On paper, Mark Pysyk spent an entire season with the Detroit Red Wings. In reality, he was never part of the team.

Signed as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2022, veteran NHL defenseman Pysyk agreed to a one-year deal with the Red Wings for $850,000. He figured to get a real opportunity to play for a rebuilding Detroit squad.

Barely a week after signing with the Red Wings, Pysyk suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon while doing some off-ice training. The injury would require surgery. He was expected to miss 4-6 months.

Instead, he was about to embark upon an odyssey that would cost him the next 17 months.

In November of 2022, while rehabbing from his surgery, Pysyk would reinjure his surgically repaired Achilles tendon. His 2022-23 season was all done. He’d never see a minute of action for the Red Wings.

Joining the Pittsburgh Penguins on a PTO in the fall of 2023, Pysyk would suffer a lower-body injury in training camp. After just eight games with the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Pysyk was released from his PTO. He’d sign with the Calgary Flames and join the AHL Calgary Wranglers, playing 29 games.

Would Pysyk Have Been A Factor For Red Wings?

Last season, Pysyk was released from a training-camp PTO by the Anaheim Ducks. He wound up going to Europe and playing in Finland’s SM-liiga for SaiPa.

He’ll be back in Europe again this season. Pysyk is under contract to Sparta Prague of the Czech Extraliga and currently in training camp with the club.

A first-round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2010 (23rd overall), Pysyk, 33, shows 521 games on his NHL resume. He’s never played an NHL game since signing with the Red Wings and suffering his horrific injury.

The what-ifs surrounding that situation, both from the point of view of Pysyk and the Red Wings, are understandable.

“It’s hard to say what would have happened without the injury,” Pysyk told Czech website iSport.