Red Wings Recall Goaltender Michal Postava From Griffins on Emergency Basis

Because of an ailment to goaltender Cam Talbot, the Detroit Red Wings called up goaltender Michal Postava from the Grand Rapids Griffins. The move came Thursday on the eve of a road trip to Western New York, and it thrust a 24-year-old who has never appeared in an NHL game directly into a late-season playoff scramble.

Before the Red Wings embarked for Western New York for a critical divisional clash Friday night against the Buffalo Sabres, they gathered for practice at the BELFOR Training Center inside Little Caesars Arena, but veteran backup Cam Talbot was unavailable, having "tweaked" something according to head coach Todd McLellan. McLellan said Talbot would be day-to-day, and that goalie coach Michael Leighton filled in for Talbot at practice. McLellan noted the Red Wings would have to call up a goaltender from their AHL affiliate to back up John Gibson for Friday's game at Buffalo.

Detroit enters Friday sitting sixth in the Atlantic Division at 38-25-8, one point back of a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. That context turns what would otherwise be a routine emergency recall into something worth watching closely.

Postava has logged a 13-6-0 record with a 1.86 goals-against average, a 0.932 save percentage and two shutouts in 21 appearances with the Griffins during the 2025-26 season. Those numbers are not backup-depth filler; if he had enough minutes played to qualify, Postava would rank among the AHL leaders in GAA (first) and save percentage (tied first).

Postava logged a shutout streak of 156:20 from Jan. 9-25, which was just 3:47 short of breaking the franchise record set by Jared Coreau in 2014-15, and he tied a Griffins franchise record by becoming the 10th netminder in team history to post back-to-back shutouts from Jan. 17-21.

Postava, who led HC Kometa Brno to the Czech Extraliga Championship in 2025, was signed by the Red Wings this past offseason to a two-year, entry-level contract and has served as backup to Sebastian Cossa with the Griffins. His path to Grand Rapids ran through the Czech Extraliga, where his postseason credentials are hard to dismiss. Last season, Postava became a Czech Extraliga champion with Kometa Brno, showing a league-best .940 save percentage with a 1.97 GAA and a 10-7 record in 17 playoff games.

Postava has never appeared in the NHL. Sebastian Cossa, the Wings' first-round pick 15th overall in 2021, was called up when Detroit needed help after starter John Gibson was injured in early March but did not appear in a game. That Detroit turned to Postava over Cossa this time is notable, given Cossa's higher organizational profile. Cossa has struggled over the past month, giving up at least three goals in six of his past seven starts, including allowing four in each of his past three games.

Gibson projects to make his 10th consecutive start and could be called upon to play back-to-back nights with the team hosting the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Whether Postava ever leaves the bench this weekend is secondary to the larger point: a goaltender who was quietly one of the best in the AHL this season just earned his first call to the show, and the Red Wings are trusting his ceiling at exactly the moment it matters most.