Red Wings Send Goalie Hellberg to Grand Rapids for Conditioning

The Detroit Red Wings sent Swedish goalie Magnus Hellberg to the Grand Rapids Griffins for a conditioning stay of an unspecified length.

The league allows a conditioning stay of not more than 14 days or five games. That’s important because players don’t have to go through waivers for a conditioning assignment. Hellberg started this season with the Seattle Kraken. The Ottawa Senators claimed him when the Kraken tried to send him to the minors. The Kraken reclaimed him when the Senators wanted to send him to their AHL affiliate.

UPDATE: The #RedWings today assigned goaltender Magnus Hellberg to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins for conditioning.

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When the Kraken tried again to send him to the minors, Detroit GM Steve Yzerman claimed Hellberg to be Detroit’s No. 3 goalie. Yzerman hasn’t talked about the acquisition, but it seems as if he wants the veteran Hellberg as insurance in case either Ville Husso or Alex Nedeljkovic is injured.

The Red Wings’ plan, for now, is simply to carry three goalies on the roster, even though that has its challenges in practice. It’s difficult for three goalies to share two nets.

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“Good communication is key and make sure everybody gets the work in they need,” Hellberg said recently. “Obviously, the guy who’s playing has their own net and then the guys that are not playing maybe share a little bit more. I think you just have to have communication and see how much you need each day. ”

The Red Wings have to assume that if they place him waivers to send him to the minors full-time he will be claimed.

Hellberg’s AHL conditioning assignment is warranted. He has only played one game this season, stopping 29 of 31 shots for the Senators in a win against the Dallas Stars. He did play for Sweden in the World Championships in May.

Hellberg has only played six NHL games, but he was a standout for five seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League. He has played for the Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Red Wings, Senators and Kraken in the NHL.