After last night’s 1-0 shootout win, I was thinking that the Grand Rapids Griffins are doing a great job of making a 3-goaltender system work as all of Jack Campbell, Ville Husso and Sebastian Cossa are earning playing time and practice time…
But the Hockey News’s Caleb Kearney sees the glut of goaltenders in GR and says that it’s time for the Red Wings to trade Campbell or Husso:
Husso has been lights out with two shutouts in eight games. He currently holds a 6-1-0 record to go along with a 1.86 goals against average (GAA) and a .935 save percentage (SV%).
With 18 games played, Cossa has taken most of the year’s starts. He has a 10-5-3 record in those starts, a 2.31 GAA, a .919 SV%, and one shutout.
Campbell is starting to get his feet wet, with four games and a 2-2-0 record. Although this sample is small, he has a 2.02 GAA and a .924 SV%.
Having several goalies who perform well is not a bad thing. What is bad about this situation is that the veterans, Husso and Campbell, will take away Cossa’s starts.
While this might give Cossa a nice break in the short term, it’s not good for his long-term development. Having a break is one thing, but sitting too long can negatively impact goaltending performance. Therefore, one of Husso or Campbell must be traded.
Husso is probably the easiest of the two to visit the trade block. Campbell fell out of favor with NHL GMs last season and is still rebuilding his game to deliver consistent results.
Campbell’s contract is more digestible: He earned $775,000 this season. Husso, on the other hand, is in the last year of a three-year $4.75 million deal.
I’m going to have to disagree here. The Wings would have to eat half of Husso’s salary to trade him, and while it’s a nice thought to clear the Griffins’ logjam, right now, it’s working, and that matters more than one might think, especially with the possibility of an injury at the NHL level quite probable at some point this season.
