Detroit Red Wings: Athanasiou and Green both injured in Edmonton
By Tyler Kotila
The Detroit Red Wings sent Andreas Athanasiou and Mike Green to the Edmonton Oilers at the trade deadline, now both players are injured.
Just a few days after Detroit Red Wings General Manager (GM) Steve Yzerman moved forward Andreas Athanasiou and Mike Green to the Edmonton Oilers, they are both hurt. Now, Athanasiou is slated for a quick return to the lineup, but Green will be out longer than that. Former Red Wings GM Ken Holland must be scratching his head wondering how two of the players he acquired for the betterment of the Oilers “win now” mentality, are injured.
As mentioned above, Athanasiou will not be out for a long period of time, he is slated to miss just one game before he will be able to return. A lower-body injury will keep him off the ice after just two games with the Oilers. The Oilers speedy forwards will be without Athanasiou as they are finally starting to get acclimated to him, having Athanasiou on the ice with Connor McDavid is a dangerous combination of speed.
Green, on the other hand, received some less friendly news about his injury and timetable for return. Just like Athanasiou, after logging only two games with the Oilers, Green is going to be on the shelf for the next three to four weeks with a sprained MCL. It is a tough break for the Oilers who literally just acquired Green to add to the depth of their defensemen core, and now he is heading to the injured reserve.
More from Detroit Jock City
- Tigers Sign Manager A.J. Hinch to Long-Term Extension
- Lions vs. Bears Week 14 Opening Odds Disrespect Detroit
- Former Tigers Celebrate Jim Leyland Hall of Fame Call
- This Pistons Team Could be the Worst in Detroit Sports History
- 4 Free Agents Tigers Should Sign During Winter Meetings
On the bright side, the Oilers did not give up any crucial players in return, picks yes, but players no. They gave up Sam Gagner who is now stuck with the Red Wings for the remainder of his season, and the Oilers should be just fine without Gagner even if the Athanasiou injury develops into more missed time.
Back in Detroit, the Red Wings walked away with three solid draft picks and are sitting here watching both of the players they traded be taken out of the lineup with injuries.
Athanasiou looked great in his Oilers debut, scoring a goal and adding an assist, going quiet in his second game with no points and posting a minus-one rating. It is no question that going from a linemate of Valtteri Filppula to McDavid will instantly up his game.
Green, played almost thirteen minutes in his debut, and was upped to almost twenty minutes in his second game, but will now be put on the shelf. He will not jump into the lineup and start producing numbers like a Norris candidate, but after he returns, he adds depth to the team.
This injury does, however, eliminate one of the “conditions” from the conditional fourth-round draft pick acquired in the trade involving Green. The fourth-round pick would become a third-round pick if Green played in over half of the games with the Oilers, which will not be happening.
Athanasiou dazzles in Edmonton Oilers debut. light. Trending
So, if Red Wings fans are really hoping that this fourth-round pick becomes a third-round pick, it is time to bust out the Oilers gear and cheer for the Oilers to reach the Western Conference Finals. For the remainder of the 2019-20 season and the postseason, Red Wings fans are gonna want to root for McDavid and the Oilers.