55 replies to this topic

[SouthernWingsFan]

Feel bad for the guy. He finally broke out to have a good shot to be in the NHL full-time for good, then the back injury. Contrary to some thoughts in here, I thought he was ready for the backup gig for good this season and for the near future, injury issues aside. Hope it all works out for him.

[LeftWinger]

Holland will move him, but I am not sure he will get a starting spot....I will take the conditional pick for him...

[Hiei]

Tampa's still looking for someone to back up Lindback.

Columbus is fielding a roster of goalies to overload the crease...

Same with NYI.

With Mason gone from WPG, they need someone behind Pavelec

And then there was Chicago, with their goalie rotato in much higher RPMs than ours usually is.

[akustyk]

I don't really get all this positive vibe towards Joey Mac. he's had one fine season with Wings in 2010-11 but never put any doubt that Jimmah should be the starter,
nor that Joey himself is a solid regular backup. sure he want's a trade to have a chance to play in the NHL once in a while, I wish him luck with that, but let's not think
that he was a super-important asset in Wings organization.

best of luck, Joey, nevertheless!

[VM1138]

MacDonald never really indicated he could be a starter, but he has proven time and time again he can handle being an NHL backup and play well enough to be the starter for stretches of time. I really hope some team takes a chance on him, he's really earned the chance and I wish it could have been with the Wings. But I don't blame him for not wanting to be buried in the AHL after his last two seasons.

[revmo10]

In true Holland fashion, he will probably trade Joey Mac to Winnipeg for Derek Meech... Please don't!

[akustyk]

In true Holland fashion, he will probably trade Joey Mac to Winnipeg for Derek Meech... Please don't!

I can actually think of worse scenario - like Lebda back form Columbus

[StormJH1]

I feel bad for him, but the reality is that this is a team that expects to be in the Playoffs year after year, and Joey does not have the track record to take over this team for several months if there's an injury to Jimmy. Even had he been kept as the backup, a long-term injury to Howard would've sent the Wings scrambling to pick up some type of veteran anyway (Heck, we thought we had Nabokov 2 years ago).

I know that the easy comeback to that seems to be "The Monster" has no track record as an effective NHL goalie either, but I think that's unfair. Toronto is one of the worst teams in the NHL, and moving to a good defensive system for a goalie is similar to a pitcher who moves from the NL to the AL (or from a really bad defense to an elite defense). In other words, there are external factors that play into those statistics like GAA and SV % that we assume to be objective indicators of a goalie's skill.

A wrister from the blue line into the glove and a one-timer on a 2-on-1 are both a "shot" statistically, but one is a sure save, while the other is rarely a save. And on a bad defense, you have little trust in your teammates to cover passing lanes, and there's going to be more of those "difficult" shots than on a good team. Long story short, I would not be surprised if Gustavsson ends up with a GAA closer to 2.50, and as a 20-35-game starter, he could be a pretty effective backup for the Wings if he does that.

[revmo10]

Yes Lebda would be way worse than Meech...

[8 Legged RedWing]

Aufiderzein Joey !

lol Was that a serious attempt at spelling Auf Widersehen?

I think there is a spot for Joey in the NHL somewhere. If he stays healthy he really isn't a bad backup and can get hot.

[stevkrause]

To WPG:
Joey MacDonald

To DET:
2014 7th rd pick

**S2**

I'm getting good at this... Look out Eck, I'm coming for you!

[larionov_8]

Winnipeg does look like the only place that makes sense right now, though it's possibly VAN or LA could use a back up if they trade their current ones and don't receive another in return. But there are still other serviceable back-ups available as UFAs, so it could be a tough go for him.

Also, I'm not sure if a source has been included in this thread, so just for the record:

Holland also addressed the rumor that Joey MacDonald had asked for a trade—and this is more or less an inevitability because, as Pleiness points out, MacDonald’s contract is a one-way, NHL-only deal for the 2012-2013 season, which means he’d have to clear re-entry waivers if he was sent to Grand Rapids and then recalled:

“His agent called and wanted to know what was the plan for him,” Holland said. “He doesn’t want to be in the AHL. If we can find Joey an opportunity in the NHL, we will.”

http://www.kuklaskor...rdon_conner_ma/

[larionov_8]

...I guess Winnipeg is out of the picture given they picked up Montoya.

I could see the Islanders or Coyotes looking for some depth at goal. Possibly TOR / VAN depending on what happens with Luongo. Even Chicago might look for a little security on the back end, a third option to Emery and Crawford if needed. Maybe Detroit could swing a guy like Montador out of Chicago for MacDonald, apparently he is on the block, and I'm assuming they want to shed his salary.

None of those options would be likely to keep him in the NHL straight away, but *might* put him closer than we can...

[Danielsm]

Why not Philly? Out of conference and they got rid of Bobrovski

[DangleDangleBeach]

Why not Philly? Out of conference and they got rid of Bobrovski

pretty sure they re-signed leighton to be their back-up who is a pretty decent plan B guy IMO as he has cup final experience. dont think many teams are going to be all that interested in joey to be an everyday nhler but more so for the same role that he already has here.

he had his linsanity / 15 minutes... (macsanity?) but in reality he is a career ahler with no real future in the big league as tough as that is to hear for a lot of people around here.

requesting a trade may just result in him being waived if there are no suitors

[JasonNewEra]

This is disappointing to hear. Strangely I just found out that a co-worker of mine is friends with Joey. A little inside info, apparently the first team mate that called Joey was Howard. He was upset at the fact that they picked up Jonas Gustavsson especially cause the Wings organization isn't sure that Howard will resign with them when he goes up for free agency next year.