Pickard, 28, has made one appearance with the Red Wings this season, stopping 19-of-21 shots in a relief effort on Feb. 3 vs. Tampa Bay. He also made his AHL season debut this week, stopping 20-of-22 shots for the Griffins in the team's 2-1 overtime loss to Rockford on Tuesday. Prior to the start of the NHL season, he appeared in six games with the Vienna Capitals of Austria's IceHL, posting a 3-3-0 record, 1.96 goals-against average and 0.919 save percentage. Pickard has played four games for Detroit over the last two seasons and has made 108 appearances in his NHL career, logging a 32-52-9 record, 2.99 goals-against average, 0.905 save percentage and four shutouts with the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Arizona Coyotes and Red Wings.
A ninth-year pro, Pickard also played 33 games for the Griffins in 2019-20, notching a 17-12-4 record, 2.86 goals-against average, 0.903 save percentage and three shutouts. In 234 AHL games with the Lake Erie Monsters, San Antonio Rampage, Toronto Marlies, Tucson Roadrunners and Griffins since 2011-12, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound netminder has a 110-83-20 record, 2.64 goals-against average, 0.913 save percentage and 15 shutouts. Originally drafted by the Avalanche in the second round (49th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Pickard spent his entire major-junior career with the Western Hockey League's Seattle Thunderbirds from 2008-12, totaling a 91-120-27 record, 3.29 goals-against average, 0.909 save percentage and 12 shutouts. The Moncton, New Brunswick, native has also represented Canada at the 2016 and 2017 IIHF World Championships, winning a gold and silver medal, respectively.
