January 22, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Red Wings Kent Huskins (3) and Dallas Stars center Ryan Garbutt (40) battle for the puck in the first period at Joe Louis Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

When far too many of the Detroit Red Wings defensemen fell to injury within the first two games of the season, GM Ken Holland knew he had to find a veteran defenseman to fill a void.

While it set the Red Wings Twitterverse on fire with crazy defensemen theories (Nicklas Lidstrom coming out of retirement?! Andreas Lilja?! Or dare we even think it… Brett Lebda?!), the defenseman turned out to be Kent Huskins. Which led to more than a few people scratching their heads, saying, “Um, who?”

Huskins was signed on January 22 to a one-way contract and has been playing with the Red Wings since their third game against Dallas. He has been playing on a pairing with either Jakub Kindl and Brian Lashoff.

In the four games Huskins has played as a Red Wing, he has been a solid force on the blue line. While he has no points and 2 PIMs, that does not mean he’s been doing nothing. He has become a staple on the penalty kill, especially while Darren Helm was sidelined for a few games.

With Huskins on the penalty kill and both Helm and Patrick Eaves returning from their respective injuries, the Red Wings penalty killing has improved, successfully killing 19 of 21 chances. That’s definitely much better than just nine successfully killed out of 16 from the first two games of the season.

It’s not unlike the Red Wings to sign a veteran player to bring some experience into their ranks, even if it doesn’t always work out or puts the fanbase on edge. However, it seems as though Huskins is fitting right in to the roster.

Huskins was not signed to be an offensive defenseman. He was not signed to be the next Lidstrom or to fill Lidstrom’s spot all by himself. He was signed to simply fill in the gaps left by the injured Red Wings ranks. If you look at his signing in that light, how do you think he’s fared?

March 22, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; St. Louis Blues defenseman Kent Huskins (6) and Los Angeles Kings center Colin Fraser (24) collide during overtime at the Staples Center. Kings won 1-0 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Kent Huskins is a big physical, defensive defenceman. At 6’4″ 210 pounds he can play the body and is not afraid to drop the gloves.  He isn’t afraid of anyone and goes into the gritty areas where he uses his body to push people around. He was one of the reasons I never liked playing the Sharks; he would hack away and abuse Homer in front of the net. Now he will do the same thing for the Red Wings; opponents will not be able to screen Jimmy Howard without paying a price.

He has played with the St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, and Anaheim Ducks the past 6 seasons. He won’t produce many points for the Red Wings, but he won’t get called for a lot of penalties either. He will start opposite of Ian White and the Red Wings should feel an immediate impact with him on the ice.