The Red Wings are riding a modest two game winning streak and about to head off to California for their annual western US trip, but they will be doing so without one of their younger players.

#RedWings have reassigned Tomas Nosek to Grand Rapids.

— Ansar Khan (@AnsarKhanMLive) January 5, 2016

The team announced today that Tomas Nosek has been reassigned to Grand Rapids. It stands to reason that someone is about to come back, and the indications are that Drew Miller is close to being ready to return to the lineup. Nosek does not require waivers, so sending him down makes the most sense if an injured forward is now healthy.

If Miller does come back, that leaves the Wings with 13 forwards (including Tomas Jurco, who is injured but has not been placed on IR) and 8 defensemen. Kyle Quincey is also close to returning, but with the Wings heading out west, it could be a case where the Wings would rather have 8 defensemen with the team in case someone gets injured rather than move someone and call up another forward.