Kronwall Out 4-6 Months

The Detroit Red Wings got the news that they had hoped not to hear on Friday: Defenseman Niklas Kronwall will miss four to six months of the upcoming season, shelved due to a knee injury.

“He’s got a partially torn MCL, he’s got a torn ACL,” Detroit general manager Ken Holland said.

Kronwall suffered the injury Tuesday night against Colorado. After getting an MRI in Detroit on Wednesday, things didn’t look good. He saw knee specialist Dr. William G. Clancy in Aspen, CO, on Friday and the diagnosis was confirmed.

Kronwall will ungergo surgery once the swelling has gone down – in two to three weeks. His earliest predicted return date is February 1 but it could be as late as April 1.

Staffan Kronwall, Niklas’ brother, stated “I know him so well, and I know he is going to come back.”

The Red Wings will look to replace him with Andy Delmore, Jamie Rivers or Brett Lebda.