What a fascinating NHL goalie market means for Red Wings this summer (2024)

At the outset of this Red Wings offseason, a few orders of business jumped off the page.

Two of Detroit’s young cornerstones, winger Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider, had just concluded their entry-level contracts, with the focus turning to big-money extensions. The Red Wings’ improved offensive attack had some important loose ends to tie up too, with key forwards Patrick Kane and David Perron, and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, all eligible to become free agents on July 1. And that’s just to maintain the roster.

With all their big internal decisions to make, the Red Wings began their offseason also knowing that they needed to find a way to improve a team defense that gave up the ninth most goals in the NHL last season.

General manager Steve Yzerman was clear, at his end-of-season press conference, that defensive improvements would need to come collectively — not just at any one position. And he’s right: Detroit needs more from its forwards on the defensive side of the ice, not just from a defense corps that is expected to remain largely intact next season or its last line of defense in net.

But while the Red Wings enter the offseason with both Ville Husso and Alex Lyon already under contract for 2024-25, that key position in goal is shaping up to be one of the most interesting decisions Detroit will make this summer. Part of that is because upgrading that position is perhaps the quickest way to improve an overall team. And part is because this summer’s goalie market has the potential to be fascinating as the NHL has seen in some time.

This year, it’s not about the free agents — though there are a couple of intriguing options such as Cam Talbot and Laurent Brossoit headlining a generally mediocre free agent class. Instead, in a league where top-flight goaltending is getting harder and harder to find, this could be a rare instance where multiple high-end netminders become available via trade at the same time.

There’s Calgary’s Jacob Markstrom, a Vezina Trophy runner-up two years ago who this season saved the third most goals above expected (28.93) in the NHL. There’s Boston’s Linus Ullmark, 2023’s Vezina winner who finished eighth in GSAx (21.62) in 2024. And there’s Nashville’s Juuse Saros, who may have had a slightly down year by his lofty standards but still finished with an above-league average .906 save percentage and was a top-six Vezina finisher the three seasons prior.

In most years, any of the three being potentially available would make them the potential prize of the summer. But this offseason, there’s a chance all three could be moved.

Ullmark, as good as he’s been in Boston, is entering the last year of his contract ($5 million cap hit) at the same time the Bruins need a new deal for his tandem-mate in the crease, emerging young star Jeremy Swayman.

Saros is also entering a contract year, and while he’s only 29 and the starting goalie for a playoff team, the Predators do need to make room for star prospect Yaroslav Askarov and could move Saros to better build out the rest of their lineup.

Markstrom, meanwhile, was reportedly already nearly dealt before the trade deadline, and while Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli has reported things have been “smoothed over” between the goalie and Flames general manager Craig Conroy, he’s ultimately still a 34-year-old goalie signed for two more years ($6 million average annual value) with a team that is going to require at least some measure of rebuilding.

That all adds up to a rare opportunity in the elite goalie market. The question is: Are the Red Wings, who have not made the playoffs since 2016, really ready to be players in it?

Yzerman was asked about Detroit’s goaltending situation at the start of the offseason, and whether he was comfortable going with Husso and Lyon next season or would look to upgrade.

“It’s an interesting position right now around the league in goaltending, that everyone is looking for a goaltender,” Yzerman said. “Whether it’s a (No. 1), a two or a three. And most teams needed three goalies. I guess I would say, all three of (Husso, Lyon and pending unrestricted free agent James Reimer) at different points in the season had a very positive impact on us and played games that helped us win, and put us in a position to almost make the playoffs.

“But, having said that, they need to be better, we need to be better in all aspects of keeping the puck out of our net — not only with our goalies but our play defensively collectively. Not just our ‘D’ corps, our forwards as well. I think it’s really my job, and it’s not a headline-making statement, but to try and look to see if I can improve our team in any which way. And I will do that at every position.”

Certainly, Yzerman’s not revealing too much of his plan with that answer, but there are some useful nuggets. The Red Wings’ general manager made a point to say the team’s existing netminders had helped them this season but noted the obvious need to improve there as part of a larger defensive emphasis. And while he couched the final answer by saying he’d look to try and improve at every position, that’s still an acknowledgment that the team’s contract situation won’t deter him from doing so in goal.

The biggest reason for Detroit to add a goalie revolves around Husso’s health. The netminder played 56 games for the Red Wings in 2022-23, but last season appeared in just 19, including just one game after December 18. That lone outing, a Feb. 13 start in Edmonton, lasted less than nine minutes before Husso again exited with an injury.

Husso’s absences did open the door for Lyon, though, who looked like one of the NHL’s best bargains as he turned in a .904 save percentage (league average was .903) over 44 games despite a cap hit of just $900,000. And to that end, having Lyon signed for that same cap hit this coming season has to be a source of security for the Red Wings.

But even if Lyon were to repeat his 44-game workload next season (his previous career total was 39 games across six seasons) that would still leave nearly half the schedule for Husso. There’s no telling whether he will be healthy enough to handle that, but this season didn’t inspire much confidence on that front.

Additionally, the Red Wings look like they could see a youth infusion this coming season, both organically (prospects such as Simon Edvinsson, Jonatan Berggren and Albert Johansson have now played multiple years in Grand Rapids, and the latter two are no longer waiver exempt) and by cap necessity — with entry-level deals becoming more important as Detroit sorts out those extensions for Seider and Raymond.

Getting younger typically means some defensive miscues, though. And if that’s the case, it’s not hard to see the benefit of an elite netminder as the last line of defense.

The hang-up, though — at least when it comes to the high-end names at the top of the potential trade market — is the question of Detroit’s timeline.

There is no doubt that the Red Wings would benefit from adding Markstrom, Ullmark or Saros. One could argue that upgrading in goal would be the single highest-leverage acquisition Detroit could make this summer when it comes to improving their playoff chances. Such is the impact of the goaltending position.

But the one-year term on Ullmark and Saros’ deals — and maybe even the two-year term on Markstrom’s — is more naturally suited to a team already confident it will make the playoffs, and perhaps looking for the final missing piece toward the Stanley Cup. Teams like Carolina, Colorado or New Jersey (though the Devils actually finished behind Detroit in this year’s standings) come to mind, and all of them could much more easily justify the potentially high asking prices to acquire one of these elite goalies.

There are other options worth exploring for Detroit, including Anaheim’s John Gibson, who comes with a bit more term and, because of diminished numbers while playing for a rebuilding Ducks team, likely at a much lower cost. But then the Red Wings would have to ask how much of an upgrade they would be getting, from a goalie who has had a below .900 save percentage in each of the last seasons. The team context must be acknowledged in that, but it also doesn’t assure that Gibson would be markedly better in Detroit.

And then there’s the matter of the Red Wings’ top goalie prospect, Sebastian Cossa, who could be just one year away from arriving in the NHL, if all goes well.

Taken all together, then, there’s another part of Yzerman’s answer back in April that starts to stand out, about most teams needing three goalies. In a year where the buzz will be all around the three marquee names on the trade board, is it possible the Red Wings instead look to supplement their mix with more of a No. 2/3 — someone like Brossoit or Florida’s Anthony Stolarz?

If the Red Wings do indeed decide to trade picks, prospects or even players for a short-term answer at the game’s most important position, it will be a strong indication they’re truly pushing for the “now.” Meanwhile sticking with their existing tandem, and perhaps augmenting the position around the edges, certainly wouldn’t mean Detroit’s not chasing that postseason goal — but it may indicate the team is not yet ready to go all-in toward that goal.

At a minimum, standing pat in goal would place more burden on the Red Wings’ skaters to make life easier on Husso and Lyon.

Right now, it’s still too soon to say for sure which direction Yzerman will take. He hasn’t tipped his hand.

But the direction Detroit goes in this unique goalie market will say a lot about just how desperate the team is to snap its playoff drought. And it might prove to be the biggest factor in whether or not they can.

(Top photo of Ville Husso and Alex Lyon: Len Redkoles / NHLI via Getty Images)

Max Bultman is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Detroit Red Wings. He has also written for the Sporting News, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Max is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where he covered Michigan football and men's basketball. Follow Max on Twitter @m_bultman