Exploring the Detroit Red Wings future Goaltending Options

Option 6: Keep Howard, let him walk in the offseason, commit to Bernier and possibly extend him

This option is by far the worst option that could possibly unfold but I felt that it should be included since… this is the Red Wings and they are run by Ken Holland for the time being. This option is relying heavily on the hypothetical game. Assuming we do not trade Howard and then proceed to let him walk in the offseason would be devastating, and make GM Ken Holland start to look a lot more like Former Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli. But for all intents and purposes, it is a feasible option and could happen, let me continue, Howard’s gone and Bernier is our new hope. It sure seems like, at the age of 30, Bernier is not going to get much better than he is right now. However, you never know, and he could possibly re-invent himself slightly and that could lead to him holding down a starting job with some help from younger backups.

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To continue playing worst case scenario, assuming the Red Wings roll with Bernier, talks of extension roll around and the two-year contract Bernier has right now, turns into three or even four which again, just buys the Detroit Red Wings more time to develop the younger goalies.

The odds of this being the reality are extremely low, the thing is that this is a 100% feasible and possible scenario that we could see. In my personal opinion, all I can say is that I can only hope that if this happens, Steve Yzerman comes and saves the day by taking GM Ken Holland’s job.

In conclusion, each of these options can be right or wrong or even may have pieces of them that could require tweaking over time. These six are not the only options, but these four are the four I feel could be most possible as well as most likely with the way the Detroit Red Wings front office operates. Hopefully, the Detroit Red Wings have a front office run by a certain someone by the name of Steve Yzerman in the near future, but that’s a whole different topic for another time.

There are many options, and it can be understood that these six are not the only six possibilities that the Red Wings have for their goaltending future, however, it would seem that these are the four most practical outcomes with the given situation.