It was a bit of a tough week if you were a former Detroit Red Wings player performing in the Swedish Hockey League.

Jakub Vrana temporarily lost his mind. Magnus Hellberg temporarily lost consciousness. Kasper Kotkansalo lost his job, and Christian Djoos was lost for the season.

With his Linköping club tied 3-3 with Skelleftea, Vrana entered play from the bench. As Skelleftea brought the puck to the Linköping blueline, Vrana inexplicably threw his stick in the path of the puck as it was passed from one player to another.

“Ibland tänker man inte till, det blir ett litet hjärnsläpp”

Hur tänkte Jakub Vrana? “Musse” Håkansson försöker förklara stjärnans agerande i segern mot Skellefteå.https://t.co/ZOt4RbQsbp

— Hockeysverige.se (@hockeysverige) December 20, 2025

That resulted in a penalty shot being awarded, and Skellefetea would score on the free shot.

“In hockey, you make decisions in a split second sometimes,” Vrana explained to Swedish website Aftonbladet. “It wasn’t the best decision of my career.”

Fortunately for Vrana, Linkoping would rally for a 5-4 shootout win.

Former Red Wings Goalie Knocked Out

Another ex-Wing, Magnus Hellberg, was between the pipes for Djurgarden when HV71 forward Nikola Pasic crashed his crease, knocking the netminder unconscious.

“It’s clear that it’s not fun to get hit like that,” Hellberg told Aftonbladet. “He came at high speed, and as a goalie, you focus on stopping the puck.”

Hellberg lay prone on the ice for several minutes.

Magnus Hellberg tillbaka – efter tredje förkylningen i DIF.
✓ Tunga smällarna mot huvud, axel och nacke
✓ Hånen från HV-fansen
✓ De upprepade förkylningarnahttps://t.co/1nXlKlYuR6

— Mattias Ek (@hockeyeken) December 20, 2025

“It went black a little, but he didn’t hit my head, but my shoulder and neck,” Hellberg said.

Officials originally signaled a match penalty on Pasic. It was later reduced to a minor penalty for goaltender interference.

Djoos Done For Season

Former Red Wings defenseman Christian Djoos of Brynas had been out of action since November with a hip issue. Now he’s officially been shut down for the season.

Djoos underwent surgery on the hip and won’t be playing again before the 2026-27 campaign.

“In order to be able to perform to his best ability on the ice, this hip surgery was necessary,” Brynas sports director Johan Alcén said in a release on the club’s website.

Djoos played for the Red Wings during the 2020-21 season. That was exactly 30 years after his father Par Djoos played on the Detroit defense in 1990-91.

Lulea Dropping Kotkansalo

The Red Wings once thought so highly of Finnish defenseman Kasper Kotkansalo that they selected him 71st overall in the 2017 NHL entry draft.

Lulea of the SHL thought so highly of Kotkansalo that they signed him as a free agent in the summer.

Both decisions have now ended in disappointment.

Just as the Red Wings opted not to extend an NHL contract to Kotkansalo, Lulea is releasing him midway through his first season with the club. In 21 games for Lulea, Kotkansalo is without a point and is minus-nine.

Kotkansalo is expected to rejoin Kiekko-Espoo of Finland’s SM-liiga. He played for that team last season.