The Detroit Red Wings approached this offseason with a new mindset, first signing Viktor Arvidsson to a two-year deal, then following it up quickly by signing Daniil Tarasov to a one-year, $2M deal. This news was a bit confusing at first, as moving prospect Sebastian Cossa seemed to indicate that the Red Wings were deploying Michal Postava as the de facto backup to John Gibson.
Now, with Tarasov all but secured as the backup, Postava's fate as netminder seems uncertain. Perhaps things will change once the new general manager takes the helm in Detroit, but, utnil then, the Red Wings are left with a goaltending logjam.
Still, there's a reason the Red Wings signed Tarasov. Here's what he brings to the table:
Tarasov has untapped potential
A career backup, Tarasov was thrust into the de facto starter's role with the Florida Panthers following Sergei Bobrovsky's injury. In 33 games with the Panthers, he performed fine enough, finishing the season off with a 13-15-0 record, a 3.05 goals against average and a .895 save percentage.
Those numbers are far from ideal, but it's important to recognize the context of the Panthers. They spent the vast majority of the season without Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk and a multitude of other players, capping their performance threshold. It's also important to note that, again, Tarasov is a career backup goaltender. Before this, he'd only played a maximum of 24 games on a season.
Thrusting any backup into this role - especially with Florida's rash of injuries - is a recipe for disaster for any netminder. With the Red Wings, he'll have far less pressure behind John Gibson. Barring any injuries, it's safe to assume Tarasov will help lift the load off Gibson's shoulders. The 27-year-old will likely fair better than former backup Cam Talbot, who finished off the season with a gruesome 3.19 goals against average and .883 save percentage.
Tarasov is low-risk, high-reward
Save for logjamming the goaltending pipeline, there's really no risk to signing a guy like Daniil Tarasov. Should Gibson go down with injury, Tarasov can take on part of the starter's duty, likely splitting it with Postava in the event of an emergency call-up.
Plus, if the Red Wings manage to bottom out this season and are sellers at the trade deadline, they can flip one of Gibson or Tarasov to a would-be contender for a haul. Teams are always on the lookout for netminders that can take on larger roles, and both Gibson and Tarasov have shown they're capable of managing larger workloads.
If Gibson is ultimately moved at the deadline, the team will likely work a 1A/1B situation with Gibson and Postava (or maybe even Carter Gylander). They've got plenty of options at their disposal when it comes to drafting and developing. But, that said, Tarasov offers a substantial upgrade at backup from Talbot.
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