Exploring the Detroit Red Wings future Goaltending Options
By Tyler Kotila
Option 2: Trade Howard, let Bernier walk after two years, commit to a prospect as a starter
Moving Howard and letting Bernier walk will leave us in a position where we’ll need to visit our Grand Rapids Griffins Roster. Currently, the goalies for the Griffins are Patrik Rybár and Harri Säteri. They have each started in almost the same amount of games with Rybár posting a 10-6-5 record, GAA of 2.30, and a SV% of .913. Säteri has a better record at 13-7-2 but he has the worse GAA at 3.08 as well as SV% at .894 for the Griffins.
Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News wrote an article analyzing the Red Wings top twenty-five prospects, Here’s what he had to say in regards to Rybár’s abilities.
"Rybar, 24, was signed this spring after impressive play in the Czech Republic, then at the world championships. He looked good in training camp and continues to show potential at the pro level with Grand Rapids."
Säteri was brought in this offseason after spending a year with the Florida Panthers and three years in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) prior to that. Not Currently on the Griffins Roster is prized prospect Kaden Fulcher, who is currently on the Toledo Walleye in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). Fulcher may be NHL-ready after two more years of development, so if you’re hoping the Red Wings take this direction, Fulcher could be considered along with Rybár and Säteri. Looking pretty deep into the future, there are names like Larsson and Petruzzelli who could be ready for a go at NHL hockey.
Option 3: Trade Howard for a second 1st round draft pick, take a goalie to groom for the NHL club by the time Bernier’s contract ends
Assuming the Detroit Red Wings can acquire an extra first-round draft pick at this year’s trade deadline, they would have at least two first-round draft picks in this summers NHL Entry Draft. If the Red Wings wanted some insurance in case any of their current goalie prospects don’t pan out, they could go after a promising goalie in the first round and fast-track him on a route to the NHL for the 2021-2022 season when Bernier’s time in Detroit is up.
Looking at the 2019 draft class, the Red Wings would have a decent amount of names to choose from with the top three being Hunter Jones who is currently in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Spencer Knight who plays for the United States National Development Program (UNDP), and Mads Søgaard who is in the Western Hockey League. It would essentially come down to the Red Wings having to decide which of the prospect goalies could be ready to compete against NHL level talent, two years after being drafted. Based on minimal reading done on the Elite Prospects Draft Center page, I would speculate that Knight or Jones would be the most capable of making the jump. This jump would not be easy for anybody and would be incredibly risky, but it is an option the Detroit Red Wings could possibly explore, though is definitely not a recommended one.