Since the 2014-15 season, the Detroit Red Wings have relied on two goaltenders to lead the team through the regular season. Often called a “1A/1B” tandem, this goaltending strategy recognizes both goaltenders as capable starters as they typically alternate starts until one goaltender gets hot and/or one cools down.
The Red Wings’ tandem for the 2014-15 season was longtime starter Jimmy Howard and a then up-and-coming Petr Mrazek. That tandem remained in place until Feb. 2018 when the Red Wings traded Mrazek to the Philadelphia Flyers. Since then, the Red Wings’ tandem has changed almost every season, leading to the 2023-24 season. This season, Detroit entered the season with a three-headed monster in goal: Ville Husso, James Reimer and Alex Lyon.
With under a month left to go in the season, the Red Wings have had to rely on each of their three different goaltenders at different points of the season. Husso, the incumbent, started the team’s first game of the season, and head coach Derek Lalonde opted to alternate between Husso and Reimer through the first month of the season. It wasn’t until mid-November that Lyon made his official debut with the Red Wings. From that point on, Detroit had to rely on Lyon more and more until he became the team’s 1A during a successful stretch through the first two months of 2024.
But, as has happened in almost every season since the 2016-17 campaign, the Red Wings’ top option in goal seems to have fizzled out. While Reimer seems to have stepped up recently, Lyon’s descent after such a strong start highlights a clear weakness the Red Wings have as they continue their playoff push: they don’t know what kind of goaltending they’ll get from one game to the next.
If the Red Wings are going to take the next step and become a perennial playoff team, they need to remedy this situation as soon as possible.
Red Wings’ Goaltending Situation Seems Cut & Dry
The Red Wings have depth at the goaltender position. Beyond the three they have carried on the NHL roster this season, 34-year-old veteran Michael Hutchinson has been in a 1A/1B tandem with 21-year-old Sebastian Cossa with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League (AHL) this season. Cossa, as you may know, was the Red Wings’ second pick in the first round of the 2021 draft (15th overall) and is widely considered to be the team’s top prospect at the position.
Related: Cossa’s Patient Development Has Him Right on Schedule
The Red Wings have several other goalie prospects, including Carter Gylander whom they recently signed to an entry-level contract, as well as Trey Augustine of the Michigan State Spartans.
At the NHL level, the Red Wings are set to ride Reimer, Lyon and, hopefully, Husso until the end of their campaign. Looking ahead to next season, both Husso and Lyon have another year on their contracts, meaning that the assumption right now is that those two will tend the nets in Detroit for the foreseeable future. Ideally, Cossa should see the bulk of the starts in Grand Rapids during the 2024-25 season and should be pushing for NHL playing time by the season ends. Red Wings general manager (GM) Steve Yzerman should have plenty of options to fill out the rest of the depth chart in the offseason.
The Red Wings’ current plan in goal seems pretty clear. They seem to be buying time for a prospect like Cossa to ascend to the starting role in Detroit and give them the type of security they haven’t had in nearly a decade. While that is certainly a viable plan, it does leave an obvious hole in their lineup – one that the best teams in the league would absolutely exploit come playoff time.
Husso, Reimer & Lyon Aren’t Proven Playoff Performers
Despite their fickle goaltending situation, the Red Wings are still in position to battle for a playoff spot down the stretch. If they punch their ticket to the playoffs, Lalonde will be given the unenviable task of trying to win a playoff series (likely against a division champion) without a sure thing in net.
The hot hand right now is Reimer, who currently sports a 9-8-2 record, a 3.03 goals-against average (GAA) and a save-percentage (SV%) of .906. His 18 starts this season (so far) are the lowest of his 14-year career in the NHL, and he has regularly been the “1B” in Detroit, either behind Husso or Lyon. However, in Reimer’s last five starts, he has four wins and a SV% of .923. He also has the most playoff experience of the Red Wings’ trio, having played in 10 playoff games (5-5 record, 2.70 GAA, .925 SV%) with his most recent appearance coming in 2020 with the Carolina Hurricanes.
As for Husso, the story of his season isn’t how he has played, it’s how much – or, more accurately, how little – he has played. The 29-year-old has a 9-5-2 record across 19 appearances this season, but has spent the majority of the season on the injured reserve list. Assuming he returns before the end of the season, it probably wouldn’t be best to throw him into the fire as a starter in the playoffs unless they absolutely had to. As for his experience in the playoffs, he started six games for the St. Louis Blues during the 2022 playoffs. There, he posted a 2-5 record, a 3.67 GAA and a .890 SV%.
Lyon is the Red Wings’ winningest goaltender this season with 19 wins in 38 starts. When Husso went down with an injury earlier in the season, it was Lyon that stepped up and assumed the starting role for the Red Wings. If you are having a discussion about the team’s MVP this season, you have to at least include Lyon in the conversation. That was the case for the Florida Panthers last season as Lyon gave them the goaltending they needed down the stretch to secure a playoff spot. Once the Panthers got to the playoffs, however, Lyon fizzled out against a formidable Boston Bruins team. Across four games and three starts, he posted a 1-2 record, a 3.63 GAA and a .888 SV%. Given the fact that the Red Wings would be in the same position the Panthers were last season if they did make the playoffs, his track record as a starter in the playoffs isn’t exactly promising.
With Husso and Lyon set to return next season, the Red Wings are entrusting next season’s playoff push to two guys that have no history of success in the NHL playoffs and haven’t been consistent enough this season to secure a playoff spot. That isn’t to say that they aren’t capable goaltenders, but the Red Wings’ crease would almost certainly be viewed as a weakness heading into playoff series this season or next.
How Can the Red Wings Improve?
Long-term, the Red Wings’ plan in goal is pretty simple: develop prospects like Cossa and Augustine until somebody becomes the team’s number one guy in goal. But with Cossa being at least another year away from the NHL and Augustine a couple years behind him, that plan does nothing to improve the Red Wings’ situation in Detroit. If making the playoffs is the goal for next season (and it probably should be), the Red Wings need to move away from the 1A/1B setup because, if we’re being honest, it hasn’t worked once in the Yzerman era.
This year’s crop of free agents doesn’t look to contain any sure things in goal. Marc-Andre Fleury will be available, but he is coming up on 40 years old and isn’t the same Fleury that once prevented the Red Wings from repeating as Stanley Cup champions back in 2009. Another option would Ilya Samsonov of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he has battled consistency issues of his own.
Instead, the best options will be found on the trade market. Calgary Flames goaltender Jacob Markström was reportedly on his way to the New Jersey Devils in the weeks before this season’s trade deadline before the deal fell through. Depending on the price, he might be a good short-term solution that could bridge the gap between now and when Cossa or someone else is ready to take over.
Another option, albeit a more costly one, is Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators. The soon-to-be 29-year-old has been the Predators’ starter since the turn of the decade and is widely regarded as one of the best goalies in the league. As for why the Predators would part with a goalie like him, they have a prospect of their own in Yaroslav Askarov that seems to be ready to push for NHL starts. With one year left on Saros’s deal, this is a sell-high moment that would allow them to turn the team over to one of the top goalie prospects in the world while also accumulating assets for their ongoing retool. Of course, the Predators could just as easily decide to keep Saros and pair him with Askarov as the latter adapts to life in the NHL.
To reiterate, trading for a quality starter will come with a price, and some options will carry a heavier price tag than others. But the cost could be justifiable for the Red Wings if they can establish some consistency and reliability in goal. If the Red Wings decide to move on from the 1A/1B setup this offseason, this seems to be the way to do it.
If they want to become perennial playoff threats moving forward, the Red Wings should consider it.
