Focus turns to Free Agency
With the draft over the focus now turns to free agency - both unrestricted [Brad Stuart and Andreas Lilja to name two] and restricted [Valtteri Filppula and Jonathan Ericsson are a few this summer]. Here’s a list of free agents across the league.
The Red Wings will have the cap space to address a couple needs so what I’ll do is look at what Ken Holland has been saying in the media and look at some of the options that might be available through free agency, which starts on July 1. Today I’ll start off with the goaltending situation. Chris Osgood is obviously your starter, but who will back him up?
Goaltender
Every comment Ken Holland has made regarding Jimmy Howard has left plenty of reason to wonder if he sees the young netminder as his #2 goaltender this season. Here are a couple recent comments in a recent Free Press article.
“We like Jimmy,” said Holland. “We like Jimmy’s potential. I can’t tell you he’s established himself as the premier goalie” in the American Hockey League.
…
Holland said Howard, who is a restricted free agent, is “slowly going about becoming what we call a pro.”
Consistency has been Howard’s biggest struggle. The general manager has said the points that are at stake when Chris Osgood isn’t in net are going to be crucial given how much parity there is in the league. I took a look at the free agent market and the biggest name out there is Olaf Kolzig, who has indicated he will not return to Washington.
The two big issues that could prevent him from coming to Detroit could be that he might still hold out hope of being a #1 netminder and he was paid nearly $5.5 million last season. But if he was willing to take a paycut and play as Chris Osgood’s backup he’d obviously play fewer games which could help him bounce back from a rough season last year. Detroit also has a much better group of defensemen which would also ensure Kolzig faced fewer shots.
Depending on how the season plays out, if Kolzig were to play for Detroit he could potentially step in as the #1 goaltender if necessary. So I’d put Kolzig as being a potential fit in Detroit. If he’s willing to start 20-30 games and be paid accordingly he could be a great fit. But I’m skeptical that he’d accept the pay cut and the role he’d have on the team. If that’s not the case then Alex Auld might be the only other option via the free agent market that would be a clear upgrade over Howard as a #2 netminder.
The other options out there aren’t necessarily a cut above Jimmy Howard, as Ty Conklin has had consistency issues and David Aebischer hasn’t had a consistently good season in like 5 years. And I haven’t mentioned Christobal Huet as he’s clearly a #1 and will be paid accordingly.
alex auld david aebischer Jimmy Howard olaf kolzig Red Wings ty conklin2 Comments
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Kolzig was very good last year when he was rested (look at his February and early March numbers, for example).
I’m sure he’d be willing to take a pay cut if he was going somewhere where he thought he had a chance to be the #1 guy. Is Detroit that place? Probably not. Then again, a little stumble from Ozzie and a hot streak from Olie and you could see a 50/50 split, no?
My money’s still on him retiring, though.
Btw, my anti-spam word was “brewski.” Nice.
JP,
Yeah, that was my big concern with Kolzig. There’s no way he could come to Detroit expecting to be the #1. He’d have to have the same situation Osgood was in where he was the backup but became the #1 when Hasek bombed out.
Brewski is one of the better anti-spam words. I also think wisky is one as well!