Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Red Wings have a couple of transactions in the works, with the expectation of getting two veterans back in the lineup.

Forward Darren Helm, who has been out with a dislocated shoulder, is likely to be able to play Friday at Buffalo (7 p.m., FSD).

“Darren will be a final determination after the pregame skate,” coach Jeff Blashill said after today's practice. Helm has had several hard practices, but team doctors have been extra careful with him because if Helm aggravates the injury, he could miss significantly more time.

If Helm is able to play, a roster spot would be opened by placing Steve Ott on short-term injured reserve. Ott has been practicing but has a shoulder injury dating to the outdoor game Jan. 1.

“He hurt his shoulder in Toronto,” Blashill said. “Played with it in Dallas, hurt it again there, so he will be out here for a little bit. But he is able to skate through it.”

Helm would be joining the fourth line, Blashill said, most likely bumping out Drew Miller.

Defenseman Niklas Kronwall, who left the Jan. 4 game at Anaheim because of a groin injury, sounded like he is ready to go -- if not at Buffalo, then Sunday at home against the New York Rangers.

Asked whether he is ready to play, Kronwall said, “Without saying too much, I feel pretty good, yeah.”

When he returns, a roster spot would have to be opened.

Goaltender Jimmy Howard, who has been out with sprained right knee since Dec. 20, is going on long-term IR dating to Decc. 21 to relieve some salary cap space.

Defenseman Brendan Smith (right knee, dating to Anaheim game) skated a bit with the team but has yet to fully practice. And until that happens, no return date is on the horizon. He speculated he might be close to ready after the end-of-the-month All-Star break.

“Today, I got to skate with the team for the first time, which was fun,” Smith said. “See if it keeps getting better. You can’t really gauge it until you do a little bit of contact, a little bit of bumping.”

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Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.