Expect the Red Wings to open the season once again with three goalies on their opening night roster, writes Max Bultman of The Athletic.
As general manager Steve Yzerman has said this offseason, there’s a lot of waiver math that will factor into what Detroit’s 23-player list looks like when rosters are due Oct. 7. Unless a prospect forces their hand, they’ll turn in the combination of players that requires exposing the least amount of talent to the wire – likely resulting in three goalies and eight defensemen opening night without an extra forward.
“There was no indication in [rookie camp in] Traverse City” that fringe forward prospects Nate Danielson, Marco Kasper, or Carter Mazur were close to winning out a roster spot, Bultman said, although they’ll still get some looks during the preseason. If they do make a waiver placement to free up a roster spot for one of the three or PTO candidate Austin Watson, though, expect it to be netminder Ville Husso, he added. The 29-year-old is coming off an injury-plagued season that limited him to 19 games played with a .892 SV% and a 9-5-2 record. That would allow them to avoid placing defense prospect Albert Johansson on waivers, who’ll likely start the season in the NHL now that he’s no longer waiver-exempt.
More from around the league this morning:
- While not a candidate for a roster spot just yet, Blackhawks prospect Nick Lardis is impressing this month, The Athletic’s Scott Powers writes. “…When it comes to the future, no player may have done as much to build expectations as Lardis in recent weeks,” said Powers. “What Lardis has shown with his shot, quickness and hockey IQ in the last two weeks has Chicago management even more excited for his eventual NHL arrival.” Lardis, a 19-year-old left winger, will return to the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs for his fourth season of junior hockey after recording 29 goals and 50 points in only 37 games there last year. He was a third-round pick (No. 67 overall) by Chicago in 2023.
- Opinions around the league are mixed on whether the Blues’ successful acquisition of Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway will lead to an uptick in future summers, reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. Player agents were far more optimistic, with Octagon’s Allan Walsh telling LeBrun that “the barn door has been opened” and that “we’ll certainly be seeing more of them going forward.” GMs Tom Fitzgerald (Devils), Bill Guerin (Wild), Ron Francis (Kraken), and Jim Nill (Stars) all countered with “it’s part of the business”-type sentiments, saying not to expect a material change in how often offer sheets are levied.
By successfully signing both Holloway and Broberg, the Blues went from the 6th or 7th best team in the Central to the 6th or 7th best team in the Central.
Re: Wings.
Husso is best to be offered for something else. Its too bad that he has had such a run of poor luck but he is definitely #3 of 3 at this point.
I hope they don’t waste potential points in the regular season just to verify that he is a #3 as they did just prior to his injuries. As the team found out last season, EVERY point is crucial. Those crucial points start with game #1 in October.
Who would take him at this point though. Wings would need to give a pick also for future considerations so they would get nothing back.
Lyon can be traded easily because of his salary.
Cossa I think could be ready next year as a tandem in Detroit. Think at this point you ride out Husso 1 more year unless some other team gets desperate in goal.
I hear ya on the Husso thing, but my understanding is that there is still a drought in mid level goalers so who knows if there is a team willing to chance Husso without asking too much. Cossa will need some time to acclimate to the NHL tempo so Talbot, Lyon, Cossa might be a decent bench for G during the regular season. If Cossa can step right up, that would be a win win as he’s still young with a lot of run way ahead of him. Lets hope this all pans out and the Wings are back into the post season this year.