Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser enters COVID protocol

According to MLive’s Ansar Khan, Detroit Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser has entered the league’s COVID protocol.

While DeKeyser’s play has suffered over the past few seasons due to a variety of injuries, he’s played a semi-important role for Detroit this season. He’s been partnered with Calder Trophy candidate Moritz Seider on the blueline, but he still has just two assists in 19 games.

With DeKeyser out, Troy Stecher’s injury and Marc Staal dealing with illness, Detroit’s defensive depth is running thin. Dan Renouf was recalled from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins Wednesday, and he could make his season debut for Detroit Wednesday night against the St. Louis Blues.

Detroit’s cooled off after a hot start, going 4-5-1 in their past 10 games. While there have been encouraging signs of life out of this long-rebuilding franchise this season, their time to shine likely isn’t quite here yet.

In DeKeyser’s absence, increased minutes are likely coming for Nick Leddy, who’s been manning second-pairing duties with Filip Hronek.