Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis wrote a column discussing the “Top five most interesting crease battles to watch” ahead of the 2024-2025 season, and the Red Wings made his list, of course:
Detroit Red Wings
Goalies: Alex Lyon, Ville Husso and Cam Talbot
The Red Wings appear ready to run with a three-headed monster for the second year in a row – but with a slightly different trio. Lyon and Husso are back to challenge for starts, while Talbot enters the ring as a newcomer with the most NHL experience. Of the two returnees, Lyon established himself as the team’s top goaltender last year, going 21-18-5 with two shutouts and a .904 save percentage. Husso, meanwhile, took a step back, performance-wise, but also suffered multiple lower-body injuries. If Husso can stay healthy, he’s still a decent goaltender capable of good hockey.
But the Red Wings clearly weren’t fully confident in the crease and brought in Talbot over the summer. Talbot was one of the top goalies on the market, and his two-year deal suggests the Red Wings still believe in him late in his career. Talbot had his struggles with L.A., but he still participated in the All-Star Game in a year that saw him play 52 games despite being one of the oldest keepers in the league.
The Red Wings have about $198K in cap space to work with. An easy move would be sending one of the goalies down and hoping for the best – Lyon is paid the most at $4.75 million. But don’t be surprised if they keep all three around for added flexibility like they did a year ago.
On paper, Talbot should be Detroit’s No. 1 goalie. But at the very least, they’ve got three guys that have spent time as an NHL starter over the past few years. All they need is just one to take control.
And if none of that works… maybe they give Jack Campbell a chance again after playing some decent hockey in the AHL later in the 2023-24 season? He’ll be damn hungry to prove people wrong after getting bought out by the Edmonton Oilers last year.
Continued; the exhibition season and the first 10-15 games will solve the Red Wings’ 3-goaltender equation.
