It’s time for another round of NHL rumours. The month of August is usually a quiet time for hockey. However, we’re just over a month away from the start of training camp. This means the hot stove is going to fire up once again with plenty of talk. Teams aren’t done tinkering with their rosters and some big decisions could still come. One team that’s looking to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs is the Detroit Red Wings. There’s plenty of chatter about the Wings situation in net. Today’s edition of NHL rumours takes a look at what Detroit may do in goal.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Detroit Red Wings Goalie Questions
Rumour: NHL.com report Nicholas Cotsonika took a look at the Red Wings goaltending situation going into the 2024-25 campaign.
Analysis: The Red Wings carried three goalies goalies last season and have three rostered netminders with NHL experience. Detroit had James Reimer to go with the duo of Alex Lyon and Ville Husso. The latter was injured for the latter half of the season. This season will see Cam Talbot take the third slot after inking a two-year deal worth $5 million.
Red Wings General Manager Steve Yzerman told Cotsonika that they are monitoring Husso’s health. However, he expects the 29-year-old goalie to be ready for the upcoming season.
Yzerman said that would “play it by ear” and figure it out” as they go along. Husso’s health could cause Yzerman to make a move to clear some space.
Three-Head Monster
The Montreal Canadiens had a troika in goal last season before Jake Allen was shipped off to the New Jersey Devils. There’s only so much game time to go around and the development of Cayden Primeau and Samuel Montembeault may have gotten interrupted with having three goalies.
Detroit has established veterans in the crease, so development shouldn’t have been an issue. However, three’s a crowd as the old saying goes. Yzerman may want to make a decision sooner rather than later of what he’ll do to accommodate three netminders.
However, it mostly hinges on how Husso feels. If Husso is healthy, Yzerman might be able to move one of the goalies to get some salary cap space. Husso only played in 19 games last season due to injuries.
The Battle Begins
There’s going to be a camp battle to see who walks away with the starting goalie honours in Hockeytown. Lyon got most of the starts in goal while Husso was out for most of the season. Reimer filled in as backup, but he signed with the Buffalo Sabres in the off-seson.
Talbot tallied a 27-20-6 record with a 2.50 goals-against average, a .913 save percentage and three shutouts. All three goalies have been starters in the league and could win the number one job.
Detroit would love to figure out their goalie problem so it can move forward. The Wings have nearly $18 million in cap space, but still have to pay Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond.
Both Husso and Lyon are unrestricted free agents, but Husso has a larger cap hit at $4.75 million to the $900,000 of Lyon according to Puckpedia. Training camp could determine the course of the Red Wings goalie situation for the 2024-25 season.
Main photo by: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
