Detroit Red Wings' Alex Lyon, now the starting goalie, is the epitome of perseverance

No Detroit Red Wings player has written himself a better story this season than Alex Lyon, whose persistence led to his ascension from journeyman minor-leaguer to starting NHL goaltender.

His success at the age of 31 is central to his nomination for the 2024 Bill Masterton Trophy by the Detroit chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The award, given annually since 1968, recognizes a player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Coming into this season, Lyon had played 39 career NHL games. His next, on Friday against the New York Rangers, will be his 40th with the Wings.

"It really makes me feel, because it’s been a long path for me, and there’s been a lot of times when I didn’t necessarily know what was going to happen," Lyon said Thursday after being told of the nomination. "I guess I just feel proud because I just always tried to fight and continue to do the right things and continue to try to have a good attitude, and it was really difficult at times."

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Three years ago, Lyon contemplated quitting hockey and returning to Yale to finish his degree after appearing in just 10 games total between the NHL and AHL during the 2020-21 season.

"I just think about times when I wasn’t sure if I was going to get another contract," Lyon said. "You start looking at your college application and you’re like, all right, what’s going on here, how many credits do I have left? That kind of thing. So I appreciate that first and foremost. I feel proud. It motivates me, because it just makes me think that I’m doing the right things. More than anything, it’s just validation to continue to try to have good habits. I’m not always the highest-of-character human being, but I try my best, so just keep on the same path.

"I think everybody has those thoughts when you go through a bad stretch in the season, or you get injured — you’re like, what am I going to do? Do I have any other useful life skills? Not really, I’m pretty good at stopping the puck, that’s about it. I think that desperation taught me a lot of this is the standard of how you have to be on a day in, day out basis. I try to remember that and just try to hold myself to that standard as often as I can."

Lyon played 15 games with the Florida Panthers last season, earning attention when he was in net for the late-season stretch that pushed them into the playoffs. Undrafted out of college, Lyon had ping-ponged around organizations, and wasn't regarded as an established NHL goaltender. The Wings were willing to give him a two-year, one-way deal for $1.8 million (meaning he would make $900,000 per season whether in the NHL or minors), offering Lyon a measure of job security.

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He came to training camp and played so well the Wings opted to keep him on their roster, because to send Lyon to the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins would require waivers, and he would have been claimed by another team.

It turned out to be a prescient move, as presumptive No. 1 goaltender Ville Husso has been limited by injuries to 19 games, and hasn't been a regular in the rotation since mid-December.

It was when Husso left the Wings in mid-November while in Stockholm to be with his wife, who had just given birth, that Lyon got his first chance to start. He played so well at the Global Series he got a second straight start once back in Detroit, and then he and Husso took turns for a few weeks. When Husso suffered a lower-body injury Dec. 18, Lyon emerged as the starter. In January, Lyon posted a .923 save percentage and 2.54 goals-against average in helping the Wings bank 20 points. He steadfastly has given the Wings a chance to win, and is a key reason they are in position to advance to the playoffs.

"It speaks volumes for him as an individual and where he is in his career," coach Derek Lalonde said. "He’s a career minor-leaguer, he was signed to be our starter in Grand Rapids, and here he is, giving us a chance this late in the season. It speaks really well on him."

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Lyon has spoken at length about how his mindset is to always be ready, to live in the moment, and to appreciate where he is at, wherever that may be. It's a philosophy fostered growing up in Baudette, a city in northern Minnesota with a population of less than 1,000.

"It’s remote, remote," Lyon said. "I grew up kind of weird, a little naïve, not really one of the cool kids in the hockey sense. I think it was good, too, because I continued to have a massive chip on my shoulder. I’ve always had a huge chip on my shoulder."

That chip may have shrunk during his time with the Wings, as he has established himself as a regular in the NHL.

"After last year, I felt like I could do, and I think that confidence really went a long way," Lyon said. "Obviously, I didn’t know what was going to happen and I never would have anticipated playing this much, but coming into this year, I was like, it’s time. I know I can do this. I’ve always felt like I have the physical ability, but just maybe not had the runway to get over that mental hurdle. So a switch really flipped in me."

Voting on the 32-nominee Masterton Trophy will be done by PHWA members after the season, and the winner will be announced at the NHL Awards Show on a date yet to be determined.

"I appreciate it and just hope that there’s a kid in Baudette, Minnesota, where I’m from that’s like, it’s possible," Lyon said. "I just hope that they can take a piece of that and say, hell, yeah, I can do whatever I want."

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her @helenestjames.

Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from  Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

Next up: Rangers

Matchup: Red Wings (37-30-8) vs. N.Y. Rangers (51-21-4).

Faceoff: 7 p.m. Friday; Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.

TV/radio: Bally Sports Detroit Extra; WXYT-FM (97.1).

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Detroit Red Wings G Alex Lyon is the epitome of perseverance