Alex Lyon and the Detroit Red Wings Make Strange Trip to Toronto

It has been a strange trip for Alex Lyon to the city of Detroit after making it to the NHL as an undrafted free agent. Lyon is the latest Detroit Red Wings’ goalie who has played well for a short time, but will his strong play last? Lyon took over for Ville Husso, who has been out of the Red Wings’ lineup with a lower-body injury. Lyon has played in only 52 games over the first seven years of his career, the bulk of which came for the Philadelphia Flyers from 2017-2022. At 31 years old, no one is mistaking Lyon for the goalie of the future in Detroit.

This strange trip continued for James Reimer as he was the starting goalie the day after the Red Wings defeated the Los Angeles Kings at Little Caesars Arena. The team walked into the arena just an hour ahead of their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs was scheduled to start. It would have been easy for Reimer and the rest of the team to lay down for this game against such a tough Maple Leaf team.

“It was a huge win. When everything was stacked up against us, we just battled,” said Dylan Larkin after the game.

“It was a huge win. When everything was stacked up against us, we just battled."
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 15, 2024

Sebastian Cossa is the best goalie prospect currently in the Red Wings’ system. The 6’6” 209 lb. goalie from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, was drafted 15^th overall by the Red Wings in 2021 out of the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League. For the team to draft a goaltender so high up in the draft while also having needs at other positions is a huge risk. Cossa is now the starting goalie for the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL. In 16 games played for the Griffins during the 2023-24 season, Cossa has a 2.84 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.

The concerning part of the game against the Maple Leafs was that Patrick Kane went down with a lower-body injury in the first period. Perhaps the day spent in the airport hindered Kane’s ability to warm up for the game. The fact that the 35-year-old free agent was coming off hip resurfacing surgery did not help. Kane has played well for the Red Wings so far, scoring seven goals and adding nine assists in 19 games played.