This is the last thing the Red Wings wanted to hear. Mike Green will be out of the lineup for 7-10 days due to a reactivation of a virus he had at the start of the season, per head coach Jeff Blashill.

The virus Green was originally dealing with was attacking his liver and causing him to be fatigued. Not to long before that he had neck surgery, ending his 2017-18 campaign early. During Green’s recovery, he inked a two-year contract extension with Detroit.

The decision to bring back the Calgary, Alberta native has proven to be the right move. His 5 goals and 26 points in 43 games is the most among all of Detroit’s defensemen. Green brings a strong offensive presence that is very lacking in the organization.

Moving forward without Green in the lineup will be a challenge. With Nick Jensen now in Washington, the Red Wings depth on the back-end is even more worrisome then it once was. Trevor Daley is expecting to join the first pair with Niklas Kronwall…not ideal. For anyone holding out on Dennis Cholowski being recalled, I wouldn’t hold your breath. The Red Wings have a limited number of call-ups remaining and will use them wisely. They want Cholowski fine tuning his game in the AHL. If anyone is recalled, I’d expect it to be a Brian Lashoff or Joe Hicketts type.

The Red Wings have six games in the next 7-10 days. Hopefully they’ll have Green back in action sooner rather than later.