Lyon Activated Off IR, Talbot Could Return This Weekend, Edvinsson Injured Versus Flyers
Prior to tonight’s game against Philadelphia, the Red Wings announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Alex Lyon was activated off injured reserve. He had missed nearly three weeks due to a lower-body injury. The 32-year-old had played in nine games this season going into tonight’s action, posting a 2.74 GAA with a .911 SV%. Lyon has been strong value on the two-year deal he signed last summer worth $900K per season; he’s well-positioned to command considerably more on the open market in July.
- Still with the Red Wings, the team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Simon Edvinsson suffered an upper-body injury against Philadelphia and did not return. In his first full NHL season, the 21-year-old has certainly made an impact, collecting 13 points in 29 games while averaging 21:16 per game, good for second on the team behind only Moritz Seider. Speaking with reporters after the game including MLive’s Ansar Khan (Twitter link), head coach Derek Lalonde indicated that there was no immediate update on Edvinsson’s prognosis.
Afternoon Notes: Red Wings, Ostapchuk, Flames
The Detroit Red Wings received a handful of reassuring injury updates at Monday’s practice, all documented by Ansar Khan of Michigan Live. Most notably, backup goaltender Alex Lyon returned to practice in full and is expected to return for Wednesday’s game against Philadelphia. Lyon has been out of the lineup since suffering an undisclosed injury at practice on November 27th. He’s missed eight games. Cam Talbot is also making his way back to full health but isn’t expected to return until Friday. Talbot has missed five of Detroit’s last six games.
The Red Wings could have their top two netminders back to full health by this weekend, finally relieving them of their crisis in net. Ville Husso stepped up as the team’s starter in the absence of Talbot and Lyon, but did little with the role – posting a 1-2-2 record and .894 save percentage. His poor performances paved the way for top goalie prospect Sebastian Cossa to make his NHL debut – relieving Husso on December 9th after he allowed three goals on the first seven shots. Cossa allowed two more goals but banded together with Detroit’s scorers to win in a shootout. It was a promising performance for the 22-year-old Cossa, though it’s clear Detroit prefers him as the AHL starter. That role will be easier to ensure with Talbot and Lyon finally returning to full health.
Khan also shared that forward Marco Kasper is dealing with an illness and will be questionable for the team’s Wednesday game. Kasper has seven points and 12 penalty minutes in 25 games this season.
Other quick notes from Tuesday practice:
- The Ottawa Senators have sent forward Zack Ostapchuk to the minor leagues. The move appears to be a paper transaction to help accrue daily cap hit during off-days. Ostapchuk will likely be recalled ahead of Ottawa’s Tuesday game against Seattle, giving him a chance to continue searching for his first NHL goal. He has recorded two assists and one fighting major in 16 games this season – his only scoring or penalties through 23 career games. Ostapchuk has also recorded eight points and 10 penalty minutes in nine AHL games this year.
- Both Jakob Pelletier and Walker Duehr have been returned to the NHL roster, after being assigned to the AHL for Calgary’s off-day. Both players could step back into the lineup when Calgary hosts Boston on Tuesday, after winger Andrei Kuzmenko left the team’s Tuesday practice early, per Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960. Kuzmenko is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, and missed Saturday’s game. Pelletier and Duehr are both on a quest to earn full-time roles in the NHL, serving as two of Calgary’s top prospects and minor-league standouts for the last few seasons. Pelletier has scored two points in five NHL games this year, while Duehr has one point in 16 games.
- Flames goaltender Daniel Vladar returned to the team’s practice on Monday, shares Steinberg. Vladar missed Calgary’s Saturday game due to a lower-body injury, and has since been designated as day-to-day. He’s platooned starts with Dustin Wolf, narrowly beating out the rookie in games played with 16 to Wolf’s 15. Vladar has posted a 6-6-4 record and .885 save percentage in his performances, while Wolf has managed a 9-5-1 record and .915. That imbalance could soon push Wolf into the starter’s role, and return Vladar to the Flames’ backup spot where he spent the last three seasons.
East Notes: Berggren, Stolarz, Carlile, Santini
Red Wings forward Jonatan Berggren earned the first fine of his NHL career, the league’s Department of Player Safety announced this morning. He was fined $2,148, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for a cross-check against Maple Leafs forward Connor Dewar in last night’s 4-2 win.
Berggren landed a two-minute minor on the play, which occurred immediately after a stoppage in the second period. While engaging with Dewar in front of the Red Wings net after the whistle blew, he landed a cross-check that hit Dewar in the head/neck area.
It’s a minor blip in a tough year for Berggren, who’s still struggling to recapture his rookie-season form. He’s back on the NHL roster full-time after spending most of last season in the minors, but he’s scored just four goals and six points with a -6 rating through 30 contests. He’s averaging 12:27 per game with fringe power-play usage, averaging around a minute per game with the man-advantage unit.
A 2018 second-round pick, Berggren signed a one-year, $825K deal in September after sitting as an RFA for most of the summer. He scored 15 goals and 28 points in 67 games with the Wings in his first NHL look in the 2022-23 campaign.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:
- The Maple Leafs moved Anthony Stolarz to injured reserve before tonight’s game against the Sabres, ending a cascade of roster moves over the past few days (per David Alter of The Hockey News). The Vezina Trophy candidate had already missed one game with a lower-body injury he sustained against the Ducks on Dec. 12. He’ll miss at least one more game following the Buffalo tilt but could be eligible to return for a rematch against the Sabres on Dec. 20. The 30-year-old has a sparkling .927 SV% and 2.15 GAA in 17 games this year with a 9-5-2 record. The Leafs’ active roster remains at a full 23 players.
- The Lightning announced they’ve returned defensemen Declan Carlile and Steven Santini to AHL Syracuse. One or both could be back on the active roster ahead of their next game on Tuesday, depending on the health of captain Victor Hedman, who’s missed the Bolts’ last two games with a lower-body injury. Carlile, 24, scored his first NHL goal in last night’s win over the Kraken, his season debut after getting into his first NHL game last season. The 29-year-old Santini played 11:37 in Thursday’s win over the Flames, his first NHL game in nearly two years, but was a healthy scratch against Seattle.
Red Wings Return Jack Campbell From Emergency Recall
12/15: The Red Wings organization announced they’ve returned Campbell to their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. The roster move likely means Talbot will be healthy enough to return to the lineup before Detroit takes on the Philadelphia Flyers on December 18th.
12/13: With Cam Talbot re-aggravating his injury in practice today and Alex Lyon still not ready to return, the Red Wings need a second goalie for their game tomorrow against Toronto. Rather than bringing prospect Sebastian Cossa back up, they’ve elected to go in a different direction; the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled Jack Campbell from AHL Grand Rapids on an emergency basis.
Detroit signed the 32-year-old to a one-year, one-way deal worth the league minimum in free agency this summer after Edmonton elected to buy out the final three years of his contract back in June, paying him $9MM over the next six years not to play for them. That came on the heels of a disastrous 2023-24 campaign that saw him put up a 4.50 GAA and a .873 SV% in five early-season outings, eventually resulting in him being waived and sent to the minors.
However, Campbell hasn’t played much this season. He entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program late in the preseason and was away from the team for six weeks. Upon his return, he was immediately waived and after passing through unclaimed, he was sent to the Griffins. Campbell has played in just two games since being sent down, posting a 2.55 GAA and a .919 SV% in those outings.
Ville Husso has been the primary starter for Detroit as of late thanks to the injuries and that’s likely to be the case versus the Maple Leafs rather than Campbell getting the nod against one of his former teams. But rather than pulling Cossa back up so quickly, the Red Wings have opted to give him the steadier minutes with the Griffins, giving Campbell at least a shot at a brief NHL stint until either Talbot or Lyon can return.
Atlantic Notes: Reinhardt, Norris, Lafferty, Stolarz, McMann, Talbot
The Senators announced Friday that they’ve recalled left-winger Cole Reinhardt from AHL Belleville.
The 24-year-old has been subject to multiple paper transactions this season, but this doesn’t appear to be one of them. Reinhardt has been in Belleville since Sunday and hasn’t been rostered for either of Ottawa’s last two games. He could enter the lineup tonight against the Hurricanes instead of center Zack Ostapchuk, who left Wednesday’s 5-1 win over the Ducks with an undisclosed injury.
Ottawa would need someone to shift to center – Reinhardt has never played the position meaningfully at the professional level. One of Nick Cousins, Noah Gregor or Ridly Greig will likely move to take Ostapchuk’s spot as fourth-line center while Reinhardt slots in on their wing.
In five NHL appearances this season, the 24-year-old Calgary native has a goal and an assist with a -2 rating and 14 hits while averaging 9:15 per game. He’s been dynamic when on assignment to the B-Sens, posting five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in only 12 games. He’s the only Belleville player producing more than a point per game.
In other Sens news, the league announced that center Joshua Norris had been fined $2,000 for being issued his second embellishment citation this season. The incident that spurred the fine occurred on Dec. 5 against the Red Wings, with the league positing that Norris overreacted to a holding offense from Detroit rookie Marco Kasper (video link).
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- Sabres forward Sam Lafferty practiced in a regular jersey this morning and could be an option to return to the lineup this weekend, head coach Lindy Ruff told Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550. Lafferty has been on injured reserve for over a week with a lower-body issue and has missed Buffalo’s last six games, all of them losses amid a larger eight-game winless streak. Prior to getting hurt, the 29-year-old was averaging just 9:48 per game and had been limited to one goal in 22 appearances with a -2 rating. Buffalo signed him to a two-year, $4MM deal in free agency over the summer to contribute as a fourth-line piece and kill penalties, the latter of which he’s rarely done – he averages just 32 seconds per game shorthanded.
- It’s all good news on the injury front for the Maple Leafs. Netminder Anthony Stolarz is only day-to-day with his lower-body injury after leaving last night’s win over the Ducks after the first period, head coach Craig Berube said today (via Jonas Siegel of The Athletic). The 30-year-old leads the league with a .927 SV% and has started 17 of Toronto’s 29 games, on pace to break last year’s career-high 24. He’ll likely miss their next two games against the Red Wings and Sabres, but the lack of an IR placement suggests he may be available next Wednesday against the Stars. Berube also said that winger Bobby McMann, who’s missed seven games with a lower-body issue, is “very close” to returning (per David Alter of The Hockey News).
- Red Wings starter Cam Talbot re-aggravated the lower-body injury that kept him out for most of this month and will be unavailable tomorrow against Toronto, per the team’s Daniella Bruce. He made 32 saves on 34 shots in a loss to the Flyers last night, bringing his SV% on the year up to a strong .916 mark. The team will wait to recall a backup for No. 3 option Ville Husso until tomorrow, Bruce said.
Red Wings Reassign Sebastian Cossa, Cam Talbot Cleared To Play
Red Wings netminder Cam Talbot is ready to return from his lower-body injury and is expected to start tomorrow in Philadelphia, Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News reports. As such, rookie Sebastian Cossa‘s services were no longer required on the active roster and he was reassigned to AHL Grand Rapids, the team announced.
Talbot, 37, missed four games with the injury, which he sustained midway through an eventual overtime loss to the Canucks on Dec. 1. Detroit was already without No. 2 option Alex Lyon, who remains on injured reserve with a lower-body issue, forcing them to summon Cossa to complement veteran third-stringer Ville Husso for the time being. Husso will stay around for a while yet as Talbot’s backup until Lyon is ready to return.
While a few of the moves that Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman made this summer appear to be backfiring, signing Talbot isn’t one of them. The 12-year veteran has arguably been the Red Wings’ most valuable player in 2024-25, posting a .915 SV% and 2.73 GAA in 15 appearances behind a Detroit team that’s allowing 30.9 shots per game, fifth-worst in the league. Talbot’s 10.1 goals saved above expected rank fifth behind Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck (16.8), Anaheim’s Lukáš Dostál (14.0), Utah’s Karel Vejmelka (13.2), and Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson (12.6), per MoneyPuck.
The Red Wings, who need a serious winning streak to put themselves back in playoff contention, are certainly happy to get that level of play back between the pipes. Husso has floundered often in his six starts and one relief appearance this year, posting a .870 SV% and 3.74 GAA while allowing 7.6 goals above expected. He most recently allowed three goals on seven shots against the Sabres on Monday before being pulled, leading to Cossa’s NHL debut. The 22-year-old Cossa, who the Wings selected 15th overall in the 2021 draft, made 12 saves on 14 shots en route to a comeback 6-5 shootout win.
More development time isn’t a bad thing for the 6’6″, 209-lb netminder, but Cossa has taken a demonstrable step forward with Grand Rapids this season. Now in his third professional campaign, the 2022 World Juniors gold medalist has a sparkling 2.21 GAA and .925 SV% in 14 appearances with a 9-4-1 record. He’s on track to clear the career-best 2.41 and .913 marks he set with Grand Rapids last season.
The Red Wings’ active roster count stands at 21 with $4.31MM in cap space after Cossa’s demotion, per PuckPedia. Talbot was never placed on injured reserve, so no transaction is required to make him available for tomorrow’s game.
Talbot And Lyon Likely To Miss Next Two Games
- The Red Wings won’t have goaltenders Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon available for a little while longer. MLive’s Ansar Khan relays (Twitter link) that the netminders will likely miss the next two games as they continue to deal with lower-body injuries. Talbot has posted an impressive .915 SV% in 15 games in his first season with Detroit while Lyon is only a few points lower at .911 in his first nine outings. Ville Husso will continue to serve as the starter for the time being while prospect Sebastian Cossa is back with the team after being papered down on Friday for cap reasons and will serve as Husso’s backup.
Red Wings Tried To Acquire Trouba Again
- If Steve Yzerman had his way, Trouba would wear the ‘Winged Wheel’ instead of a duck-inspired goalie mask. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported the Detroit Red Wings were again interested in acquiring Trouba from the Rangers but the two sides couldn’t agree on a working trade. It likely wasn’t a question of assets given the eventual return package for Trouba. The Red Wings likely needed a third team’s involvement to retain salary as they don’t have the salary cap space to absorb Trouba’s $8MM salary for this year and next.
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Red Wings Activate Patrick Kane From Injured Reserve
Dec. 5: Just two days later, the Red Wings announced that Kane has been removed from IR. He’ll return to the lineup tonight against the Senators after missing five total contests with the upper-body issue. Lagesson returned to Grand Rapids in a corresponding move.
Dec. 3: The Red Wings announced Tuesday that they’ve placed right-winger Patrick Kane on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 23. He’s already missed four games with an upper-body injury and remains day-to-day, so he’s eligible to come off IR anytime.
Thus, his move to IR is only procedural and will only open up an additional roster spot for Detroit. Shortly before confirming Kane’s IR placement, the team said the open spot was used to recall defenseman William Lagesson from AHL Grand Rapids. The Red Wings’ active roster count remains at a maximum of 23.
The 2024-25 season has been difficult for the 36-year-old Kane, who has only three goals and seven assists for 10 points through 20 contests. The 2016 MVP and four-time All-Star is shooting at a career-low 7.5% clip and averaging a career-low 17:21 per game.
Kane’s struggles highlight a more significant issue with the Wings’ depth scoring, the lack of which is arguably the biggest reason why they remain one game below .500 and four points out of a playoff spot entering a pivotal matchup with the Atlantic Division rival Bruins tonight. He’s also been among Detroit’s worst players at controlling possession at even strength, logging a 41.9 CF% that sits 15th out of the 20 Red Wings skaters to play at least 10 games this season.
The Red Wings signed Kane to a one-year, $4MM extension in late June with up to $2.5MM in potential performance bonuses. He’s already earned $1.5MM in bonuses by hitting the 10-game mark, with an additional $250K possible if he hits 60 games. The remaining $750K can only be unlocked if Detroit makes the playoffs, which The Athletic gives just a three percent chance of happening.
Lagesson, 28, was recalled once earlier this season to serve as injury insurance on Nov. 18 against the Sharks but did not play. He was returned to Grand Rapids the following day.
After clearing waivers during training camp, Lagesson has posted two goals, three assists, five points, 14 PIMs, and a team-high +9 rating in 13 games with Grand Rapids. He has not played since Nov. 24 against Iowa after the AHL’s Player Safety Committee assessed him a three-game suspension for roughing Wild right-wing prospect Adam Raška. Lagesson has served that suspension and will be eligible to suit up for Grand Rapids again whenever the Red Wings reassign him.
As to why the Wings recalled Lagesson, he gives them an extra depth option on the blue line for their two-game divisional road swing this week. The 6’2″, 207-lb righty signed a one-year, one-way league minimum contract with Detroit in free agency over the summer after suiting up in a career-high 40 games with the Maple Leafs and Ducks last season.
Cam Talbot Won't Join Team For Roadtrip
- According to broadcaster Daniella Bruce, the Detroit Red Wings won’t have netminder Cam Talbot available during their two-game road trip against the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators. This means rookie netminder Sebastian Cossa will likely be with the team for the remainder of the week under emergency conditions unless Alex Lyon is activated from the injured reserve. Head coach Derek Lalonde has already confirmed Cossa won’t get the start this evening against the Bruins but could make his NHL debut later this week should Ville Husso continue struggling.
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