Griffins Sign Veteran NHL Goaltender

Losing both of the club’s goalies to injury, the Grand Rapids Griffins, AHL farm club of the Detroit Red Wings, have added an experienced NHL netminder to the club’s roster. Veteran Dustin Tokarski is joining the team on a professional tryout contract.

. @CopperRockGR Building Strong Update: The Griffins signed goaltender Dustin Tokarski to a professional tryout #GoGRG

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— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) November 13, 2025

Both Sebastian Cossa and Michal Postava incurred injuries in the past week. While Cossa is listed as day-to-day and expected to be back next week, the expectation is that Postava will be sidelined for a much longer term.

Off to a 9-0-0-1 start to the AHL season, evidently, the Griffins weren’t anxious to go without two experienced AHL goaltenders for the long haul. The club has been going with Red Wings prospect Carter Gylander, who was called up from the ECHL Toledo Walleye.

Backing him up has been Luke Pavicich. On Wednesday, the Griffins released goaltender Pavicich from his professional tryout, returning him to the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings.

. @CopperRockGR Building Strong Update: The Griffins released goaltender Luke Pavicich from his professional tryout, returning him to the @KalamazooWings #GoGRG

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— Grand Rapids Griffins (@griffinshockey) November 12, 2025

In Tokarski, 36, not only is Grand Rapids getting a veteran puckstopper who’s played 86 games, but he’s also a two-time AHL Calder Cup winner. Tokarski was an AHL champion with Norfolk in 2011 and again with Charlotte in 2019.

The 16-year veteran has played 44 AHL games since turning pro in 2009. Tokarski was selected to play in the 2013-14 AHL All-Star Game. He paced the AHL in wins (32) during the 2011-12 season with Norfolk. Throughout his AHL career, Tokarski has a 227-154-41 record with 30 shutouts, a 2.58 GAA, and a .910 save percentage in 444 regular-season games.

New Griffins’ Goalie Played In The NHL Last Season

The move would also potentially give the Red Wings an NHL-experienced goalie available should either John Gibson or Cam Talbot run into injury issues. If such an emergency were to arise, Detroit would simply need to sign Tokarski to an NHL minimum contract. A similar situation arose two seasons ago when the Red Wings signed Michael Hutchinson from the Griffins.

Last season, Tokarski appeared in six NHL contests with the Carolina Hurricanes. During that stint, he was compiling a 4-2-0 record with a 2.18 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. He spent much of the campaign in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves. With the Wolves, he was producing an 11-8-1 ledger with a 2.84 GAA and a .897 save percentage.

At the NHL level, Tokarski has played with Tampa Bay, Montreal, Anaheim, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Carolina. He has a 27-36-12 record with three shutouts, a 3.08 GAA, and a .902 save percentage in 86 regular-season games.