The Red Wings are starting to get some of their players back from injury, including Brendan Smith, who is likely to be activated for tomorrow night’s game against Nashville.
To make room for Smith, the Red Wings today announced that Alexey Marchenko has been placed on waivers. Should Marchenko clear waivers (not a sure thing given that he’s a defenseman who could be had for free), he would be assigned to Grand Rapids.
Marchenko had been the odd-man out since the return of Mike Green and Niklas Kronwall, having not played since Jan 20th. It’s been quite the fall for Marchenko, who gave a very solid performance for Team Russia at the World Cup of Hockey this fall.