Red Wings recall former first-round pick, assign goaltender

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Ville Husso has officially cleared waivers, making him eligible to be assigned to the minor leagues. In a corresponding move, Detroit also recalled forward Austin Watson. Watson is expected to step into the lineup on Monday, with forward Christian Fischer dealing with a day-to-day upper-body injury.

Watson has built a name for himself as one of the league’s final true grinders. He recorded 307 penalty minutes in 175 games over the last three seasons, the seventh most of any NHL forwards in that span. He climbed that leaderboard while filling a bottom-line role for the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning, with minimal scoring along the way — totaling just 31 points since 2021-22. 

Detroit marks Watson’s fourth NHL team after starting his career by spending 10 years, 515 games and 705 penalty minutes with the Nashville Predators.

While Watson tries to return to the role of NHL fourth-line grinder that he’s become used to, Husso will prepare for his first extended stint in the minors since the 2019-20 season. He’s been a full-time NHL goalie ever since — save for one conditioning game last year. 

Husso started in Detroit’s season opener this year but got pulled for Cam Talbot after allowing four goals on 14 shots. That was all it took to become the odd man out among Talbot and Alex Lyon. 

He won’t get any clearer of a path to minutes in Grand Rapids, where top Wings prospect Sebastian Cossa has continued to perform strongly as the unrivaled starter. Cossa has managed a .913 save percentage in each of the last three seasons — coming in the WHL, ECHL and AHL, respectively — and started this season off with two strong games this weekend. 

Grand Rapids’ goaltending situation will be worth monitoring through the short term as the Griffins try to decide between their top pro prospect and the priciest goalie on Detroit’s payroll.