Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff penned an article regarding what will likely be a division of labor between Ville Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic in the Red Wings’ crease this upcoming season:
The Detroit Red Wings are going into the upcoming NHL season uncertain of who their No. 1 goalie will be and GM Steve Yzerman is fine with that reality. In fact, Yzerman is of the belief that having two quality NHL goaltenders might just be better than having a No. 1.
“There’s so much responsibility on the goaltender,” Yzerman said. “It’s a hard position to play. There’s a lot of pressure on them, regardless of who they are.”
Last season, circumstances – mostly the various injuries and illnesses that felled Thomas Greiss – ended up forcing Alex Nedeljkovic to tend the Detroit goal in a total of 59 games.
It was a hefty workload, one that Nedeljkovic had never faced before as a pro. And the impact of that workload took a toll on the 26-year-old netminder.
“I don’t think you really understand the grind, the mental grind an 82-game season in the NHL is,” Nedeljkovic said. “I played a lot of games before. In junior I played 50-60 games a season. In the American League I played 55, almost 60 games a season, went through a long run playoff run in the American League and in junior, too. I’ve played a lot of hockey before but nothing like this. You can’t really compare it.”
