DETROIT — The Red Wings have announced that defenseman Alexey Marchenko has been sent down to AHL affiliate, Grand Rapids Griffins. It has also been announced that Johan Franzen has been placed on seven-day injured reserve.
UPDATE: The #RedWings today assigned D Alexey Marchenko to @griffinshockey and placed RW Johan Franzen on seven-day injured reserve.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) October 16, 2015
Since Franzen had experienced a setback with concussion-like symptoms, I doubt we’ll be seeing him back on the team in seven days. Very hard to believe that he’s going to be able to fully recover over the next week from an injury that has been nagging him since he sustained it back in January.
I honestly had forgotten that Marchenko was still on the team, as he had been the odd-man out for some time. There’s no sense in letting the kid sit, while he could be playing in Grand Rapids without going through waivers. His time will come, but not now. This trims the roster by two, which makes room for Darren Helm and Danny DeKeyser, assuming they both will be ready to go within the next seven days. Time will tell, but these were players who weren’t being utilized. It’s a paper transaction for now. Reading between the lines, it seems as if DeKeyser could be ready as early as Saturday.
More from the Red Wings organization:
The Detroit Red Wings today assigned defenseman Alexey Marchenko to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins and placed right wing Johan Franzen on seven-day injured reserve.
Marchenko, 23, is in his third season in North America and seventh season of professional hockey. In 2014-15, he skated in 13 games for the Red Wings and tallied two points (1-1-2) and two penalty minutes, while appearing in three postseason games during the team’s first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Marchenko also played 51 regular-season games for the Griffins, notching 20 points (3-17-20) and a plus-22 rating. He also logged four assists in 11 postseason games for Grand Rapids. In 100 career AHL games since 2013-14, the former 2011 seventh-round pick (205th overall) of the Red Wings has recorded 38 points (6-32-38), 40 penalty minutes and a plus-33 rating. Marchenko also represented the Griffins at the 2014 AHL All-Star Classic.
Originally from Moscow, Russia, Marchenko spent several seasons with CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) prior to arriving in North America. From 2009-13, he appeared in 82 KHL games for the club and registered 11 points (4-7-11). He also tallied 78 points (18-60-78) in 84 games for the team at the junior level, winning a league championship in 2011 and leading all defensemen in scoring.
