With the NHL Draft and free agency occurring in the next three weeks, Red Wings beat writer Ted Kulfan will analyze each of the Red Wings’ position groups. Today: Goaltenders.
Detroit — General manager Steve Yzerman’s assessment about the Red Wings’ goaltending was blunt.
This was during Yzerman’s season-ending press conference in late April, after the Wings missed the playoffs for a ninth consecutive season. The goaltending was hardly a singular reason the team missed the postseason.
But when looking over the entire roster, Yzerman said the goaltending wasn’t up to snuff.
“We need the goalies to stop the puck more,” said Yzerman, succinctly and accurately.
The trio of Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon and Petr Mrazek cumulatively posted an .896 save percentage, ranking the Wings 20th of 32 teams.
As the Wings wait on a goaltending prospect such as Sebastian Cossa or Trey Augustine to become NHL-ready, Yzerman has attempted to find a young NHL veteran such as Alex Nedeljkovic or Ville Husso to evolve into a steadfast No. 1 starter.
For brief stretches, both Nedeljkovic and Husso looked capable. Each had at least half seasons of nearly elite play, giving the organization considerable hope they had found a true No. 1 starter. But, eventually — whether it was inconsistency with Nedeljkovic or and injuries with Husso — both left the organization, as the likes to Alex Lyon, James Reimer, Thomas Greiss and Jonathan Bernier attempted to fill the void.
“You look at the best teams in the league, generally they have a real horse that they can ride in net on a regular basis,” Yzerman said. “We’re not in that position yet. We’re hopeful to be there one day, whether that’s with our draft picks or (we need) to go look elsewhere for that guy, we will.
“But overall, our team save percentage was near the bottom third of the league and we need to improve that. And whether that’s with Mrazek, Cam or Alex, or we go out and do something, we’ll look to upgrade that position.”
As the NHL offseason slowly begins to crank up, the duo of Talbot and Mrazek appear to be the Wings’ choice to handle the workload. Both are under contract for one more year, and both showed enough promise to keep the Wings in position to win games.
Talbot, who’ll be 38 on July 5, was 21-19-5, with a 2.91 goals-against average and .901 save percentage, while handling the bulk of work. Talbot has another season at a $2.5 million annual average value, and proved to be one of Yzerman’s best free-agent acquisitions.
“We look at Cam’s season and he did very well,” Yzerman said. “We’re pleased with it. He met expectations for us.”
Talbot was pleased with the progress the Wings made, though it wasn’t enough to earn a playoff spot.
“It’s never an easy time of the year when you don’t accomplish what you want to accomplish at the start of the season,” Talbot said. “It’s definitely disappointing, the way it ended. We made some strides toward the end, from Christmas on, when the coaching change happened. That’s something we can build off heading into next year.”
Mrazek, 33, was acquired at the trade deadline from Chicago, and only played five games before a season-ending injury. With another year on his contract at $4.25 million, Mrazek was acquired to replace Lyon, who is headed to unrestricted free agency and likely looking for a larger NHL opportunity.
Yzerman left little doubt that Cossa, 22, the 2021 first-round draft pick, is likely headed for a fourth minor-league season, his third in Grand Rapids.
Cossa (21-15-5, 2.45 GAA, .911 SVS) struggled the second half of the season (.898 SVS in final 16 games), then was pulled in Game 1 of a Griffins’ first-round playoff loss, didn’t play in Game 2, and was in net as the Griffins were swept in three games.
It was hardly the way Cossa, or the Wings, wanted to see the young goaltender’s season conclude.
“We’re looking for him to take another step,” Yzerman said. “I’m not prepared today to put him in the NHL. He had a very good first two-thirds of the season, his play dipped a little bit after the American League All-Star break, and this (was) a big playoffs for him.
“I’m not ruling anything out, but he’s going to have to take another step here if we want to count on him to be here in Detroit next year. He continues to trend in the right direction, but today I’m not prepared to say he’s going to play in the NHL next year. He’s got to do more.”
Augustine, who has had two superb seasons at Michigan State, chose after the season to return to MSU, delaying his pro career for another year.
The Wings will tweak the goaltending position in the weeks ahead. Whether it be a trade for an established goaltender, or adding depth in free agency on someone who can shuttle between the NHL and help develop Cossa in the AHL, they will look to bolster what they already have.
“We’ll continue to explore,” Yzerman said. “Whether it’s the trade market, free agency, we’ll see if there’s somebody that comes along in the interim.”
tkulfan@detroitnews.com
@tkulfan