RUMOR: Red Wings Goalie on Trading Block

And it's not who you think it is...

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 7 years ago
RUMOR: Red Wings Goalie on Trading Block
Keystone Press

Heading into the "Farewell Season at the Joe", the Detroit Red Wings knew that the goaltending tandem of Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek was going to be a strong one. Head coach Jeff Blashill even went so far as to proclaim that the organization could pride itself on having the best duo across the National Hockey League, as both netminders would healthily compete for the starting role. 


Mrazek was the clearcut favorite to lead the way, although Howard would swiftly steal the number one position from his teammate before long. On November 25th, Howard suffered a groin injury and missed two weeks of action and a month later, suffered a long-term knee injury after (recently-waived) Tampa Bay Lightning forward Erik Condra and AHL call-up defenseman Nick Jensen both fell awkwardly on Howard. This paved the way not only for Mrazek to reassert himself as the starting goalie, but allowed for the promising Jared Coreau of the Grand Rapids Griffins to get some much-deserved NHL action. 


While Howard's name circulated in trade rumors or as the likely candidate to be exposed in this upcoming summer's NHL Expansion Draft, it appeared as though everything was set in stone moving forward. That is, until Coreau started giving Mrazek a run for his money as the go-to goaltender. 


Reports out of the organization indicate that Coreau has proven himself to be NHL-ready and that there is nothing left for him to learn at the American Hockey League level, while Mrazek's subpar stats- 3.13 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage- could have nevertheless garnered attention from multiple NHL teams, according to the Detroit Free Press. Should that be the case, the soon-to-be 25-year-old Mrazek is a lot more attractive to competitors as Howard's age (32), injury situation, and his contract could be less interesting. 

The implication, therefore, is that Coreau and Howard will be the goaltenders of choice moving forward, as the former is expected to be protected due to an exceptionally affordable $612,000 salary cap hit. 

More updates to follow.