he left off in camp, he very well could find himself in a rotation for a regular roster spot and push Cory Emmerton off the roster.
A lot of things can happen before then though. We'll keep you posted on additional developments.
Here's the official press release:
Detroit, MI… The Detroit Red Wings today announced that forward Jan Mursak has been activated and assigned to the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) on a conditioning loan. Mursak, 23, has been on Detroit’s Injured Reserve List since late-September after fracturing his ankle during a pre-season game versus the Chicago Blackhawks at Joe Louis Arena.
A native of Maribor, Slovenia, Mursak was originally selected by Detroit in the sixth round (182nd overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. The 5’11”, 190-lb. winger has appeared in 19 games with the Red Wings (1G-0A-1P) and 184 games with the Griffins (39G-47A-86P) thus far in his professional career.]