Grand Rapids Griffins head coach Dan Watson smiled with pride while delivering the news Wednesday night. "I was waiting for that," he said with a grin. "Posty will get called up [to Detroit] tomorrow. He got called up late tonight...He'll be joining the Red Wings on their west coast trip."
Earlier today, the Griffins signed backup netminder Jamie Phillips to a professional tryout, leaving many wondering just what was going on with Postava. Now, we finally have our answer: Postava is on his way to join the Detroit Red Wings.
It's unclear whether Daniil Tarasov or John Gibson are hurt or if this is due to Postava's impressive .954 save percentage and 1.54 goals against average. That said, Watson specifically referred to the Red Wings' west coast trip when mentioning Postava. If one of Gibson or Tarasov is injured, there's little likelihood the Red Wings would play the remaining netminder three times across five days. Thus, Postava has found his way to Detroit.
How Postava has fared so far
It seems like Postava is picking up right where he left off last season. As mentioned earlier, Postava's .954 save percentage and 1.54 goals against average are among the top of the AHL in terms of sheer goaltending production. He's been relentless, building off an impressive season last year where he finished with a 17-6-0 record, sporting a .937 save percentage and 1.71 goals against average to boot.
It will be up to Todd McLellan to determine how much time (if any) Postava sees on this west coast road trip.
The Red Wings face off against three opponents this week: the Vancouver Canucks on October 22, the Calgary Flames on October 24 and the Edmonton Oilers on October 26. The Oilers are currently the only team in a playoff spot among the three teams.
Griffins will be fine without Postava
Best of all, if Postava puts on a good enough impression, the Griffins won't have to worry much about keeping up in the AHL. Goaltender Trey Augustine secured his first AHL win this season and looks more than ready to assume more responsibility while Postava is out.
If Postava puts on a good enough impression, the Red Wings will need to figure out rather quickly what to do with either Gibson or Tarasov. Assuming neither have sustained a long-term injury - and assuming Postava is playing well enough - they'll need to think about making a trade or some sort of move to get Postava more NHL ice time.
If Postava makes his NHL debut this season, the Red Wings will need to make sure they're putting in enough effort to actually keep him in the game. That's easier said than done, of course, but maybe Postava's debut will motivate the team to put on a good impression.
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