Stephen Weiss is back on injured reserve.
Again.
On Tuesday, Detroit put the oft-injured center on short-term IR ahead of its game against Columbus, in order to keep d-man Xavier Ouellet on the active roster while activating Justin Abdelkader. Weiss, who hasn’t played since suffering a shoulder injury during a 3-2 shootout loss to Florida on Friday, is eligible to come off IR this weekend when the Wings host the Avalanche on Saturday.
Even though it’s short-term IR, the move still has to cause concern in the Motor City.
Weiss’ tenure with the Wings has been ravaged by injury, but his latest return sparked hope that he was ready to live up to his five-year, $24.5 million contract. The 31-year-old had four goals and 10 points in 11 games since returning from a groin ailment, which included an impressive 1G-2A outing in a Dec. 4 win over Dallas.