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Jordin Tootoo, who played in 51 regular-season games with the Griffins, has been sidelined since injured in Game 1 of the conference quarterfinals.

(Lauren Petracca | MLive.com)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Jordin Tootoo wants to make his final games with the Detroit organization memorable and not just to the Grand Rapids Griffins, but other teams watching from the NHL.

But first, he has to get back on the ice.

The veteran forward hasn’t played with the Griffins since April 26 and Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals at Abbotsford, when he was injured on the last shift of the game. His injury was undisclosed other than upper body.

He’s not expected to be in the lineup Thursday, either, when the Griffins are at Texas to begin the conference semifinals, coach Jeff Blashill said.

Blashill said it is unknown when Tootoo will return. He did not practice Monday before the team departed for Austin, Texas.

It is important for the 31-year-old Tootoo to play, and it’s not just for the Griffins. It’s for his future because he still thinks he can play in the NHL.

"It's something I have to look deep down inside and really ask myself the hard, tough questions," Tootoo said. "And I know I'm right there. But there are thousands of hockey players that want to take my position as well.



"I'm here to try and get myself back into the NHL. Maybe toward the end of my career I'll help groom the young guys, but right now I'm here for myself to get back."

That’s unlikely to be in Detroit.

Ken Holland, Red Wings general manager, may use the team’s one cap compliance buyout on Tootoo’s contract, worth $1.9 million, and make him a free agent.

He has been with the Red Wings since he signed as free agent in 2012 after eight seasons in Nashville.

"Toots has done everything we could have asked of him in the AHL," Holland said in an MLive story April 29. "He hasn't complained. He's been a good foot solider. I don't know if we're going to buy him out, but I don't think it's fair to Toots and from the business standpoint, we don't want Toots in the American Hockey League."

After two months mostly inactive in Detroit, Tootoo was sent to the Griffins in early November. Except for two brief returns, he has been in Grand Rapids the remainder of the season, continuing his intimidating reputation on the ice. He had 18 points (6-12-18) and 104 penalty minutes in 51 games.

He is uncertain when he will return, but it won’t be in the first two games against the No. 1-seeded Stars.

“This is the time of the year when guys want to play hockey, and it’s the most exciting time of the year,” he said. “When you’re unable to play, it’s frustrating. Obviously, I want to be with the guys but at the same time, I don’t want to be out there without being healthy.”

Pete Wallner covers sports for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at pwallner@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.