The Detroit Red Wings added to their goaltending depth in the first hours of free agency, signing Alex Lyon shortly after coming to terms with James Reimer.
Lyon, 30, was inked to a two-year deal with a $900,000 annual average value. He projects to be the third-string goalie for the Wings, and someone who will push 2021 first-round pick Sebastian Cossa for starts with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Both Lyon and Reimer (who also was signed for one year) shore up the goaltending which suffered last year because of the struggles of Alex Nedeljkovic and Magnus Hellberg.
Lyon (6 foot 1, 201 pounds) started the first three games of the Florida Panthers’ first-round series against the Boston Bruins.
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Lyon, who spent most of his career in the minor leagues, got the nod on the strength of going 6-1-1 with a 1.87 goals-against average and .943 save percentage down the stretch run of the regular season. Lyon posted a 3.26 GAA and .902 save percentage in his first three playoff games, but the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins make it hard on goaltenders in general. (Sergei Bobrovsky replaced Lyon in Game 3 and started the next three games, and has a 4.40 GAA with a .883 save percentage.)
Lyon is 16-11-5 with a 3.05 GAA and .904 save percentage in 39 career NHL games.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings add goaltending depth in free agent Alex Lyon
