On the Wings

Update (2:02 PM): The AHL transaction wire has Ellis listed as returned to Grand Rapids, so that confirms it. He wasn’t claimed off waivers. - Matt

Update (12:05 PM): It wasn’t really clear from Conklin’s original report , but the team apparently already began the process of sending Ellis down (making much of the post below unnecessary). Conklin informed me via email that teams had until 12:00 PM today to claim him and since I haven’t seen anything saying he’s been taken, it looks like he made it. - Matt

The Wings will soon be sending Matt Ellis down to make room on the roster, but because Ellis has played over 10 games with the Wings (16), he has to clear waivers before he can go to Grand Rapids, according to Joe Conklin of the GR Press.

Cross your fingers, folks. Ellis may not have played a lot of time, but as Conklin pointed out, he looked good when he was on the ice and he may have attracted attention. The Wings have already lost a player to waivers this season, Joey MacDonald, who was taken by Boston. Given that, it’s not too far out of the realm of possibility that Ellis will get claimed.

The move is especially necessary if everyone currently injured is to return for the playoffs. With Dan Cleary, Todd Bertuzzi, and Tomas Kopecky healthy, and Ellis on the roster, the Wings would be a man over the limit of 23 players. The only way out of sending Ellis down is keeping Kopecky on the IR, which isn’t likely since he’s been practicing and they’ve been making noises about his return for weeks now. Even if that’s what they did, the Griffins still wouldn’t have their captain for their playoff run.

Personally, I think the Wings should get a break on this rule because they needed Ellis to fill in for injured players. He wasn’t on the team for the heck of it and they shouldn’t be punished for filling that kind of a need. He’d be a big loss to the system, for the Wings but for the Griffins, especially.