I’m a little shocked to report that The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, Jesse Granger and Sean McIndoe rank the Red Wings as having the 18th-best overall goaltending situation in the NHL, when “current goaltending,” “future prospects” and teams’ “cap and contracts” are taken into account. They aren’t a fan of the Red Wings’ current goaltending situation, however (shockingly, I say, with sarcasm intended):
Current: 32
Granger: The Red Wings enter 2024-25 with four different goalies with extensive NHL experience. Cam Talbot is coming off a strong statistical season, but he did it behind a staunch Kings defense that tends to inflate goaltending numbers (just ask Ottawa how signing Joonas Korpisalo went). Detroit has some incredibly exciting goalie prospects, but the current situation doesn’t inspire that same excitement.
Future: 1
Wheeler: The Red Wings are the only team in the league with two goalies I believe are both top-10 goalie prospects in the sport. They’re also two very different goalies, with Sebastian Cossa’s size, fire, athleticism and raw potential contrasted against Trey Augustine’s stoic, cerebral calm and control. I’d be surprised if both don’t become 1A/1B types and the Red Wings don’t eventually have a tough decision to make on whether or not to turn over the net to two young goalies. Colgate’s Carter Gylander and 2024 fourth-rounder Landon Miller could give them some organizational depth as well. (I don’t see the recently acquired Gage Alexander as much.)
Cap: 11
McIndoe: The Wings have four veterans under contract for a total of $8.8 million this year, although a chunk of that will be buried in the AHL. Only Talbot is signed past this coming season; his $2.5 million deal is for two years, but otherwise, the plan seems to be to clear the deck and reassess in a year, which is probably smart. One question for then will be whether the team wants to recommit to Ville Husso, who’s been just OK on a $4.75 million AAV deal that expires next summer.
Bottom line: You have to love a team covering both ends of the current/future spectrum. For a franchise undergoing an ultra-patient rebuild, the future is probably still the priority, but the current situation will make a playoff run tougher than it probably should be unless one of those veterans steps up.
Continued (paywall); the whole point of having a five-goaltender platoon is to ensure that one of those vets do exactly that.
