Red Wings place goaltender on waivers after uninspiring performance

The Detroit Red Wings have placed goaltender Ville Husso on waivers for the purpose of a loan to the AHL, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Husso is in the final year of a three-year, $14.25M contract signed with Detroit in the summer of 2022. His $4.75M cap hit is tied for the eighth-highest in Detroit.

Detroit’s plan to carry three goaltenders has been clear since it signed Cam Talbot to a two-year, $5M contract on July 1. Talbot joined a room already rife with competition between Alex Lyon and Husso. Lyon has been the odd-man-out in the early going, standing as the only Wings goalie to not yet start a game. Husso wasn’t inspiring in the matchup he received, allowing four goals on 14 shots and getting pulled for Talbot. That weak performance seems to be the spark behind his waiving Sunday, despite Husso’s .940 save percentage through three pre-season games suggesting some upside.

The Red Wings will now move forward with Cam Talbot as their clear-cut starter, rewarding his 54 saves on 56 shots (.964) through two games so far. Lyon will step up as the team’s backup just a few months removed from winning the starting role over Husso, recording 21 wins and a .904 in 44 games last season. Meanwhile, Husso’s path to ice time won’t become any clearer if he heads to the minor leagues, with Grand Rapids currently led by top prospect Sebastian Cossa. Cossa managed one win and 64 saves on 68 shots (.941) through Grand Rapids’ first two games of the season this weekend and has posted a .913 save percentage in each of the last three seasons. Even pitted against the near-$5M man that is Husso, it’d be hard to award starts to any other Griffins goalie — only increasing the excitement around Detroit’s crowded goalie room.