Detroit Signs Goalie Alex Lyon

The second of the Detroit Red Wings’ pair of goaltending moves today was the signing of Alex Lyon to a two-year, $9o0,00o contract.

UPDATE: The #RedWings today signed goaltender Alex Lyon to a two-year contract with an AAV of $900,000. pic.twitter.com/h3ww7eOoLF

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 1, 2023

I like this move a lot more than the first one.  Lyon was the hero of the Florida Panthers’ season, rattling off a six-game win streak in March and April to get the Panthers into the playoffs.  He finished the season with  2.89 GAA and a .914 save percentage.  Career, he’s got a 3.05 GAA and .904 save percentage.

Those numbers are a small sample size, though.  Lyon has bounced around the NHL since 2017-18 but only has 39 career starts.  So between Lyon and Reimer, the Red Wings are hoping that either the younger guy with the small sample size and the great story can keep it up or the older guy coming off a down season and negative press can rebound.

The biggest upside of this signing, as I see it, is that if Lyon works out, the Wings have a backup for the 2024-25 season at less than $1 million.

But Detroit still has a ton of salary cap space so, pending an upcoming big deal, it feels like the big win being to have saved money on your backup goalies is a very small win overall.