Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic goes unclaimed, remains Red Wings property
Ted Kulfan
Denver — Alex Nedeljkovic is apparently headed back to Grand Rapids.
Nedeljkovic went unclaimed Monday morning by the other 31 NHL teams, and remains Red Wings property.
Nedeljkovic, who just completed a conditioning stint with the Griffins, is likely to remain with the Griffins for the immediate future.
In six starts with the Griffins, Nedeljkovic was 3-2-1 with a 2.30 goals-against average and .920 save percentage.
The conditioning stint was needed, after Nedeljkovic fell out of the Red Wings’ goalie rotation in favor of Magnus Hellberg, a Wings’ waiver claim last month after Nedeljkovic had a string of poor starts while backing up Ville Husso.
The Wings took a calculated risk that no other team would grab Nedeljkovic, and the gamble paid off. Coach Derek Lalonde reiterated after Monday's 6-3 loss in Colorado the Wings remain confident in Nedeljkovic becoming an effective NHL goaltender.
"I meant it when I said earlier I don't think we've given up on him at all," Lalonde said. "He's the No. 3 goalie in our organization and there's still a lot of unknowns within our goaltending. We asked him to get his game in order (in the minor leagues), and he'll continue to play there and he'll potentially be an option down the road."
After a strong first half last season Nedeljkovic tumbled down the stretch to finish the 2021-22 season, then went 2-4-2, 4.09 GAA, .880 SVS with the Wings to begin this season.
Nedeljkovic, 27, has only the remainder of this season on his contract, at a $3 million salary cap hit. Nedeljkovic can be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Husso got the start Monday in Denver, while Hellberg, who relieved Husso after two periods in Monday's blowout loss, will start for the Wings on Tuesday in Arizona.
"(Hellberg) got some rhythm in his game, and he made a couple good saves," Lalonde said. "I don't think he wants a 160-foot (Nathan) MacKinnon breakaway (goal) as part of his rhythm for the next night, but he looked fine."
Nedeljkovic joins forward Jakub Vrana as former Red Wings regulars now currently on the Griffins' roster.
Vrana was waived shortly after returning from the NHL/NHLPA players assistance program, but also went unclaimed. Vrana has one point (an assist) in seven games with the Griffins, and has been a healthy scratch for two games.
Vrana has one more year on his contract at a $5.25 million cap hit per year.
Penalty trouble
A key part of Monday's game was the Wings' parade to the penalty box in the first period.
The Avalanche had three power plays in the period, ultimately scored on Cale Makar's goal at 18 minutes, 4 seconds of the period giving Colorado a 2-0 lead and putting the Wings in a large hole.
"When you take penalty after penalty after penalty, it feels like the ice is tilted and guys are a bit out of rhythm," said Andrew Copp, noting some Wings sat quite a bit which the flow of the game being affected. "It's tough to take penalty after penalty. You have guys sitting there for five minutes and especially when it's back to back."
Lalonde felt the Avalanche generated too much momentum from the power plays.
"It's frustrating because I didn't mind our first period, we had some looks and should have had a goal or two, but we're down 2-0 and it kind of reflected the whole game," Lalonde said. "They got momentum and power play and a couple of guys had real elite nights.
"That was the difference."
Ice chips
Oskar Sundqvist was a healthy, but unhealthy scratch, Monday against the Avalanche.
"I'd call it a healthy scratch but Sunny's body has been through a lot," Lalonde said. "This was an opportunity, on a back to back, where he didn't have a lot of pop in his game (Saturday) to give him a night off. If this was a single game with a day or two off, he'd be in the lineup."
... The Avalanche have won nine consecutive games against the Wings, the longest such streak by either team in the all-time series. It's also Colorado's longest active win streak against any opponent, and the Avalanche have won the last six games against the Wings at Ball Arena.
Red Wings at Coyotes
▶ Faceoff: 9 p.m. Tuesday, Mullett Arena, Tempe, Arizona
▶ TV/radio: BSD/97.1 FM
▶ Outlook: The Coyotes (13-25-5) have lost nine consecutive games and erased what had been an unexpected competitive start. ... The Wings won the previous game between the teams this season, 4-3 in a shootout, at Little Caesars Arena. ...RW Clayton Keller (15 goals, 38 points) has been an offensive bright spot.
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tkulfan
Twitter: tkulfan