Detroit Red Wings add defenseman Robert Hägg; lose Mark Pysyk (Achilles) for 4-6 months
Helene St. JamesThe Detroit Red Wings haven't even begun training camp and already two defensemen will start the season on the injured list.
On the same day the Wings announced they signed Robert Hägg, they announced Mark Pysyk, signed in mid-July, has undergone surgery to repair an Achilles tendon, with an expected recovery in the 4-6 month range. Jake Walman will miss the start of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Hägg's signing comes two weeks after the team added Ben Chiarot and Olli Määttä. Hägg, 27, has appeared in 300 NHL games split among the Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers. In May, the Wings added Steven Kampfer.
Chiarot and Määttä, both of whom shoot left, were signed to be partners for Moritz Seider and Filip Hronek and form the Wings' top four corps.
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Simon Edvinsson, a 2021 first-round pick, is expected to compete for a spot in Detroit's lineup.With Pysyk out at least through November, Hägg, Steven Kampfer, and Jordan Oesterle are prime candidates to audition to be Edvinsson's partner.
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Hägg (6 feet 2, 207 pounds) had nine points and 35 penalty minutes in 64 games last season with the Sabres and Panthers. A former second-round pick (No. 41, 2013), Hägg played for the Flyers from 2016-21
The Wings open the exhibition season Sept. 27.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.