The Free Press’s Helene St. James spoke with Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon about his health, his take on the Red Wings’ coaching change and his desire to continue as a member of Detroit’s NHL team past this season:
This is a a contract year for the 32-year-old Lyon, who until he joined the Wings on a two-year, $1.8 million deal in 2023 was a career minor leaguer with only 39 NHL games to his credit. He has played 60 with the Wings in 1½ seasons, rising from third-string to starter last season. Depending on what happens down the stretch this season, it’s a relationship that could continue. Cam Talbot is signed through next season, but Ville Husso is on an expiring deal, and given how he has struggled (1-5-2 with a 3.69 goals-against average and .866 save percentage), he will not be re-signed. The Wings have 2021 first-round pick Sebastian Cossa developing in the minors, but even if he’s deemed ready to join the Wings for 2025-26, the past couple years have shown the benefit of carrying three goaltenders, as the Wings have needed all of them.
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Lyon, who spent three years at Yale, has figured out how to handle the turbulence, knowing it takes vigilance.
“I still don’t feel like I belong — I mean, I feel I belong in the NHL, I know I can play here, but I feel the same as I did when I was 23,” he said. “There were times when I wasn’t in the NHL when I felt like I should have been, and whoever’s fault that is — my fault — we could talk about it endlessly. But my approach remains the same. It has to. You have to separate yourself from a lot of things and so that’s what I continue to try to do. I see it as the big picture and I hope I can play 10 more years.”
Continued (paywall) with a video interview:
