The Detroit Red Wings have come a long way when it comes to addressing their need for goaltending. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that their goalie tandem consisted of Jonathan Bernier and Thomas Greiss, both of whom moved on or retired from the NHL shortly after their time in Detroit.
Today, the Red Wings have two of the best goalie prospects in the game in Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine, and their depth chart is completely filled from the NHL down to the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. As injuries have come and gone, the organization has been able to patch holes and sustain a competitive lineup thanks to the sheer number of goalies at their disposal.
Therein lies the problem, however: the Red Wings have so many goalies under contract and in their organization that it is actually becoming a detriment to their long-term plan for the position. Luckily, they have some options to remedy the situation.
Husso Showing Off in the AHL
Ville Husso, now in his third season in the Red Wings organization, has spent most of this season with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League (AHL). Prior to this season, he was the Red Wings’ top option during the 2022-23 season, and then he spent most of the 2023-24 season on injured reserve (IR). He was unable to reclaim a permanent role in Detroit this season but has been Detroit’s go-to call-up when needed.
In eight games with the Griffins, Husso has six wins including two shutouts, a 1.86 goals-against average (GAA), and a .935 save-percentage (SV%). In short, he’s been really good. The problem is that the Red Wings are not paying him $4.75 million to be really good in Grand Rapids, they’re paying him that sum to be really good in Detroit.
Despite some strong play in his most recent stint, Husso has not been nearly as effective in the NHL. Across seven starts and eight games this season, he has just one win, a 3.47 GAA and a .877 SV%. Through his two and a half seasons in the Red Wings organization, his SV% sits at .893 while his GAA is up at 3.24. With 36 wins in 83 appearances, he has had stretches of good play and is an easy enough guy to root for, but the results simply have not been there consistently enough to justify his price tag.
Therein lies the dilemma: Husso has proven himself to be more than capable of handling AHL competition, but his results in Detroit have been uninspiring at best. Normally, the answer would be to find a trade partner and give the player a fresh start, but his salary is tough to stomach, even at 50 percent retained.
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Unless a team is truly enamored with Husso, it’s tough to see why any team would go out of their way to acquire him, especially when they could just offer him a contract in free agency this summer. The Red Wings are probably going to have to ride this contract out or attach an asset in the deal to coax a team into taking him on.
Cossa Healthy Scratched for Consecutive Games
The Husso situation wouldn’t be as much of a problem if the organization wanted him to be the Griffins’ top option in goal. That distinction instead belongs to Cossa, whom the Red Wings drafted 15th overall back in 2021 and was anointed as the franchise’s goalie of the future from that moment on.
Cossa, who was recently named as one of the Griffins’ three representatives for the AHL All-Star Game in February, has looked the part of an AHL starter/number three goaltender this season, recording 10 wins in 19 appearances, a 2.30 GAA and a .918 SV%. He even recorded his first NHL win, appearing in relief of Husso in a comeback victory on Dec. 9 against the Buffalo Sabres. After a successful rookie season in 2023-24, the expectation was for Cossa to take on an even bigger role with the Griffins this season and hopefully lead them to a Calder Cup championship.
That’s why it was surprising to see Cossa listed as a healthy scratch for the Griffins’ games on Dec. 28 and Dec. 31, sitting in favor of Husso and veteran Jack Campbell.
While Cossa has since returned to his spot atop the depth chart in the Griffins’ crease, the logjam is officially real; if the Red Wings are serious about prioritizing playing time for Cossa in the AHL, they need to reduce the amount of mouths there are to feed in the crease.
Possibilities for Movement?
The Red Wings currently ice a tandem of Cam Talbot and Alex Lyon in goal. The former was brought in last summer on a two-year contract and is familiar with head coach Todd McLellan from their time together with the Edmonton Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings. The latter is a returning member of last season’s goaltending group, where he emerged as the team’s top option after Husso was sidelined. Lyon is in the second year of the two-year pact he signed with the Red Wings back in 2023.
With a $900,000 cap hit, Lyon is one of the few everyday NHL goaltenders that any team could accommodate under their salary cap. Since the Red Wings’ coaching change on Dec. 26, Lyon has three wins in five appearances and a .931 SV%; he is currently trending to enjoy the best season of his career – setting him up to cash in on his next contract in what will likely be his only opportunity to do so.
Teams looking for goaltending around the NHL trade deadline will almost certainly be interested in acquiring Lyon, depending on the cost of doing so. Heck, the Red Wings might even be able to use that move to address other needs in their lineup.
The trade deadline is still just under two months away, and there won’t be any urgency for Detroit to move a goaltender while their top two guys alternate being out with short-term injuries. Husso is a nice luxury to have down the depth chart, and the Cossa/Campbell duo can handle things in Grand Rapids while Husso fills in as the NHL backup. If the organization feels it needs to make a move sooner, Lyon or Campbell are the likeliest candidates due to their manageable contracts.
Regardless, this is a situation the Red Wings brought upon themselves. With Lyon, Husso and Cossa already in place at the end of last season, this logjam was inevitable when the organization went out and brought Talbot and Campbell into the fold.
Their depth at the position came in handy earlier this season, but to optimize their assets and provide as much playing time as they can for the goalies that need it, they need to clear things up in the crease.
