Derek Lalonde has words for Alex Nedeljkovic

The Detroit Red Wings made the decision to send goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic down to their American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins earlier this week for what they described as a "conditioning" assignment. For Nedeljkovic, who is in the midst of his second year with the Red Wings after being acquired last offseason from the Carolina Hurricanes, it's been a struggle for most of the season with a goals against average of over four and a sub .900 save percentage. 

But is his demotion to the Griffins a sign of having given up on him? Not at all, according to head coach Derek Lalonde. 

"We haven’t given up on Ned," Lalonde said on Wednesday prior to his team facing the New Jersey Devils at Little Caesars Arena.

"I don’t have any problem saying that," he continued. "We would like to keep things private when we discuss players and the big picture, but we have not given up on Ned. We want to see him hopefully get his game in order and hopefully reevaluate from there. The good thing about GR is I think they play six or seven games in a short time, all at home."

In the meantime, the Red Wings are giving Magnus Hellberg a look at the backup position. He came through with a strong performance on New Year's Eve against the visiting Ottawa Senators, with whom he briefly suited up earlier this year. 

"The reality of he hasn’t played in a long time," Lalonde said of Nedeljkovic, who hasn't started for Detroit since December 8 against the Florida Panthers, an eventual 4-1 loss. "It was no different than where we were with Magnus. He had only played a handful of games in a year plus, and it was important he went down on a conditioning stint. It would be unfair to Ned in some ways to throw him in if he hasn’t played. It’s an opportunity to get his game in order, get some rhythm."

The Red Wings are back in action tomorrow night against the Panthers at home.