Detroit Red Wings place goalie Ville Husso on waivers to free up roster room

The Detroit Red Wings , in need of roster room, placed Ville Husso on waivers Sunday.

In the last year of a contract carrying a $4.75 million price tag, and having lasted just over a full period in a season-opening loss, Husso isn't going to attract takers. The Wings needed to waive somebody because forward Christian Fischer and defenseman Jeff Petry, both day-to-day with upper-body injuries, are unavailable for Monday's game against the Rangers in New York.

Once Husso clears Monday, the Wings can assign him to the minors and call up a skater for the Rangers game. They still have two goalies on the roster in Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon.

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After that, they don't play again until Thursday (also at home also against the Rangers), so the call-up is likely to be a veteran — someone such as Austin Watson, for example.

Marco Kasper, the team's first-round pick in 2022, used the exhibition season to show he is NHL-ready, but if the Wings don't anticipate needing someone for more than one game, it makes more sense to look to a veteran.

Husso landing on waivers isn't a great look for the 29-year-old former No. 1 netminder, but he didn't help his case when he allowed four goals on 14 shots in some 25 minutes in Thursday's loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Free-agent signee Talbot, meanwhile, stymied the Nashville Predators on 42 shots in Saturday's 3-0 victory.

Husso is also coming off an injury-plagued season which limited him to 19 games in 2023-24.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com . Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames .

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings place goalie Ville Husso on waivers to free up roster room