Jonathan Ericsson (wrist) is scheduled to return to the Detroit lineup Monday. Ericsson has been out of the Detroit lineup for the last month since fracturing his wrist. The Red Wings will welcome him back as they sent Brendan Smith to Grand Rapids on the weekend in anticipation of getting Ericsson back in the lineup. He has 10 points and 47 penalty minutes in 62 games this season.Get ready to activate him if you normally would but your league would have to be pretty deep to have it make sense.

Jonathan Ericsson (wrist) is targeting next Wednesday's contest against Columbus as a possible return date. "It feels better every day," he said after taking some shots in Wednesday's optional skate. "I could actually put something on the puck. I feel improvement every day, which makes me feel good." Ericsson has been out since Feb. 25 with a fractured wrist.

Jonathan Ericsson (wrist) expects to resume skating on Friday. He is projected to miss four-to-five weeks with a fractured wrist, which the Red Wings describe as a chipped bone.

Jonathan Ericsson is expected to miss a minimum of four weeks because of a fractured left wrist. This late in the season, all the Red Wings can hope for is that Ericsson returns with enough time to shake off the rust before the playoffs. He has 10 points and 47 penalty minutes in 62 games this season.

With Ian White (broken cheekbone) out of the lineup, the Detroit Red Wings will use Jonathan Ericcson as captain Nicklas Lidstrom's defense partner. Mike Commodore will replace Ericsson in the third pair with Jakub Kindl.The moves mean Ericsson, a left-hander, will play on the right side. They also mean the Red Wings will lack a right-hander along the blue line on the first power-play unit, with the likelihood Niklas Kronwall moving into White's slot alongside Lidstrom. "I feel a little more comfortable on the left side because that's my forehand side," Ericsson said. "But I've been playing right side with Nick on the penalty kill for the first 15 games here. So I'm kind of a little bit more used to it."

Jonathan Ericsson is looking forward to the higher expectations that comes with the three-year/$9.75 million contract he signed over the summer. "They're going to have higher expectations of me, and I'm looking forward to it," Ericsson said. "There's a little bit more pressure, but that's always good - that always helps players, most of the players, anyway. And you always want to put some pressure on yourself." The retirement of Brian Rafalski has created an opportunity for someone to step up and serve as one of Detroit's top-four defensemen, but Ericsson will have to compete with Ian White for the job. Ericsson might also get an opportunity to show what he can do with the man advantage. He's worth keeping an eye on this preseason.

Jonathan Ericsson may face some competition for a top-four slot on Detroit's blueline during training camp. Free agent signing Ian White and prospect Brendan Smith could be in the running for the position as well. However, the Red Wings signed Ericsson to a three-year contract last month that will make him $3.25 million per season, so it makes sense that he will get a significant push this campaign. Ericsson improved his play considerably in his second full season in the NHL in 2010-11, but he still needs to utilize his size better.

The Detroit Red Wings have signed Jonathan Ericsson to a three year contract. While no financial terms were disclosed, it is expected that Ericsson will average over $3 million per season. Ericsson had three goals and 15 points in 2010-11 and is expected to see more ice time with the retirement of Brian Rafalski. Don't expect Ericsson to be a prolific scorer, but a jump to 25 points is certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

Jonathan Ericsson will probably re-sign with the Detroit Red Wings before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. The free agent period begins on Friday, so we could see Ericsson ink a deal in the next couple of days. Detroit is especially motivated to re-sign Ericsson after the potential defensemen market thinned over the last couple of days. Kevin Bieksa and Andrei Markov, who were both potential targets of the Red Wings, recently signed with their respective teams rather than become unrestricted free agents.

The Detroit Red Wings and Jonathan Ericsson are still talking contract. Ericsson is eligible for unrestricted free agency on Friday and the two sides are still negotiating to prevent that from happening. "We had a good talk and we'll see where it goes," said GM Ken Holland. Holland said that "they were in the same ballpark" so a deal could be signed any day now. Stay tuned.