Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon sustained an undisclosed injury during Wednesday’s morning skate and is unavailable tonight against the Flames, Max Bultman of The Athletic reports. Ville Husso was recalled from AHL Grand Rapids and will serve as Cam Talbot’s backup against the latter’s former team.
It’s a tough break for Lyon, who had stopped 49 of 52 shots in his last two outings en route to a pair of wins, a 1.50 GAA and a .942 SV%. The 31-year-old has only made three appearances since the start of November due to a lower-body injury, although it’s unclear if today’s tweak is related to that previous ailment.
Lyon, a pending UFA, has been strong overall in his second season in Hockeytown. The Minnesota native has a 4-4-0 record in eight starts and one relief appearance, adding a .911 SV% and 2.74 GAA with one shutout. He’s saved 2.5 goals above average, up from last year’s 1.1 mark in a career-high 44 games.
Husso, the No. 3 option for Detroit between the pipes, is in the final season of his ill-advised three-year, $14.25MM contract. He’s made two appearances for the Red Wings this season amid lengthy reassignments to Grand Rapids, allowing seven goals on 37 shots for an 0-2-0 record and .811 SV%. Since arriving in Detroit in 2022, he’s posted a 35-29-9 record but has a subpar .893 SV% and -22.1 GSAA. To his credit, the 29-year-old Finn has been exceptional in the minors, logging a .944 SV% and 1.58 GAA in five showings for Grand Rapids.
More from the Red Wings:
- Right-winger Patrick Kane will miss his second straight game tonight with an upper-body injury, head coach Derek Lalonde told Ansar Khan of MLive.com. It’s been a tough season for the future Hall of Famer, who remains day-to-day and has only three goals and 10 points in 20 outings. With the absences, he’s now on pace for just 12 goals and 40 points, each checking in as career-lows even including shortened seasons. The 36-year-old signed a one-year, $4MM extension with $2.5MM in potential performance bonuses in June.
- Detroit goalie prospect Rudy Guimond has jumped from the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders to the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats, becoming the latest player to take advantage of the NCAA’s new eligibility rules for major junior players. Guimond was a sixth-round pick of the Red Wings in 2023 and is committed to Yale for the 2025-26 season. It’s been a tough showing for Guimond since he was drafted, logging a porous .871 SV% and 3.53 GAA in 38 USHL games for Cedar Rapids after being selected out of prep school.
Maybe Husso gets a couple of starts while Lyon is out. If he plays well he could be a big chip in a trade. Might as well try to get something for him, instead of him just walking away at season’s end.
There is a better chance of Yzerman coming out of retirement than Husso becoming a “big chip” in anything. Eat half his salary and attach a draft pick and someone desperate might take a flyer.
Big chip? Seriously, they could put him on waivers and no one will take him for free.
Husso would certainly get picked up for free.
Plenty of teams looking for goalies. Unfortunately, if not for free, he would bring back next to nothing.
Nat at his overpaid cap hit!! NEVER!
At a nearly $5 MM cap hit?? For a guy who’s had only one good season? No. No one’s looking to take a flier on that.
What was Yzerman thinking when threw money at Husso after a small sample size of success? OMG! LOL!
Well he did the same for Nedeljkovic a couple years earlier……..they were both big gambles but he had plenty of cap space then too.
Why these GMs believe that ample cap space is a license to throw money away, Or take a huge risk is beyond me.
Needed someone to play goal? And a rebuilding team can afford to take a chance. Look at Mrazek. Albeit the Hawks took a chance on a veteran goalie. But if you hit on a young goalie, then you may have filled that position for 8-10 yrs!