The Free Press’s Helene St. James takes note of more of Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde’s remarks during the team’s “Summer Hockey in the D” event several days ago, with St. James discussing the Red Wings’ three-headed goalie monster of Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon and Ville Husso this morning:
“That’s going to be a healthy competition,” coach Derek Lalonde said this week. “I’ve been speaking with all three goalies. I think Steve did a a pretty good job of explaining to them the situation, that it’s going to be a competition. All three goalies over the last couple years have proven to play at a very high level.”
Husso, 29, is entering the last year of a deal carrying a $4.75 million salary cap hit. He was, for the most part, very dependable in his first year in 2022-23, until he appeared to get worn down towards the end, when the Wings kept relying him on because neither Alex Nedeljkovic nor Magnus Hellberg rose to the role of backup. Last year, Husso again was the starter, outplaying Reimer while Lyon sat on the sidelines as the No. 3 guy, until leaving a game Dec. 18 with what turned out to be a season-long ailment. (He supposedly was ready to play Feb. 13, but left the game after less than 10 minutes in net.)
Lyon, 31 and going into the last year of a deal with a $900,000 cap hit, emerged as the starter. He was a huge reason why the Wings banked 34 of 44 possible points in January and February, posting a .912 save percentage in 19 of those 22 games.
Talbot, 37, is starting a two-year deal with a $2.5 million annual cap hit. He appeared in 54 games and posted a 27–20–6 record with a .913 save percentage with the Los Angeles Kings last season, and was named an All-Star for the second time in three years.
That’s three pretty good resumes, and gives the Wings confidence they’ll be fine in net. With eight exhibition games, all three goalies should get at least one full game and one half game, and from there, barring injury, they will be competing for the starter’s net. It can be tricky to get enough reps for three goaltenders in practices, but the Wings, after all, figured out how to do so when last year began.
“I think we did a pretty good job by our group last year in having three goalies,” Lalonde said. “It was very unique. It worked for us last year and I think we’ll go into the season with that mentality and let it play out.”
Continued; the Red Wings will also want to see how Sebastian Cossa has progressed during their usual 8-games-in-12-nights exhibition season slate of games, and AHL-bound Jack Campbell and ECHL-bound Gage Alexander will vie for time as well.
The truth of the matter is that the Red Wings have six goaltenders signed going into the upcoming season, so the team will probably need not only the exhibition season but also the first 10-25 games of the regular season to sort out its goaltending.
Injuries will of course play a huge role in the sorting thereof, but the sense here is that Talbot and Lyon will be the duo that come out of the competition as goaltenders #1 and #2, barring a resurrection of Husso’s game.
If Husso can regain his form, the Wings may feel compelled to move a goaltender given that Campbell and Cossa will remain “in the wings,” ready and waiting in Grand Rapids.
