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Red Wings' Jonathan Ericsson out for season as injuries pile up (Update)

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson (52), of Sweden, slams into the boards during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, in Washington. Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom (19), of Sweden, was called for boarding on the play. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson (52), of Sweden, slams into the boards during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, in Washington. Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom (19), of Sweden, was called for boarding on the play. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

If the Detroit Red Wings see their 25-season Stanley Cup playoff streak come to an end this year there will be numerous reasons why. One of those reasons will be how their lineup was affected by injuries night in and night out.

Added to the injury pile on Thursday was defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, who fractured his wrist and will miss the next 6-8 weeks after this hit from Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals.

Backstrom, who as you can see felt bad about injuring a fellow Swede, was given a boarding minor.

This is another big loss for the Red Wings as Ericsson plays the fourth-most minutes on the team, averaging 19:13 per game, which includes 2:03 killing penalties. It will also add to the large number of man-games lost to injury for the league’s leader in that category.

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Here’s a visual look from ManGamesLost.com as of Feb. 4:

ManGamesLost.com
ManGamesLost.com

So when you see that and then look at the NHL standings and notice the Red Wings are tied for the last spot in the Eastern Conference – yet six points out of the playoffs (thanks, charity point!) – you understand why they could be in for a high draft pick this June for the first time in a long time.

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Some fun trivia: The Red Wings drafted Dylan Larkin at No. 15 in 2014. Their lowest draft pick prior to that was Martin Lapointe at No. 10 in 1991(!).

UPDATE: Red Wings GM Ken Holland said on Friday that Ericsson will undergo surgery next week and will actually miss 12 weeks of action.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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