Wings' Goaltending Situation

[Guest 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 7,652]

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 1,268]

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 77]

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 18]

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 0]

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

[stevkrause 1,247]

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...

[Guest 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 2,082]

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!

[Guest 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 304]

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 42]

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 1,247]

....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 1,888]

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 2,961]

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 871]

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 1,888]

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?

[Guest mjtm77]

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

[Guest CaliWingsNut]

We're doomed.

[The Secret 304]

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

[Nightfall 871]

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

Yup, I thought he played just fine. He made as many mistakes as other goalies have in the past. Look at every stanley cup winning team. Every goalie has had their fair share of mistakes. To say that Howard was the make or break of the team winning/losing is pretty disingenuous if you ask me.

I could point out many instances, but look at Niemi last season. Against Vancouver, he played pretty badly with over a 3.00GAA. He did not play very well and made his share of mistakes. Still, the team in front of him pulled together and won the series. How about in 1998 with Osgood when he was letting in horrible goals at inopportune times. If the wings lost out that year, Osgood would have been thrown under the bus. As it turns out, they won the cup that year and Osgood was the man.

I am just saying that a lot of casual armchair hockey fans really have unrealistic expectations of what their goalie should do for them.

[Nightfall 871]

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

I guess I have to ask you the same question. Name me a number 1 goalie that you would choose that would fit the mold of that kind of goalie who has...

1. Almost perfect rebound control

2. Hardly ever caught out of position

3. Covers the 5 hole almost perfectly

I think your expectations are a little unrealistic. I think you will find that 90% of the elite NHL goalies out there are in fact the best in the world and pretty even when it comes to skill level. Brodeur and Roy were the best in their prime thats for sure and those are in the top 10% echelon. You have to figure that those players are rare and thats why they stick around for many years with their respective teams. Their teams know how valuable they are and pay them accordingly. The Wings have no such player in their system, and in fact, I don't see any goalie that has had that kind of consistency that is currently in the NHL. Brodeur hasn't won a playoff series in 4 years and is past his prime. Most of the good goalies you are hearing about now are one year wonders.

I am just pointing out that most hockey fans have these lavish unrealistic expectations of their team's goalies. If every hockey fan had their wish, the goalie would be a literal God in net and they would make a save on everything. The simple fact of the matter is that goalies are human, and humans make mistakes. The good goalies rebound from those mistakes and play better the next night. Howard has shown signs of that last season, and will be a better player this year.

Edited August 11, 2010 by Nightfall

[Kronthewall55 14]

FOOLS! The one known as Jimothy JHO Howard, will not dissapoint. sophmore slump? HAA! his sophmore season was years ago. baking in the oven till fresh in grand rapids, last year counted as his senior year hiccup.This year will be known as the start of his prime. Rebound control? after the way he bounces back this year everyone will be asking "what rebounds?" My warning to all: You believe in howard this year, and you believe with everything you got, or you will look more foolish than mikeal sammeulson in a face modeling contest

[Raptor1116 11]

Yup, I thought he played just fine. To say that Howard was the make or break of the team winning/losing is pretty disingenuous if you ask me.

Really? How about that Game 3 against San Jose? Wings in control and then Howard gives up the weakest goal I can remember from the side boards, from the end line, and the Wings lose the game. The entire series was lost on that one goal. If he makes that "save" the Wings win game 3 and who knows where it goes from there. Once that goal slipped over the line the Wings were out of the playoffs.

[VM1138 1,921]

Really? How about that Game 3 against San Jose? Wings in control and then Howard gives up the weakest goal I can remember from the side boards, from the end line, and the Wings lose the game. The entire series was lost on that one goal. If he makes that "save" the Wings win game 3 and who knows where it goes from there. Once that goal slipped over the line the Wings were out of the playoffs.

God forbid a goalie have a subpar game in a playoff run? Unheard of!