Darren Helm Returns To Ice For Practice With Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings center Darren Helm joined his teammates in practice on Wednesday for the first time in five months, as Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports. The 25-year-old has been recovering from a large gash he received on his right arm during Game 1 of last spring's playoff series against the Nashville Predators.

Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Helm mentioned how the injury still lingers occasionally:

I can still feel it when I do things I normally do. The weight isn't quite there yet -- I haven't been lifting as much as I normally do. So a little bit behind in that aspect, but everything I've done so far, it's felt good. It's not sore, it's not painful -- it's not any of that. I just know something happened to it.

On April 11, Helm was cut on the right forearm by a skate blade during Game 1 against Nashville. After rushing off the ice with blood gushing from his arm, Helm underwent surgery that night, but it's taken months for the tendons to fully heal.

This summer, the Red Wings signed Helm to a four-year, $8.5 million contract, so they obviously have faith in the center's ability despite the injury.

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Darren Helm Injury: Red Wings Forward On Schedule For Training Camp Return

The recovery process continues for injured Detroit Red Wings player Darren Helm, but the 25-year-old center still remains on schedule to join his team at the start of training camp on September 22.

Helm left the ice in visible pain just six minutes into Detroit's opening round game with Nashville after being slashed on his forearm by the blade of an opponents skate. He had surgery to repair what turned out to be torn tendons from the freak injury later that evening, and after nearly two months, finally had his splint removed on Wednesday.

"Wednesday was really the first day outside of the cast, so doctors took a look at it and said it's ahead of schedule," Helm told reporters at Nicklas Lidstrom's retirement ceremony. "I should be working out hard in a couple of months and get back and ready for camp.''

Though he has only tallied 32 goals over the last three seasons with Detroit, Helm remains a vital part of the Red Wings' future as a versatile scorer in both power play and penalty kill situations. The Winnipeg native was 15th on the team in minutes per contest this past year at just 14:31 per game, but figures to see much more ice time in the future assuming he makes a full recovery.

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Darren Helm Injury: Red Wings Forward Still 'Pretty Angry' With Season-Ending Cut

Darren Helm has had a tough couple of months. The Red Wings forward battled through a sprained MCL to return for game one of the playoffs, after having been out since March 17. Helm was expected back in game two, but returned sooner than most thought he would, and proceeded to suffer a nasty cut via Alexander Radulov's skate. It was a deep gash to his arm, and he had surgery to repair lacerated tendons.

And now he's going to miss the rest of the NHL Playoffs, though he's set to make a full recovery. Still, even if the Red Wings make it all the way, seven games in each series, he's not going to return until next season. And for Helm, it's extremely upsetting. The Detroit Free Press had an article with some quotes from Helm on Monday:

"Not really too happy with anything that's going on right now with myself," he said. "I don't think I've really gotten over what happened. I'm still pretty angry with the situation. It still hurts quite a bit. Pain-wise, it still hurts a lot. Having to watch, again, is probably the worst thing of all."

Frankly, it'd be a shocker if Helm wasn't upset about how things have proceeded. The injury itself was a fluke, and there was no intention to cause harm (there generally is not when a cut from a skate occurs), but it's still missed time when the Red Wings need him most against a very tough Nashville squad.

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Darren Helm Injury: Gustav Nyquist To Fill In For Injured Forward

Now that Darren Helm will miss the rest of the playoffs due to a sliced forearm suffered minutes into Game 1, which required surgery, the Red Wings will be recalling 22-year-old Gustav Nyquist from their farm club in Grand Rapids [via MLIVE]:

Nyquist will make his NHL playoff debut Friday night at Bridgestone Arena, where he'll play on the Red Wings' third line in the spot vacated by Darren Helm, who was lost for the season in Game 1 after suffering a cut on his left forearm that required surgery. [...]

Nyquist played most of the season with the Red Wings' top farm club in Grand Rapids, where he set the Griffins' all-time rookie scoring record with 22 goals and 36 assists in 56 games.

Drew Miller will move to the fourth line to make room for Nyquist. Nyquist was called up earlier this season a couple times and finished the season with the team. He had a goal and six assists in 18 games.

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Darren Helm Injury: Red Wings Center To Miss Remainder Of NHL Playoffs

The Detroit Red Wings announced on Thursday that center Darren Helm had successful surgery to repair lacerated tendons in his right forearm, following a nasty cut from a skate in the first period against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday. Helm was cut was cut badly in a collision and immediate skated quickly to the bench, tossing off his glove, and did not return to the game, which ended in a 3-2 loss for Detroit.

You can see how it happened here, courtesy of Travis Hughes of SB Nation.

Helm is expected to make a full recovery, but the team also announced that he would be out for the remainder of the playoffs, regardless of how far the team happens to make it. The injury is worse for Helm as it was his first game back since suffering an MCL sprain against the San Jose Sharks in the regular season that made him miss a handful of games. He was only on the ice for 3:08 against the Predators on Wednesday night.

It's going to hurt the Red Wings, who are now behind in the series and without the solid depth that Helm provided. Still, they've got back to being healthy in most areas, which is a relief given how injury plagued they were over the second half of the regular season.

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Darren Helm Injury: Red Wings Forward Has Surgery On Sliced Wrist

The sight of Detroit Red Wings forward Darren Helm immediately holding his hand in pain and quickly skating off the ice in the first period of Wednesday's loss to Nashville was enough to make Wings fans fear for the worst. And, from the looks of it, those immediate fears appear to have been confirmed, as Helm's injury is quite serious.

MLive's Ansar Khan tweeted that Helm not only needed surgery for the laceration, but that it was believed to be severe enough that a tendon could have been severed in the process. Not good.

It's clear that Helm's injury will keep him out for the foreseeable future, but clearly the concern right now is his health, and not how quickly he'll be able to get back on the ice. Stay with SB Nation Detroit's StoryStream for more updates on Helm's injury as more information is released.

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Darren Helm Injury: Red Wings Forward Leaves Game 1 Against Predators

For as hard as he worked to ensure that he was back on the ice for the postseason, Detroit Red Wings forward Darren Helm had a scary moment before he could even get situated, and left Wednesday's game with Nashville in the first period with an apparent arm injury. The Detroit Free Press' Helen St. James tweeted the official report that Helm would not be coming back, playing just 3:08 of ice time before the injury bug big again.

Announcer Ken Daniels revealed that Helm was taken to Vanderbilt Medical Center immediately for tests, as it appeared that he was sliced on the wrist by an errant skate in a collision along the boards. Helm reached for his hand and wrist area right away after the contact, and went directly into the locker room. Stay tuned with SB Nation Detroit as we await word on Helm's condition.

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