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Detroit Red Wings may target backup goalie at trade deadline

Feb 7

Posted by Chris in Soap Box | No Comments

The recent injury to Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard may have exposed the biggest need for the team coming into the trade deadline at the end of the month – a backup goalie.

Howard admitted recently that he will miss more than the two games that were initially reported thanks to a broken finger sustained against the Vancouver Canucks last Thursday in a 4-3 shootout victory for the Wings. While Howard said there is no timetable for his return, he believes that it could be as many as two weeks, but should be less than the four-to-six weeks doctors estimated.

“I haven’t been told two weeks,” Howard said, “but when they said four-to-six weeks (to heal), I was like there’s no chance I’m going to be out for six. Two weeks sounded right.”

Through the first half of the season, Howard shouldered an incredible load with 44 starts in 54 games. Howard leads the league with 32 wins and has solid stats this year with a 2.03 goals against average and a .924 save percentage.

His backup goalie, Ty Conklin, hasn’t fared as well. In nine games started this season, Conklin has looked inconsistent at best with only three wins with a 3.40 goals against average and a .878 save percentage – some of the worst stats of his career. Granted, with Howard playing so well, Conklin has been relegated to the bench for the most part, but Conklin has missed out on opportunities and failed to capitalize when he does get the nod.

After Howard’s injury last Thursday in Vancouver, Conklin got the start on Saturday night in Edmonton. He was pulled after the first period after surrendering three goals on nine shots against. Joey Macdonald, the Red Wings’ third string goalie, had a strong showing in relief of Conklin and helped the Wings fight back and earn a point in a shootout loss to the Oilers.

That strong showing earned Macdonald the start last night against the Phoenix Coyotes where Macdonald again looked good, but his defense did not. The Wings ended up losing their second straight by a score of 3-1.

The Wings have a .727 winning percentage when Howard starts. That percentage falls to .333 when Conklin starts. Macdonald has looked good in his brief NHL appearances, and he has been playing well for the Grand Rapids Griffins with 11 wins and a 2.63 goals against average along with a .913 save percentage. Still, the Wings may opt to upgrade their backup situation if better options become available before the trade deadline.

Rumors have linked the Wings with Islanders goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, whose $570,000 cap hit would still give the Wings plenty of room to make additional moves. The Wings attempted to sign Nabokov to a deal last year before the trade deadline, but the Islanders claimed his rights off waivers. Nabokov wants to play for a contender, and as an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season the Islanders will likely try to move him. Columbus Blue Jackets backup Curtis Sanford has also been mentioned as a possible target.

If nothing else, Howard’s injury will give the Wings a long look at their backup goaltending situation and allow coach Mike Babcock and general manager Ken Holland to assess their needs in net. For the first time in a long time, the Wings have significant salary cap space to make moves at the trade deadline. While fans would love the Red Wings to pursue a game-changing target such as Shea Weber, Zach Parise or even Alexander Semin, Holland stated that he will be active at the deadline, but will likely look to add complementary pieces to his team instead of pursuing big names. Could one of those complementary pieces be a backup goalie?

 

 

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Evgeni Nabokov Activated from Injured Reserve

Dec 13

Posted by EB in Fantasy, News, Rumors | No Comments

The 14th placed New York Islanders have activated goaltender Evgeni Nabokov off injured reserve. With very little fantasy owners owning him, he may be worth looking into for some depth.

The 36 year-old Nabokov began the season with a horrible 1-5-0 record in 8 games started. Of the time played, Nabokov has a rather high 2.83 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. So why in the world would any fantasy owner be interested in him?

Nabokov’s career has been played with the San Jose Sharks where he won the Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year in 2000-2001. Since then, his stats have not been Patrick Roy like, but still a solid number one net-minder. In his 571 games played he has a winning record of 294-183-29-51 with a 2.39 goals against average and a .912 save percentage. Furthermore, his playoff stats have been 2 games over .500 with 40 wins and a 2.29 goals against average with a .913 save percentage.

OK, the stats have been pumped but why is Nabokov a potential steal in fantasy pools? Nabokov is a solid net-minder despite lacking a team in front of him with the New york Islanders. He may not get as many wins as some other goalies but he will definitely get a decent save percentage by facing an average of 31.1 shots per game (21st in the NHL). The Islanders are still young and developing, they can only get better as a team. The real possibility however comes in the possibility of a trade.

Last year Nabokov made headlines by being signed as a free agent by the Detroit Red Wings. However, due to his play oversees, Nabokov needed to clear waivers before re-entering the NHL. This is where the New York Islanders came to pick him up and tried to work out a trade. Nabokov on the other hand refused to play, eventually was suspended and sat out the remainder of the year. Well he is back, the Islanders still need a goaltender and the Red Wings may be willing to trade. Backup Ty Conklin has only seen 4 starts, a 1-3-0 record with a 3.26 goals against average. Ouch!

Conklin may not be a trade interest for the Islanders, however, the Red Wings do have 22 year-old Thomas McCollum. McCollum is young, currently playing in the ECHL with the Toledo Walleye. His stats are not quite there but the Red Wings have belief in his potential. Not needing a goalie for quite some time with 27 year-old Jimmy Howard, on top of possibly willing to trade winger Dan Cleary, the Red Wings may be interested in Nabokov once again.

Nabokov is not going anywhere for a while, not until he starts posting a few wins. Be on the lookout for buzz about a possible trade. Once that starts to hit the headlines Nabokov might be of interest.

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Wings youth movement negates age argument

Oct 5

Posted by Chris in Soap Box | No Comments

The Detroit News offered up some insight today into what sports writers from around the league think about the Detroit Red Wings and their chances coming into the new season. The claims were mostly positive with many wondering how the Wings continue to thrive and show such incredible consistency. The retractors, however, continued to use the same line that the Wings have been dealing with for years.

They are too old.

Most of the writers agreed that the Wings are definitely a playoff contender, although there were mixed feelings whether the Wings or the Blackhawks would lead the Central division this year. But for three out of nine writers, age was a significant concern while advanced age was mentioned by six of the nine writers.

Yes, the Wings are getting older. But consider the following:

  • Sure, Nicklas Lidstrom is 41 years old, which is almost ancient in hockey years, but he is also coming off of a bounce-back, Norris Trophy-winning season and shows no signs of slowing down. Even in a off-year Lidstrom is still better than a vast majority of NHL defenseman. Injuries have never been much of a concern thanks to a smart style of play that relies on good positioning and solid stick work. Age certainly isn’t a concern for the mighty Nick Lidstrom.
  • At 36-years-old, Todd Bertuzzi certainly isn’t the offensive threat he once was with the Vancouver Canucks, but he has been incredibly consistent the last several years – especially with the Wings. Bertuzzi chipped in 45 points last season, one better than his 44 the season before. Sure, the Wings would love a 20-goal, 50-point season from Bertuzzi, but he knows his role as a secondary scorer and he does it well. Besides, do moves like this indicate that Bertuzzi shows any signs of slowing down?
  • Ty Conklin was brought on in the off-season to back up Jimmy Howard when Chris Osgood decided to retire. After a sour season last year with St. Louis, Conklin, 35, re-signed with the Red Wings. A better defense in front of Conklin and more offensive support should help bring his numbers back down this year.

The only other player on the Wings’ roster this season over the age of 35 is Tomas Holmstrom. While Holmstrom has shown signs of slowing down in recent years, probably mostly thanks to the abuse he takes in front of the net on a nightly basis, it appears as if Holmstrom will be used a bit more sparingly this season with other players such as Jiri Hudler and Patrick Eaves rotating in on the top line alongside Pavel Datsyuk.

Also consider the fact that much of the Wings’ “age” retired this offseason with Kris Draper (40) and Chris Osgood (38) hanging up the skates. Defenseman Brian Rafalski (38) also retired and was replaced on the blue line by 27-year-old defenseman Ian White.

The truth is that the Wings will actually look much younger this season with players like Eaves, Drew Miller, Darren Helm (pictured), Justin Abdelkader, Cory Emmerton and Jan Mursak all slotted to play. None of those players are older than 28.

In an ironic twist, the sports writer from Nashville at least went outside the box and cited that the Wings failed to make any significant offseason improvements. Kettle. Black. Done.

In fact, outside of the additions of Commodore, White and Conklin, the Wings didn’t make any significant additions – not because they didn’t want to, but because the talent wasn’t available this summer. Remember that the Wings are roughly $5 million under the salary cap. That gives them more than enough space to address any legitimate concerns at the trade deadline and make them serious contenders for the Stanley Cup.

This season will be the first in a long time to feature a significant youth movement on the Red Wings’ roster with many of the younger players expected to take on more significant roles. Even 30-year-old Niklas Kronwall is expected to take over more responsibility from the ageless Nicklas Lidstrom. And Valtteri Filppula could be in line for a breakout season (finally) after a big preseason with six points in four games. With younger players taking on more responsibilities and veterans still performing at high levels, it’s difficult to take seriously the argument that the Wings are too old to win.

 

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Detroit Red Wings

Sep 29

Posted by Chris in Season Previews | 3 Comments

Key Offseason Losses: Brian Rafalski (retirement), Kris Draper (retired), Chris Osgood (retired), Ruslan Salei

Key Offseason Additions: Ian White, Mike Commodore

Last Season Ranking: 3rd in the West

Offense: Top line scoring isn’t a problem in Detroit with guys like Datsyuk and Zetterberg in the lineup. If both players stay healthy, they are both capable of producing at a point-per-game pace. Don’t worry about them. Instead, this is the year for guys like Filppula and Hudler to prove their worth.

Detroit fans have been waiting for a breakout season from Valtteri Filppula. He has the skill, he has the hockey sense, now he just needs to put it together into one cohesive season. At the very least, Filppula should be a 20-goal, 50 point player with the Wings. He has yet to top 40 points in a single season. This could be his year if he centers the second line with Henrik Zetterberg on the wing. Filppula so far has impressed in the preseason and needs to carry that confidence into the regular season.

Hudler had a disappointing season last year after returning from the KHL. Fans called for Hudler to be traded, and Hudler responded with intense offseason workouts with UFC trainers. The result? Well, Hudler is in a contract year and the Wings expect him to be back into the 20 goal, 50 point range again. Coach Mike Babcock has alternated Hudler on Datsyuk’s wing at times this preseason, which could spark his offensive production if it carries over into the regular season. If Hudler doesn’t produce, however, he will likely be on the trading block come March.

The Wings would love to see more consistency from Johan Franzen, who scored five goals in one game against the Ottawa Senators last season and then went scoreless for more than 20 games. But Franzen, along with Dan Cleary and Todd Bertuzzi, provide the Wings with solid depth scoring. Expect the Wings to be among the league leaders in goals scored per game again this season.

Defense: Hockeytown breathed a collective sigh of relief when Nick Lidstrom announced his return, especially after Brian Rafalski blindsided Wings fans by announcing his retirement. But this season may be the year of a different Nik as Niklas Kronwall looks to shoulder more responsibility.

Kronwall will get heavy minutes this season and will fill roles usually occupied by Lidstrom on the penalty kill. Coach Mike Babcock wants to use Lidstrom sparingly, leaving room for Kronwall to blossom into a top defender.

Newcomer Ian White has bounced around the league the past few years, but he may finally find a home with the Wings where he will be counted on to help replace some of the offense the team lost when Rafalski retired. White, a good puck-moving defenseman, will see power play time and will likely be paired with Lidstrom this year, putting the chances of having a career season offensively firmly within reach.

Mike Commodore will help add some toughness and grit to the blue line, something the Wings lacked previosuly, while Jakub Kindl will likely challenge Commodore for the 6th spot on the blue line. Kindl has shown promise in limited playing time in the past and needs to prove his merits as an NHL defenseman.

Goaltending: Playing with the Wings, a goalie doesn’t have to steal many games. But Jimmy Howard was a big reason why the Wings were able to force a Game 7 against the San Jose Sharks in the spring. Coming into his third full NHL season, Howard needs to show more of that poise consistently throughout the season. This isn’t a make-or-break year for Howard, but he’s shown how good he can be and now he needs to realize that potential all season long. Expect Howard to win 30+ games this season.

Behind Howard will be a familiar face in Ty Conklin, a former Wing returning to the squad after a stint with St. Louis. If nothing else, Conklin is solid and capable when he’s called upon and should be a great addition to the roster.

Playoff Prediction: Playoff bound. The Wings are contenders, and with $5 million in cap space they could be big trade-deadline buyers as well. The team looks solid now and they could look even better when the playoffs start in April.

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Ty Conklin and Red Wings Reunite for One Season

Jul 21

Posted by Eddie in News | No Comments

Reunited and it feels so good. The Detroit Red Wings solidified their goaltending situation after the retirement of veteran Chris Osgood with the free-agent signing of Ty Conklin. The deal is for one year and Conklin will receive a salary of $750,000. This will be Conklin’s second stint in Detroit, as he backed up Osgood in the 2008-09, going 25-11-2 with a .909 save percentage and 2.51 goals-against average.

Ty Conklin (in hat) celebrates a victory with the recently-retired Chris Osgood in 2009. Conklin signed a one-year deal to return to Detroit yesterday.

That season, Conklin and the Red Wings reached the Stanley Cup final for the second-straight season when they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Strangely, Conklin played for the Penguins in 2007-08 when they lost to the Red Wings in the championship series. Conklin spent the last-two seasons in St. Louis where he backed up Jaroslav Halak last season. The Red Wings are pleased with the signing, as he is a solid backup and could give the Red Wings fan base more confidence between the pipes over Osgood, who has been injured often in the last two seasons.

Conklin has also played for the Penguins, Blue Jackets, Sabres and Oilers. He has won 91 games in 200 caps, including 16 shutouts. He has a 2.64 GAA and .908 save percentage for his career.

Osgood’s fate was virtually sealed ten days ago when the team re-signed Joey MacDonald to a two-year contract. GM Ken Holland couldn’t take the risk of having Osgood, 38 years old, had sports hernia surgery in January, back this season if they wanted to look towards the future and to get younger in goal. MacDonald, 31 years old, understands his role as the No. 3 goalie and will begin the season in Grand Rapids with the AHL Griffins. He will be the first goalie recalled to the big club should anything happen to 27-year-old Jimmy Howard or 35-year-old Conklin. The team is secure at the goalie position until 2013 when Howard and MacDonald become UFA’s. Should the team not bring back Conklin next summer, expect 21-year-old Thomas McCollum to move to the No. 3 role for 2012-13. McCollum made one appearance in the Red Wings last season.

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St. Louis Blues

Sep 26

Posted by Matt in Season Previews | 2 Comments

TJ Oshie will have a big season and help lead the Blues back to the playoffs.

TJ Oshie will have a big season and help lead the Blues back to the playoffs.

The St. Louis Blues made a strong run late last season to capture the sixth seed in the playoffs, all while playing in arguably the best division and having one of the younger rosters in the NHL. The Blues were also missing one of their key veteran leaders, Paul Kariya. Thanks to the youngsters stepping up, and goalie Chris Mason standing on his head, they exceeded all expectations. This season, the Blues look to build on their success and prove last year was no fluke.

Returning to the lineup this season will be Keith Tkachuk, back for his 18th NHL season and 9th with the Blues. He signed a one year deal in the off-season worth $2.15 million. He certainly wont be as productive as he was earlier in his career, but Tkachuk should still be capable of a 25 goal and 50 point campaign. He’ll be an excellent source of leadership for a young Blues squad as well.

The Blues will also be relying on TJ Oshie to provide some scoring depth for the team. At 22 years old, Oshie proved last season he could be an effective NHL player while tallying 14 goals, 25 assists and a plus 16 rating in 57 games played. The summer should have provided ample time to add some strength, which will help Oshie improve production.

Elsewhere on offense, you’ll find Brad Boyes, David Backes and David Perron all proving useful. Andy McDonald will find his way to the top of the point leaders as well, providing he can stay healthy.

Defensively, we’re excited to see the return of highly touted defenseman Erik Johnson. He spent all of last season recovering from a knee injury and surgery, but was excellent in 2007-08 as a rookie. As a 20 year old, in his only NHL season thus far, Johnson contributed 5 goals and 28 assists on a struggling St. Louis Blues team. He might be a little rusty to start the season, but the Blues definitely have high expectations for Johnson.

Back between the pipes, Chris Mason looks to build off of a strong ending to the 2008-09 season. He finished the season with a record of 27-21-7 with a .916 save percentage and 2.41 goals against average, along with 6 shutouts. His stellar play down the stretch was a huge part of the Blues return to the playoffs. If they have any hope of making it back this season, Mason will have to step up his game once again.

Backing up Mason will be a new face to the locker room, Ty Conklin. Conklin was signed as a two-year deal as a free agent after helping lead the Detroit Red Wings to a very successful season. As Chris Osgood struggled in Detroit, Ty really stepped up with a 25-11-2 record, .909 save percentage and 2.51 goals against average. He delivered 6 shutouts for the Red Wings as well. Conklin was an excellent signing for the Blues and you can bet he’s going to fight for a starting spot. He had no problem splitting time with Osgood and certainly outplayed him for much of the regular season.

Playing in one of the best divisions in the NHL isn’t going to have much of an effect on the Blues this season. They should find a way to pound their way back to another low seeded playoff spot.

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