Hextall said last week he was willing to ride the tandem of Neuvirth and Lyon, despite Neuvirth's injury history and Lyon's inexperience.
Neuvirth missed nine games from Dec. 6-23 because of a lower-body injury, and in three seasons with the Flyers, he has missed 57 games because of injuries. He was making his fourth start in eight days in place of Elliott when he was injured against the Rangers.
"Alex did a good job [against the Rangers]," Hextall said. "We have a lot of confidence in Alex. But to have Alex be the guy at this point would be an awful lot for a young player. So we felt this was a prudent move for the sake of our team."
Mrazek is in the final season of a two-year contract and can become a restricted free agent July 1. After announcing Elliott's surgery, Hextall said if he was going to trade for a goaltender, it likely would be for one with no remaining term.
Elliott and Neuvirth are signed through next season, and the Flyers are very high on goaltending prospects Carter Hart, who plays for Everett of the Western Hockey League, and Felix Sandstrom, who is with HV 71 in the Swedish Hockey League.
The Flyers didn't have much depth behind Lyon. Dustin Tokarski, Lyon's partner with Lehigh Valley, has 34 games of NHL experience, but his most recent NHL game was Oct. 28, 2016, when he played 9:47 in relief for the Anaheim Ducks. Anthony Stolarz, who had a 2.07 GAA in seven games for the Flyers last season, was activated Monday from the injury/non-roster list and assigned to Lehigh Valley. He has been recovering from Sept. 7 surgery to repair the meniscus in his left knee, and Hextall said he has not participated in a full practice.
The fourth-round pick in 2018 can become a third-round pick if the Flyers reach the playoffs and Mrazek wins five games, Hextall said. It can become a second-round pick if the Flyers reach the Eastern Conference Final and Mrazek wins six playoff games. If the Flyers sign Mrazek to a contract, they will send the Red Wings their third-round pick in the 2019 draft.
"I think [the trade is] fair and reasonable for both sides," Hextall said. "If Petr performs, we pay more, Detroit gets more. If he doesn't, then they still get paid and it costs us a certain amount but it's not overpaid. If we do have success and we pay, it's good for us and good for Detroit. I like the makeup of this deal. It's a fair deal, and I think both teams got what they wanted."
The Red Wings (24-25-9, 57 points) are seven points behind the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders in the race for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.