The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro posted an article this morning which ranks the moves of the teams which have made additions to their goaltending this offseason, and the Red Wings, who traded for Ville Husso during this past week’s draft, and he ranks the Wings 6th out of the 9 teams which either traded for goalies or added them via free agency:
In: Ville Husso
Out: Thomas Greiss
It’s interesting that a year after taking a chance on Nedeljkovic following one strong season, the Red Wings are repeating the same formula with Husso.
Last year was only Husso’s second in the NHL, and his first with a save percentage north of .900. His stats in the AHL prior to that were solid but not spectacular. There’s no questioning his performance last season – he finished ninth in the NHL in goals saved above expected (13.5) according to Money Puck – but it’s worth wondering if it’s sustainable long-term.
Nedeljkovic’s brilliant break-out season in Carolina was highlighted by his impressive 15.7 goals saved above average, but he crashed back to earth in Detroit with a minus-11 goals saved above average in 2021-22. Husso is of similar age and career arc to Nedeljkovic, and also only has a sample size of only a single season as a strong starting goalie.
In terms of a stylistic fit, I think Husso is actually a better match in Detroit than Nedeljkovic. Husso is calm in net with outstanding lateral movement and flexibility that helps him get across to make saves on backdoor plays more than most. Both qualities should serve him well behind a young, developing defense in Detroit.
Continued; I read the above as “keep your expectations low, because it is Detroit, you know…“
