Detroit Red Wings: Jimmy Howard could play his way out of Detroit

Could Jimmy Howard perform his way out of Detroit?  The Detroit Red Wings have a decision to make regarding their long-time starting goaltender who is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

Jimmy Howard picked a perfect time to have a “bounce back” season with the Detroit Red Wings.  How often do you see players perform the best in a contract year?  It seems to happen more often than not.

He is a pending free agent at the conclusion of this season.  He turns 35 years old this March and will be looking to cash in one final time in his career.  Howard is the Wings lone all-star representative this season which takes place in San Jose later this month. He ranks third in franchise history with 233 career wins only behind Chris Osgood and Terry Sawchuk.

His career .915% save percentage also ranks him third.  He’s fourth in franchise history with 24 shutouts, two behind Harry Lumley. He’s second behind Osgood in career saves and shots against, if he remains healthy he will pass him this season in both of those categories.

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Howard’s record doesn’t tell the whole story.  He currently owns a 12-12-5 regular season record with a 2.77 Goals against average and a tremendous .916% save percentage.  He’s turned back the clock about ten years to when he broke into the league.  He posted great numbers then but what makes this season so much impressive is that the Wings are anything but contenders.

They are a below average club and are expected to miss the playoffs for the third straight season, yet Howard is having an all-star caliber season in goal.  Statistically, Howard is on par with Ducks goalie John Gibson.  Gibson signed an 8-year extension this past summer that sees him make on average 6.4 million per season over the eight-year span.

Now, Jimmy Howard at 35-years-old won’t command 6.4 per on a long term deal, but I expect Howard to ask for a 3 or 4-year contract around 4.5 per season. I would be reluctant to pay that over a long-term deal if I were the rebuilding Detroit Red Wings. Detroit shouldn’t offer a deal that is longer than 2 years.  In turn, unless he’s willing to take a bit of a hometown discount, Howard may have played his way out of the Wings budget with his recent success.

The Wings should save the cap space for forwards Tyler Bertuzzi, Andreas Athanasiou, and Anthony Mantha.  The trio are restricted free agents in two summers from now and depending on how they develop over the next year; it could warrant a significant pay raise for each of them.

It’s not that I dislike Jimmy Howard, I think he’s been a tremendous guy, he is always available to answer questions from the media through the good or bad. He’s been an excellent Detroit Red Wings goaltender.  You’ve always known what you are going to get with him, a consistent performance.  He’s even-keeled although he won’t win you a playoff series, he won’t lose it for you either.

That being said, Jimmy Howard’s stock has never been higher than it is right now.  Many playoff contending teams are looking for an upgrade in goal and Howard could serve as that reliable option.  The scary part is, he’s one injury away from netting the Detroit Red Wings nothing in return.

Although the Wings are expected to see roughly 19 million dollars come off the books at the conclusion of the season, they should focus on signing someone like Jake Gardiner or Tyler Myers to help on the back-end.  Both will command around 7 million per season.

There is an outside chance, but the Detroit Red Wings could push all their chips to the center of the table this summer and make an offer to Erik Karlsson.  He will be looking to cash in on a 7-year-deal worth somewhere around 11 million per season.  It is unlikely but never say never.  Adding someone like that and trying to sign others along with the pending RFA’s previously mentioned could become difficult.

I’ve always liked Jimmy Howard; I have nothing against him but one thing I love more than Howard is the Detroit Red Wings.  You may disagree, and that’s ok, you’re allowed.  I think it is in the franchises’ best interest to move Howard and acquire a draft pick(s) and leave the door open for a return in the summer at an affordable price/term.

Remember the Wings landed Joseph Veleno with the 30th pick last summer with one of the picks they acquired in the Tatar deal with Vegas?  I would love to have an opportunity to add a similar prospect in exchange for Jimmy Howard.