33 replies to this topic

[mindfly]

For the past weeks the wings have improved and upgraded their forward depth and top6 D, lookin' pretty damn good... but the goalie situation, how are they gonna handle that, there's a famous sophomore slump for many goalies, and also fact of the matter is Howard played worse in the playoffs than during the post-olympic run (16-2-3 or something)which isn't a good way to end a season, and Osgood, well, last year was probably his worst year in his career...

Do you think they will test osgood and se where he's at and play them 50/50? If they fail could we see a trade? What is reasonable?

I know Detroit have almost always have a mid ranked nhl goalie and put their money on D and on forwards, but are you all comfortable with howard? (i assume this is osgood's final year and he will retire) who will be the backup or starter when he retires? will they sign a cheap FA like they did with Conklin?

[Hockeytown0001]

My ideal situation would be for Howard to start 55 games, Ozzie 27. However, none of this 20+ consecutive starts for Howard so that when Ozzie does finally get a game, he's so rusty that he lets in a goal to an enforcer 14 seconds into the game.

[sputman]

he's so rusty that he lets in a goal to an enforcer 14 seconds into the game.

that happened a few times last year, didn't it? boy it seemed like it did.

[Branton87]

My ideal situation would be for Howard to start 55 games, Ozzie 27. However, none of this 20+ consecutive starts for Howard so that when Ozzie does finally get a game, he's so rusty that he lets in a goal to an enforcer 14 seconds into the game.

This. Poor Osgood was hung out to dry. Being a goalie in Detroit has to be the worst job on the team. Most everyone either blames you for losses, or loves you when you win.

[rwfan007]

I don't think Jimmy will have a sophmore slump. He is gunna be what, 26-27 years old? He has played full time the last 4 years in the minors and played really well last season with the Wings. He is a pro and knows how to handle playing 50+ games.

[yzerman3cups]

I'll pray for no slump for Howard and Osgood can handle the regular season.

[stevkrause]

I don't think Jimmy will have a sophmore slump. He is gunna be what, 26-27 years old? He has played full time the last 4 years in the minors and played really well last season with the Wings. He is a pro and knows how to handle playing 50+ games.

Although I agree with this to some extent, the NHL is a different beast and HOW many goalies have we seen that exploded onto the scene, only to be out of the NHL altogether in 3 years? (Steve Shields, Brian Boucher - although he kinda had a resurgence last year, Roman Chechmanek, Jim Carey, etc, etc....) the point is, it's all about how he handles it mentally and how consistent he can stay... I think he has shown through college, to GR, to Detroit, that he can handle adversity and let it roll off his shoulders (remember, he almost lost the job in GR to Larsen and came back to have a Calder'esque first season in Detroit, so I don't think he is in that group and I think he will continue to play solid... let's just keep things in perspective and accept the fact that he may still have a few down points in the season... the focus is, and should be, on how he bounces back from it...

[mindfly]

No one demands he should make 40+ saves and stand on his head, all we demand is he save the must-save shots, control rebounds better and play a solid all around game, letting in 0-2goals per game, sometimes perhaps 3 and the wings team should load up the W's anyways.

[Z Winged Dangler]

howard's gonna have a great year. and with the wings team that holland has assembled, he can stand in the ken dryden pose for 2/3 of the game and get a pile of W's. can't wait for the season to start already. adios summer and your terrible humidity...hello outdoor ice!

[Heaten]

I don't think Howard should play as much as he did last year and I would like to see Babcock have a friendly competition between the two. The goalie who wins, plays the next game. Both should get close to the same amount of playing time... and be well rested for playoffs.

[The Secret]

Although I agree with this to some extent, the NHL is a different beast and HOW many goalies have we seen that exploded onto the scene, only to be out of the NHL altogether in 3 years? (Steve Shields, Brian Boucher - although he kinda had a resurgence last year, Roman Chechmanek, Jim Carey, etc, etc....) the point is, it's all about how he handles it mentally and how consistent he can stay... I think he has shown through college, to GR, to Detroit, that he can handle adversity and let it roll off his shoulders (remember, he almost lost the job in GR to Larsen and came back to have a Calder'esque first season in Detroit, so I don't think he is in that group and I think he will continue to play solid... let's just keep things in perspective and accept the fact that he may still have a few down points in the season... the focus is, and should be, on how he bounces back from it...

....Jose Theodore, Carey Price, Andrew Raycroft
I was not ever 100% confident in Howard and I thought he had multiple area's in need of big improvement but he did seem to have that calm about him and did bounce back from horrible games. I think after having improved even a bit on those glaring problem area's he could be just enough goalie this team will need with the ability to put on a show now and then... very similar to the career of Chris Osgood.

[NomadFromKazoo]

I don't think Jimmy will have a sophmore slump. He is gunna be what, 26-27 years old? He has played full time the last 4 years in the minors and played really well last season with the Wings. He is a pro and knows how to handle playing 50+ games.

This was my thought too. The way we bring our players along by the time they get to the NHL full time they are ready. There's no reason he should regress.

[stevkrause]

....Jose Theodore, Carey Price, Andrew Raycroft
I was not ever 100% confident in Howard and I thought he had multiple area's in need of big improvement but he did seem to have that calm about him and did bounce back from horrible games. I think after having improved even a bit on those glaring problem area's he could be just enough goalie this team will need with the ability to put on a show now and then... very similar to the career of Chris Osgood.

I couldn't agree more - He doesn't (and shouldn't) have to stand on his head to have one hell of a career here, he just needs to be able to shake off the bad and play solid and I think he has that in him - I'm pretty optimistic about the future of Jimmy Howard in the Winged Wheel...

I don't think Jimmy will have a sophmore slump. He is gunna be what, 26-27 years old? He has played full time the last 4 years in the minors and played really well last season with the Wings. He is a pro and knows how to handle playing 50+ games.

for the record, my original post was actually agreeing with you, I was just playing devil's advocate a little and pointing out both sides of the coin, but I think your thought is in the right place...

[Doc Holliday]

The team will be better (unlike Colombus for Mason) which will keep Howard's sophomore slump in check if he has one.

Preseason will really show if Osgood can come back to form and be a capable backup. Let's hope so.

[Echolalia]

Howard's rebound control still scares the crap out of me. If he can learn to swallow the pucks like a no. 1 goalie, then I think we'll be fine.

[Nightfall]

No one demands he should make 40+ saves and stand on his head, all we demand is he save the must-save shots, control rebounds better and play a solid all around game, letting in 0-2goals per game, sometimes perhaps 3 and the wings team should load up the W's anyways.

The unfortunate part is that most wings fans really don't know what it is to be a goaltender. Save the must-save shots? To Wings fans, that means no mistakes. Every goalie makes them. Control rebounds? To Wings fans, that means no rebounds. Every goalie gives up rebounds. Play a solid all around game? To Wings fans, this means play solid and no mistakes. Every goalie makes mistakes.

Lets cut through things here shall we? The Wings did not lose in the postseason last season because of goaltending. The Wings team as a whole did not deserve to beat San Jose who came much more prepared than the Wings did.

The Wings goaltending situation is just fine. The Wings team is just fine. If the offense and defense in front of Howard/Osgood stays healthy and consistent, the wings will have a 50 win season.

Howard's rebound control still scares the crap out of me. If he can learn to swallow the pucks like a no. 1 goalie, then I think we'll be fine.

Name me a Number 1 goalie who swallows pucks more effectively and consistently than Howard.

[Doc Holliday]

The unfortunate part is that most wings fans really don't know what it is to be a goaltender. Save the must-save shots? To Wings fans, that means no mistakes. Every goalie makes them. Control rebounds? To Wings fans, that means no rebounds. Every goalie gives up rebounds. Play a solid all around game? To Wings fans, this means play solid and no mistakes. Every goalie makes mistakes.

Lets cut through things here shall we? The Wings did not lose in the postseason last season because of goaltending. The Wings team as a whole did not deserve to beat San Jose who came much more prepared than the Wings did.

The Wings goaltending situation is just fine. The Wings team is just fine. If the offense and defense in front of Howard/Osgood stays healthy and consistent, the wings will have a 50 win season.


Name me a Number 1 goalie who swallows pucks more effectively and consistently than Howard.

You honestly don't think Howard had a problem with rebound control, nor he had issues in the playoffs?

[mjtm77]

think howard got a bit lucky. his 5 hole scares me and his rebond countrol.

[CaliWingsNut]

We're doomed.

[The Secret]

The unfortunate part is that most wings fans really don't know what it is to be a goaltender. Save the must-save shots? To Wings fans, that means no mistakes. Every goalie makes them. Control rebounds? To Wings fans, that means no rebounds. Every goalie gives up rebounds. Play a solid all around game? To Wings fans, this means play solid and no mistakes. Every goalie makes mistakes.

Lets cut through things here shall we? The Wings did not lose in the postseason last season because of goaltending. The Wings team as a whole did not deserve to beat San Jose who came much more prepared than the Wings did.

The Wings goaltending situation is just fine. The Wings team is just fine. If the offense and defense in front of Howard/Osgood stays healthy and consistent, the wings will have a 50 win season.


Name me a Number 1 goalie who swallows pucks more effectively and consistently than Howard.

Like Howard, support him... be his secret BFF but your are kidding yourself. His rebound control was terrible, he was caught out of position and bailed out the the team too often, and his 5 hole was as wide as the grand canyon some nights. It was his rookie season in the NHL and he has a lot of improvements to make. No, we did not lose in the playoffs solely because of goal tending but we weren't helped along by it by any means... some nights he was flat out crap. If he has done his work in the off season and worked out some of the bugs then he'll be fine and if he hasn't then he'd better stop listening to his secret BFF's