The Red Wings Should Target Ville Husso This Off-Season
The Detroit Red Wings currently have a goalie tandem of Alex Nedeljkovic and Thomas Greiss. Nedeljkovic, who was a former goalie of the Carolina Hurricanes, was acquired by the Red Wings this past off-season. What makes that trade so interesting is the discrepincy between rather or not he’s worth keeping around.
Nedeljkovic creates a weird scenario for the Red Wings. Nedeljkovic, who only a year ago was competing for the Calder trophy, was so inconsistent this past season that his value to the organization is arguable. Rather or not they keep him around though, they for sure need to acquire or obtain the rights to a goalie who can handle the goalie one spot. That’s where Ville Husso comes into play.
Ville Husso beat out former Stanley cup champion, Jordan Binnington, this season. After Binnington struggled for a couple months, Husso took over as the St. Louis Blues starting goalie. It wasn’t until Husso lost two playoff games to the Wild that Binnington reclaimed his role as the Blues goalie. So, how does that work in the Red Wings favor? Well, here’s why.
Ville Husso’s value is higher than what the Blues will be able to afford. Furthermore, Husso is going to want to find a place where he can act as the every-day goalie for a team and the Red Wings need someone who can do that.
Nedeljkovic may be able to beat out Husso on his good days, but looking at the big picture, the Red Wings need a goalie one like Husso. Even if it’s simply to raise the bar for Nedeljkovic and try to get even more out of him which I’m not opposed to either.
The second reason why I feel this signing would be a good fit for both Husso and the Red Wings is the fact that Husso has experiance in this league and is coming off his best season. He’s finally starting to hit his prime and he could be a great bridge goalie to Cossa when he’s ready to come up to the NHL.
Additionally, after Husso lost two games in the playoffs to the Minnesota Wild, it’s likely that his value may have decreased a little bit. But he now has true playoff experiance that could be beneficial to a team like the Red Wings moving forward.
I’m not exactly sure what type of contract Husso would be looking for given his current age and his previous seasons of play, but the Red Wings could be a great fit for him.