Red Wings Recall Pickard

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Friday recalled goaltender Calvin Pickard from the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Pickard, 28, stopped 20 of 22 shots in Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime loss to Rockford, marking his first appearance as a Griffin in more than a year and his first full game in North America this season. He has also played in one game with Detroit this season, stopping 19 of 21 shots in a Feb. 3 relief stint against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Pickard began the campaign with a six-game stint in Austria with the Vienna Capitals, going 3-3 with a 1.96 goals against average.

Selected in the second round, 49th overall, of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche, Pickard has appeared in 108 NHL games with the Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Arizona Coyotes and Detroit since debuting in 2014-15 and has posted a 32-52-9 record, a 3.00 GAA, a 0.905 save percentage and four shutouts.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound netminder played in 33 games for Grand Rapids in 2019-20, showing a 17-12-4 record to go along with a 2.86 GAA, a 0.903 save percentage and three shutouts. A 2018 Calder Cup champion with the Toronto Marlies, Pickard has logged 234 games in the AHL since 2011-12 between the Lake Erie Monsters, San Antonio Rampage, Toronto, Tucson Roadrunners and Griffins, notching a 110-83-20 record, a 2.64 GAA, a 0.913 save percentage and 15 shutouts.

With the postponement of tonight’s scheduled home game due to league COVID-19 protocols affecting the Chicago Wolves, the Griffins will return to action on Saturday when they visit the Cleveland Monsters at 7 p.m. Fans can watch the game via a subscription to AHLTV or tune in to Newsradio WOOD 106.9 FM/1300 AM.

Photo by Nicolas Carrillo/Griffins