97.1 the Ticket’s Will Burchfield explains why he believes that the Red Wings are building something of a bridge toward the Sebastian Cossa era by bringing in Ville Husso to split time with incumbent starter Alex Nedeljkovic:
The Wings are very excited to have Husso. He’s coming off a breakout season in which he earned a vote for the Vezina Trophy. It’s been 10 seasons since Detroit had a goalie earn a Vezina vote, Jimmy Howard in 2012-13. Howard never quite reached that level again, Petr Mrazek wasn’t the successor the Wings thought he would be and here they are in 2022, still searching for a long-term answer in goal.
Sebastian Cossa remains their most promising candidate. He also remains at least a couple years away. Because the comparison is so popular, Steve Yzerman drafted Andrei Vasilevskiy in the first round in 2012; the future Vezina winner didn’t take over the net in Tampa Bay until midway through the 2016-17 season. The same timeline for Cossa, a first-round pick in 2021, would make him Detroit’s No. 1 goalie in 2025-26.
In the meantime, someone has to man the Red Wings’ crease. And if he mans it well enough, like Ben Bishop did for the Lightning prior to Vasilevskiy’s arrival, he’ll force Cossa to take it away. He’ll also guard the club against the possibility that Cossa doesn’t take it at all; a 19-year-old, 6’6 goaltender can land anywhere on the professional spectrum.
This is why Yzerman traded for Husso, just like he traded for Alex Nedeljkovic a year ago. And this is why he quickly signed Husso to a three-year deal worth a reported $4.75 million per season. That will bring Husso through the 2024-25, by which time Cossa should be playing in Detroit. Then it’s on Cossa to take over.
“I feel like these days in hockey, (you need) to have two good goalies on the team,” Husso said.
