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Detroit Red Wings Sign Michael Hutchinson

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Already playing in the organization on an AHL contract for the 2023-24 season, the Detroit Red Wings announced the signing of goaltender Michael Hutchinson to a one-year, two-way contract for the rest of the season. In 13 games played for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, Hutchinson holds a 5-7-1 record, coupled with a .895 SV% and a 2.98 GAA.

The news comes after a tough couple of days for Detroit goaltending, as Alex Lyon left the team’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers after falling to the ice awkwardly following a save, and Ville Husso would leave the team’s game last night against the Anaheim Ducks with an apparent knee injury.

With head coach Derek Lalonde indicating that Husso would be out week-to-week, and Lyon expected to be out until after the Christmas holiday, James Reimer is seemingly the only healthy option left available to Detroit, meaning Hutchinson could see a call-up to the NHL organization shortly. In what has become a bit of a talking point surrounding the Red Wings season up to this point, the regular goaltending trio holds a 15-12-4 record in 31 games, only sporting a combined save percentage of 90.4% and a GAA of 3.01.

However, even with a fresh face between the pipes for a short while, there shouldn’t be any expectation that Hutchinson will provide any sort of improvement to Detroit’s goaltending issues. Having only played in 54 games since the beginning of the 2017-18 NHL season, Hutchinson holds a 16-23-7 record in those six years, while maintaining a .889 SV% and a 3.52 GAA.

If Hutchinson fails to deliver on whatever expectations the Red Wings may have for him, they do have one final option in the crease they could use, but are seemingly hesitant to do so. After a difficult transition to professional hockey last season, Sebastian Cossa, the 15th overall selection of the 2021 NHL Draft, sports a 4-5-2 record for the Griffins this season, with a much improved .904 SV% and 2.93 GAA.

Red Wings Place Klim Kostin On Injured Reserve

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The Red Wings placed winger Klim Kostin on injured reserve Tuesday, per a team announcement. In a corresponding transaction, the team recalled forward Austin Czarnik from AHL Grand Rapids under emergency conditions.

Kostin, 24, was on injured reserve as late as last week and returned from an undisclosed injury to play a pair of contests. Monday night against Anaheim, Kostin took a minor penalty and logged two shots on goal in 6:30 of ice time before leaving the game in the second period after taking an open-ice hit from Ducks bruiser Radko Gudas. The Red Wings have not disclosed what type of injury Kostin sustained.

This is Kostin’s first season in Hockeytown after Detroit acquired his signing rights from the Oilers in exchange for future considerations and the contract of former Oilers winger Kailer Yamamoto, which the Red Wings promptly bought out, just before the opening of free agency last July. Kostin was not issued a qualifying offer by the Red Wings but swiftly signed a two-year, $4MM contract to stay with Detroit when free agency opened. Slated for restricted free agency with arbitration rights in 2025, Kostin carries a $2MM cap hit and is owed $1.8MM in salary this season.

It’s been a disappointing run so far for Kostin, who scored a career-high 11 goals and 21 points in 57 games with Edmonton last season. The 2017 first-round pick of the Blues missed most of his draft year due to injury, and he hasn’t ever recovered from the loss of development time, failing to advance his offensive game past an NHL fourth-line level. In 23 games with the Red Wings, Kostin has two goals and one assist, averaging 8:40 per game. He’s also been a healthy scratch three times this season.

Czarnik replaces Kostin’s spot on the roster after being assigned to Grand Rapids yesterday. The 31-year-old AHL veteran has played 15 games with the Red Wings this season in a fourth-line role, registering one assist. The veteran of nearly 200 NHL games over the past eight seasons is expected to center a fourth line with Christian Fischer and Daniel Sprong in Wednesday’s game against the Jets.

Alex Lyon Potentially Going On Injured Reserve

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  • In the Detroit Red Wings’ most recent game against the Philadelphia Flyers, goaltender Alex Lyon left the game in the second period, after going down awkwardly after making a save. Now, Ansar Khan of MLive is reporting that if he has not shown signs of recovery by Wednesday, Detroit will likely place Lyon on the injured reserve, leaving the net to Ville Husso and James Reimer.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Red Wings Activate Dylan Larkin

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12:51 p.m.: Detroit made the transaction official Monday afternoon. To create space on the active roster, the team assigned forward Austin Czarnik to AHL Grand Rapids.

10:38 a.m.: The Red Wings will activate captain Dylan Larkin off injured reserve before tonight’s game against the Ducks, head coach Derek Lalonde said Monday morning.

Larkin landed on injured reserve last Monday with a head injury sustained on December 9 against the Senators. The 27-year-old center took a cross-check from Senators winger Mathieu Joseph during a net-front scrum late in the first period and was briefly unconscious on the ice.

Thankfully, Larkin didn’t sustain a severe injury on the play and is ready to return to game action just over a week after the incident. However, Detroit is still without winger David Perron, who has two games left to serve in a six-game suspension assessed for cross-checking Senators defenseman Artem Zub in retaliation after Larkin went down. Perron will be eligible to return for this Friday’s game against the Flyers.

Larkin’s return comes at a crucial time for the Red Wings. The team went 1-3-0 in their captain’s absence and has undone most of the standings gain created by a late November hot streak. Their 15-11-4 record is a .567 points percentage, which still puts them fourth in the Atlantic Division but behind the Islanders (.600) and Devils (.569) for the two Wild Card spots in the Eastern Conference.

The Waterford, Michigan-born center remains the only point-per-game player on the roster and has 11 goals and 14 assists through 24 contests, leading Red Wings forwards by averaging 19:24 per contest and winning a team-high 52.7% of faceoffs. His 52.8% Corsi share at even strength is the highest among any Red Wings forward to suit up this season.

Tonight marks the second full game with both Larkin and Patrick Kane in the Red Wings lineup. Kane’s Detroit debut came December 7 against the Sharks, Larkin’s last full game before exiting with injury. The two are expected to be linemates tonight, with 23-year-old Joe Veleno riding shotgun at left wing.

Larkin is in the first season of an eight-year, $69.6MM extension with trade protection inked last March. His 462 career points in 608 games rank 18th in Red Wings franchise history.

Minor Transactions: 12/16/2023

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It’s ramp-up time for international hockey across the world. The 2023 World Junior A Challenge will play its medal games on Sunday, the Spengler Cup is 10 days away from its kickoff, matched by the kickoff of the 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships kicking off on the same day. Teams are finalizing their lineups and beginning travel for the latter two tournaments and with an uptick in games has come an uptick in player movement. As always, we’ll keep track of notable player transactions here:

  • 153-game veteran of the NHL Michael Hutchinson has signed a one-year contract with the AHL’s Grand Rapid Griffins that will carry the goalie through the remainder of the 2023-24 season. Hutchinson has appeared in 13 games for Grand Rapids this season under a professional try-out contract. He gets promoted to a full contract after setting a 5-7-1 record and .895 save percentage with the Griffins. Hutchinson has spent the last five seasons bouncing between the NHL and AHL, failing to record more than 30 games in any league since the 2015-16 season. The now 33-year-old goaltender has played all across North America, playing for five different NHL clubs and seven different AHL clubs since becoming a pro in 2010-11. Hutchinson was drafted by the Boston Bruins – a club he never played an NHL game for – in the third round of the 2008 NHL Draft.
  • Belarusian National Team player Shane Prince has signed a new, one-year contract with Spartak Moscow of the KHL. This deal will carry him through the rest of the 2023-24 season. Prince has become a prominent member of Russia’s top league since moving to the country for the 2018-19 season. He’s since totaled 167 points in 256 games in the KHL, intermixed with 19 appearances and 12 points in the National League, Switzerland’s top league. Prince also began playing with Belarus’ national team at the 2021 World Cup, and other international matchups that year, and most recently joined the team in their win of the Channel One Cup. Prince was once a highly-regarded NHL draft prospect, hearing his name called by the Ottawa Senators in the second round of the 2011 NHL Draft. But despite a strong OHL career, Prince was never able to get it going in the NHL or AHL. He totaled 38 points in 128 NHL games, and 150 points in 210 AHL games, before his move to Russia.

This page may be updated throughout the day.

Detroit Red Wings Reassign Jonatan Berggren

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The Detroit Red Wings have announced that forward Jonatan Berggren has been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. The news comes shortly after the Red Wings reassigned another forward, Zach Aston-Reese, to the AHL.

With J.T. Compher set to return and Dylan Larkin inching closer to a return of his own, the Red Wings seemingly have decided to send down two of the three players who were originally recalled after Compher and Larkin were placed on injured reserve.

The subject of early-season trade rumors, Berggren has been shuffled between Detroit and Grand Rapids a few times already this season. The 33rd overall pick at the 2018 draft had a promising rookie season last year when he scored 15 goals and 28 points, and does have one stellar AHL campaign on his resume from 2021-22, when he potted 21 goals and 64 points in 70 games.

Berggren would likely be a top-nine regular on another NHL team, but the Red Wings made aggressive moves in the offseason to bolster their lineup. As a result, Berggren got squeezed out, and has played in 16 total AHL games this year compared to just seven in the NHL.

Berggren has remained a top-end AHLer, and has 15 points with Grand Rapids this season. With this reassignment, he’ll likely re-join the squad for the foreseeable future, although another recall or even a trade to a different organization can not be ruled out.

Red Wings Assign Zach Aston-Reese To AHL

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The Detroit Red Wings announced this morning that they’ve assigned forward Zach Aston-Reese to their American Hockey League affiliate the Grand Rapids Griffins. Aston-Reese was recalled earlier in the week along with two others to help the Red Wings deal with a multitude of injuries to members of their forward group.

The 29-year-old did see action during his recall as he dressed for Detroit’s 6-3 loss on Monday night at the hands of the Dallas Stars. Aston-Reese played just 6:21 in that game on 11 shifts and was held scoreless while dishing out two hits.

The Staten Island, New York native has been one of the most polarizing forwards in recent memory as his defensive analytics and impacts are among the best in the NHL, while his offensive abilities are very limited. Aston-Reese has never topped 17 points in an NHL season, and his 10 goals last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs were a career-high. This year with the Griffins in the AHL, Aston-Reese has dressed in 20 games, registering four goals and three assists.

For the second consecutive year, Aston-Reese was a fall signing as he inked his one-year, two-way deal with Detroit back on October 8th. Aston-Reese is currently making $775K in the NHL while being paid $300K during his time in the AHL.

Despite being sent down, Aston-Reese will likely remain one of the Red Wings best options should they need to make a recall later in the season.

Dylan Larkin Skates In Non-Contact Jersey

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Sportsnet’s Luke Fox tweeted this morning that Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies returned to practice today but is unlikely to return to the lineup tonight as he is still not 100%. Knies has been dealing with an illness the last few days that already caused him to miss Tuesday night’s 7-3 win over the New York Rangers. Lance Hornby of Postmedia added that there is a small chance that Knies could play and that things are a bit up in the air as the Maple Leafs have had a flu bug circulating through their dressing room. Should Knies miss tonight’s game Noah Gregor would likely take his spot on the top line once again with Auston Matthews and William Nylander.

The 21-year-old Knies has had an okay start to his first full season in the NHL registering six goals and five assists in 25 games. Expectations for the Phoenix, Arizona native were quite high after a solid seven-game showing in last year’s playoffs in which Knies posted a goal and three assists. He’s been physical, good defensively and responsible with the puck. However, he has not been able to drive play, which is surprising given that he has spent time on a line with two of the best play drivers in the NHL.

In other Atlantic Division notes:

  • Lance Hornby of Postmedia tweeted that Toronto Maples Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren is getting close to returning to the lineup. In talking with Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe Hornby learned that the 24-year-old should only need another practice or two before being ready to return to action. Liljegren has been out of the lineup since suffering a high-ankle sprain on November 2nd that was the result of a controversial trip by Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand. Liljegren has just a single assist in ten games this season and has been averaging just shy of 18 minutes a night of ice-time for Toronto.
  • Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press is reporting that Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin skated with the team this morning in a non-contact jersey. Larkin being back on the ice is certainly a positive development after he suffered what appeared to be a devastating injury on Saturday after he was hit up high by a couple of Ottawa Senators players. Larkin lay motionless on the ice as a melee ensued around him between the two teams. Larkin suffered what is being described as an upper-body injury and although it is a very positive development to see him back on the ice so soon, there is no timeline for his return to Detroit’s lineup.

NHLPA Files Appeal On Behalf Of David Perron

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Sportsnet is reporting that the NHLPA has filed an appeal on behalf of Detroit Red Wings forward David Perron after he was suspended six games for cross-checking Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub on Saturday night. Perron cross-checked Zub after a battle in front of the Senators net turned ugly resulting in Perron’s teammate Dylan Larkin being severely injured after taking multiple shots to the head and neck area from Mathieu Joseph and Parker Kelly. While Larkin lay motionless on the ice, Perron went after Zub and crosschecked him in the face which ultimately resulted in the suspension.

The incident was out of character as Perron doesn’t have a history of suspensions or supplemental discipline. It was certainly a heat of the moment reaction from the 35-year-old but one which will cost him to miss some games. The fact that Perron doesn’t have a history of disciplinary actions could play in his favor while he goes through the appeal process.

Perron’s appeal will go right to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman who will make a decision on the matter. If Bettman opts not to grant Perron the appeal, he can go to an independent arbitrator who will then decide. If the suspension remains in place at six games, the native of Sherbrooke, Quebec wouldn’t be able to return to the Red Wings lineup until their matchup on December 22nd against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The six-game suspension to Perron is the longest suspension handed down by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety in nearly two years and highlighted a busy weekend for George Parros and company.

David Perron Receives Six-Game Suspension

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The Department of Player Safety has reached its verdict on Red Wings winger David Perron, announcing (video link) that they have handed him a six-game suspension for his cross-check on Senators defenseman Artem Zub on Saturday.  The video explains why the suspension was well beyond the norm for a standard cross-check:

This is not a hockey play.  This is an intentional strike with a stick made with the purpose of exacting retribution on an opponent.  Perron takes several strides toward Zub, and, with sufficient time to choose to engage Zub in a different manner, or at the very least ensure that the cross-check is delivered directly to the body, comes up excessively high with his stick and delivers a shot to Zub’s head with force. 

The video also acknowledged that Detroit tried to make the claim that this was not a direct blow to the head but that the league disagrees, saying that “the brunt of the impact of this blow was clearly absorbed by Zub’s head due directly to the actions and choices made by Perron”.

Perron is eligible to appeal the suspension.  It would first be heard by Commissioner Gary Bettman.  If he was to uphold the suspension, Perron would then be eligible to appeal to an independent arbitrator since the suspension is for more than five games.

Perron will forfeit $148.4K as a result of the suspension with the money going to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.  Barring the suspension being reduced on appeal, he will be eligible to return on December 22nd against Philadelphia.

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