Red Wings make a controversial call up and send Calvin Pickard back down to the AHL.

Red Wings make an unpopular move.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Red Wings make a controversial call up and send Calvin Pickard back down to the AHL.
Chris Szagola/CSM/Zuma

The Detroit Red Wings have made some changes to their roster on Sunday but not everyone is a big fan of the moves being made by Red Wings' general manager Steve Yzerman.

First, the Red Wings announced on Sunday morning that they would be sending veteran goaltender Calvin Pickard down to the American Hockey League, a rather unsurprising move given the way that Pickard has seemingly struggled between the pipes this season. In his one appearance for the Red Wings the 27 year old former 2nd round pick posted an abysmal 6.03 goals against average and a very ugly .829 save percentage. You can blame the team in front of him to some extent but his performances in the American Hockey League have not exactly been stellar either. In 15 appearances for the Griffins this season Pickard has registered a 3.00 goals against average and a .898 save percentage. The Red Wings made a trade yesterday to acquire a new goaltender, picking up Eric Comrie from the Arizona Coyotes, and you have to wonder if this move might not be related to that trade deal.

That is all well and good but it is the second part of the announcement that has provoked a negative reaction from several Red Wings' fans. According to the Red Wings the team has also recalled veteran defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, a man that has been a lightning rod for criticism from the Red Wings fan base in recent years. Ericsson has previously been used in just 7 games this season by the Red Wings, picking up no goals and no assists and boasting a plus minus rating of -4 on the season over that stretch. His play with the Griffins has seen him fare a little better however with no goals and 2 assists over his 10 games in the American Hockey League this season and a plus minus rating of +4 to go along with that.

Whether justified or not Ericsson has become arguably the Red Wings most maligned defenseman, and arguably one of their most maligned players overall, and fans are never going to be happy when he gets called back up to the main roster. Given the way the Red Wings have been playing as of late however I can't say I really blame Steve Yzerman for trying every tool he's got at his disposal to bring some life back to this team.

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