With the Red Wings missing the playoffs yet again, it’s no secret that the organization has massive changes coming up in the future. Particularly, the defense and goaltending need to get better, and it must start this summer once the new league year begins and we start seeing teams make transactions.
Of course, we’ll shift our attention to the trio of goaltenders currently with the Red Wings: Petr Mrazek, Cam Talbot, and Alex Lyon. Of the three, expect Talbot to return and play one more season in Hockeytown before he likely passes the keys to Sebastian Cossa. This is assuming Cossa continues growing into his role as a pro hockey goaltender.
It’s also no secret that Mrazek holds an edge over Alex Lyon, and the latter seems to know it, based on the comments he made at the season-ending press conferences, using phrases like, “out of my control,” and “it was a great place to play.”
Based on those comments last week, it’s all but a done deal that Lyon will more likely play against the Red Wings instead of playing for the Wings.
Alex Lyon realizes his days with the Red Wings are finished
Well, finished for now, at least. While Lyon would never make such a claim, I’d be one to speculate that his days in the Motor City might just be taking a breather. Why is that? Well, Mrazek’s and Talbot’s respective contracts expire following the 2025-26 season, and both are on the “back nine” of their careers.
This tells me Sebastian Cossa will take over as the Wings No. 1 goaltender starting in 2026-27 at the latest, if not sooner. That could open the door for Lyon to make a triumphant return as the Red Wings clear-cut No. 2 netminder behind Cossa. And it would make sense, considering his familiarity with the organization.
But, this would only occur if Lyon signed elsewhere for a season, then became an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026. Bringing Lyon back into the mix would make a lot of sense if you’re the Wings, since it would show Cossa that they have full faith in him moving forward, and he wouldn’t be looking over his shoulder in what would be his first full season in the crease.
Alex Lyon would also make a great mentor for Cossa
Should we see more of Sebastian Cossa next season, and it goes without saying that we will, he’ll have a pair of veterans in Cam Talbot and Petr Mrazek. But what happens when Talbot’s gone and potentially Mrazek, come 2026-27? At that point, Alex Lyon would have more than enough experience in pro hockey to walk in and take over in a mentor role.
Plus, he’s another familiar face, which would only further benefit Cossa. So, overall, there’s no way such a move would work against the Red Wings. While there’s a 99.9 percent chance you won’t see Alex Lyon wearing the winged wheel next season, there’s always a chance he’ll return in 2026-27, right when a changing of the guard occurs at netminder.
And by that time, it wouldn’t surprise me that, should the Wings check off all the boxes in the offseason and in the summer of 2026, they’ll finally end up in the postseason.