They reacquired Magnus Hellberg on Wednesday afternoon, claiming him off waivers shortly before Ville Husso made 26 saves to deliver a 3-0 victory over the Nashville Predators.
Hellberg was with the Wings at the end of last season to provide depth, and that apparently is what general manager Steve Yzerman is thinking once again.
“Steve called me today,” coach Derek Lalonde said after Wednesday’s victory at Little Caesars Arena. “That was news to me. It was not something we talked about as a group.
“His exact words were, we have a lot of hockey coming up. We have a roster spot. I think he gives us another option if one of our two goalies here goes down. I don’t follow GR as closely as I probably should, but I think we would like another option if something goes wrong with our top two guys. Those were literally Steve’s exact words.”
Hellberg, 31, played in the Wings’ season finale, and stopped 20 of 23 shots in a win. He started this season with the Kraken, was waived and claimed by the Ottawa Senators, where he played one game (2.00 goals-against average, .935 save percentage) before being put back on waivers, where the Kraken claimed him.
While Husso has been outstanding (2.36 goals-against average, .922 save percentage), Alex Nedeljkovic has struggled (4.33, .873). The goalies the Wings have with the Grand Rapids Griffins have gone through tough times, too, with Victor Brattstrom posting a 4.05 GAA and .874 save percentage in eight games and Jussi Olkinuora a 4.21 GAA and .858 save percentage, also in eight games.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings have roster spot to keep Magnus Hellberg
