The Detroit Red Wings have lost defenseman Mark Pysyk to a long-term injury before he has even been able to lace up his skates for his new team.
Mark Pysyk Out Long-Term
The Detroit Red Wings brought in the 30-year-old right-shot defenseman just this summer, signing him to a one-year contract with a great value of an $850,000 cap hit.
Unfortunately, fans of the team will have to wait quite some time before they can see the 23rd overall pick from the 2010 Draft make his debut, with the Red Wings announcing that he will be sidelined between four-to-six months after undergoing surgery for a torn Achilles tendon.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) July 25, 2022
The injury is a disappointing one for the veteran blueliner, who had earned 104 points (28 goals, 78 assists) in 521 regular season games in the NHL before signing with the Red Wings.
The Sherwood Park, Alberta native would have been looking to make a positive impression early to cement his place among the team’s top six, especially as he will be an unrestricted free agent once again after the 2022/23 campaign concludes – with age starting to work against him and his prospects for the future.
Impact on the Red Wings Lineup
For the Detroit Red Wings, losing Mark Pysyk presents them with some decisions to be made along the right side of their defensive corps, with Pysyk generally expected to have slotted in perfectly on the bottom pairing – behind Calder Trophy winner Moritz Seider and Filip Hronek.
Having a veteran presence along the blueline could do wonders to help the rest of the team’s young group develop, both on and off the ice, but head coach Derek Lalonde, entering his first season in charge, will be pleased that the team still has the likes of Gustav Lindström to call upon.
Lindström averaged 16:07 in 63 games for the Red Wings last season, taking his career total up to 92 after being taken in the second round (38th overall) of the 2017 Draft, and was trusted to start in the defensive zone 54.2% of the time, demonstrating some physicality with 59 hits and 77 blocked shots in his first entire NHL season.
His performances dropped dramatically towards the end of the season and Jordan Oesterle’s place on the team saw him switched out a number of times, so he will need to step things up in training camp to ensure he locks down his position on the bottom pairing.
Impact For Mark Pysyk
For Mark Pysyk, the earliest he could possibly return to the ice would be around November, assuming everything goes perfectly in his rehabilitation efforts.
Otherwise, he would be looking at a late January return to action – where he would be looking to battle for ice time in the team’s second half of the season, something that could work out well for him.
If the Red Wings find themselves battling for a place in the playoffs, having the veteran defenseman return right in the middle of a tough schedule could see him earn valuable minutes and make a decent contribution to the team’s efforts.
With Pysyk turning 31 next January, he will be keen to maintain his professional career for as long as possible. Having a positive run with Detroit, potentially even into the post-season, could do much to ensure teams are interested in his services for the foreseeable future.
For now, though, Pysyk’s sole focus should be on his recovery and ensuring his body is fully healthy before even contemplating returning to the ice.
It will have disappointed him greatly to miss out on such a large portion of the season, but rushing back can only do more harm than good and the Red Wings organization will ensure that the right steps are taken to get him back to where he needs to be.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
