Detroit Red Wings' demotion of Sebastian Cossa goes against what coach Derek Lalonde said about youth

Despite the wishes of fans to see Sebastian Cossa get the next start in net for the Detroit Red Wings, the team has instead decided to demote him back to the AHL.

Tomorrow, the Red Wings take on the Philadelphia Flyers (7:00 PM, FanDuel Sports Detroit, 97.1 The Ticket) and are expected to be able to turn to Cam Talbot, who would be making his first appearance since being injured on December 1.

Sending Cossa back to the AHL contradicts what Derek Lalonde said at the end of last year in April in April, when he noted how much he appreciates the young players in the organization.

It wasn't long ago that ESPN's John Buccigross said that the Red Wings needed to have the 23 year old Cossa see regular NHL action, comparing him to Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman, who began his NHL career at 22 years old.

But rather than ease Cossa into regular NHL action, they instead decided to ink 37 year old Cam Talbot (who has mostly played well for Detroit).

Despite staring to emerge from a full-fledged rebuild, the Red Wings are still one of the oldest teams in the NHL by average age.

Players like Jeff Petry (37 years old), Patrick Kane (36 years old), Ben Chiarot (33 years old), Talbot (37 years old), Erik Gustafsson and Justin Holl (both 32 years old) have raised the average age of the Red Wings roster to 29.3.

The Oilers (average age of 30.6) are the NHL's oldest team, while the Sabres (25.4) are the youngest.