{"id":22694,"date":"2018-02-01T14:52:32","date_gmt":"2018-02-01T19:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=22694"},"modified":"2018-02-03T20:37:48","modified_gmt":"2018-02-04T01:37:48","slug":"petr-mrazek-and-his-rising-trade-value","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2018\/02\/01\/petr-mrazek-and-his-rising-trade-value\/","title":{"rendered":"Petr Mrazek and His Rising Trade Value"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/\/nhl-teams\/red-wings\/\" target=\"_self\">Detroit Red Wings<\/a> know their season will likely not end in a playoff appearance. Backup goalie <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/mrazepe01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Petr Mrazek<\/a><\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/mrazepe01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0<\/a>is increasing his trade value coming up to the deadline. The team has two goalies with him and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/howarja02.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jimmy Howard<\/a><\/strong> that have starting goalie experience and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/2017\/12\/13\/detroit-red-wings-possible-trade-bait\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">that will fetch a haul of picks and prospects<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As Red Wings seek to go on run, Petr Mrazek may be the spark  <br \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cUaGPSGr1F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/cUaGPSGr1F<\/a> via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/freep?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@freep<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Helene St. James (@HeleneStJames) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HeleneStJames\/status\/959068060010213377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">February 1, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Petr Mrazek Trade Value Increasing<\/h2>\n<p>The Ostrava, Czech Republic native had a nightmare start to the season and was getting limited starts after Howard had taken the number one spot. Mrazek has found his form in the early part of 2018 and has gone 4-1-1 in his last six games. He even posted shutouts against the<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/\/nhl-teams\/blackhawks\/\" target=\"_self\"> Chicago Blackhawks<\/a> on January 14th and the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/\/nhl-teams\/devils\/\" target=\"_self\">New Jersey Devils<\/a>\u00a0 on January 22nd.<\/p>\n<p>He currently is 6-5-2 this season with a 3.01 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. However, his stats have trended upward since the start of the new year.<\/p>\n<p>Many think Detroit coach <strong>Jeff Blashill<\/strong> is showcasing Mrazek for a trade, but he told the media that he\u2019s still looking to make the postseason. However, Mrazek\u2019s good play is making him more enticing to teams that are in the market for a goalie.<\/p>\n<p>Blashill, who is a former goaltender, said that Mrazek\u2019s confidence has returned after the shaky start of the season. He was thought to be the goalie of the future before his letdown of a 2016-17 campaign. His flair and body language from his breakout season two years ago have returned.<\/p>\n<p>Last season saw Mrazek regress as he went 18-21-9 with a 3.04 goals against average and a .901 save percentage. He was made available to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/\/nhl-teams\/knights\/\" target=\"_self\">Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> in the expansion draft but was not selected.<\/p>\n<p>He has worked hard to get into the regular rotation and chip away at some of Howard\u2019s playing time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you\u2019re more confident as a goalie, the puck sticks to you a little bit more,\u201d said Blashill when<a href=\"http:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/sports\/nhl\/red-wings\/2018\/01\/31\/petr-mrazek-center-trade-rumors-swirling-around-red-wings-goalies\/109988750\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> he talked to the media on Wednesday<\/a>. \u201cYou play under control, especially him. He plays under control.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>The Market for Petr Mrazek<\/h2>\n<p>One of the main issues is the lack of a market for goalies. Many of the teams contending for a playoff spot aren\u2019t in need of a starting goalie. The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/\/nhl-teams\/islanders\/\" target=\"_self\">New York Islanders<\/a> are an obvious candidate but haven\u2019t made any overtures about looking for a netminder.<\/p>\n<p>The Isles are another team on the borderline of a playoff spot and they\u2019re not a lock. General manager <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/snowga01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Garth Snow<\/a><\/strong> could end up being a seller instead of a buyer at the Feb. 26 trade deadline.<\/p>\n<p>Another team that\u2019s a longshot is their old rival the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/\/nhl-teams\/blackhawks\/\" target=\"_self\">Chicago Blackhawks<\/a>. However,<strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/crawfco01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Corey Crawford<\/a><\/strong> has returned to practice and a move may not be needed. The Blackhawks also might be a seller at the deadline if they fall further behind in the Western Conference playoff race.<\/p>\n<h2>What it Means for the Future<\/h2>\n<p>Management is going to have to make a decision this offseason on what the fate of Mrazek and Howard will be. The Wings have almost $10 million tied up between the two goalies and they\u2019d love to free up some money to attract potential free agents.<\/p>\n<p>Mrazek is worth $4 million dollars and he becomes a restricted free agent at the end of the season. Howard\u2019s cap value is $5.29 million dollars and becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the next season. Detroit can either qualify Mrazek or he\u2019ll become an unrestricted free agent if they don\u2019t. The move may be one of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/hollake01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ken Holland<\/a><\/strong>&#8216;s last as the team&#8217;s general manager.<\/p>\n<p>He may not be a Red Wing in the 2018-19 season, but his improved play is making him a valuable commodity in the trade or free agent market.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>DETROIT, MI &#8211; DECEMBER 09: Petr Mrazek #34 of the Detroit Red Wings looks on from his net during the third period while playing the St. Louis Blues at Little Caesars Arena on December 9, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. St. Louis won the game 6-1. (Photo by Gregory Shamus\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Detroit Red Wings know their season will likely not end in a playoff appearance. Backup goalie Petr Mrazek\u00a0is increasing his trade value coming up to the deadline. The team has two goalies with him and Jimmy Howard that have starting goalie experience and that will fetch a haul of picks and prospects. As Red [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2352,"featured_media":20194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2],"tags":[246,822,95,1148,343,817,571,491,619],"class_list":["post-22694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-redwings","category-featured","tag-chicago-blackhawks","tag-corey-crawford","tag-detroit-red-wings","tag-garth-snow","tag-jeff-blashill","tag-jimmy-howard","tag-ken-holland","tag-new-york-islanders","tag-petr-mrazek"],"modified_by":"Ben Kerr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}