December 30, 2015

Don't Expect Jimmy Howard To Leave Town

After being pulled for the second time in as many games, much of Red Wing nation has seen enough of Jimmy Howard. Although Howard has been solid this season, Petr Mrazek has been better and it is time to hand the reigns over to Petr full-time. When Mrazek becomes the starter, it makes no sense for the Red Wings to pay 5 million dollars for a backup goaltender. Despite the trade discussions on twitter, I don’t think we should expect to see Jimmy leave anytime soon.

The biggest issue that no one has talked about is Jimmy Howard’s modified no trade clause. Jimmy selects ten teams and Holland can only trade Howard to one of those ten teams. By eliminating twenty potential trade partners, this drastically limits Ken Holland’s options. To make matters worse, Howard is from upstate New York and has a summer home in Maine. Thus, it is a fair assumption that very few Western Conference teams will make Howard’s list. Looking at the Eastern Conference, at best only Toronto, Buffalo and Carolina could be looking for a starting goaltender this off season. However, Toronto and Carolina are both rebuilding, so an older goaltender like Howard does not make sense. Buffalo makes some sense as they are trying to contend quickly, but they spent a lot to bring in Robin Lehner this past off season so he will probably get another chance.

If Howard does decide to go west, the obvious suitors are Calgary and Edmonton. Both are in desperate need of a goaltender and have a decent number of intriguing prospects. While they seem like the perfect fit, these teams have the power because Jimmy Howard isn’t the only goaltender available. Despite having tough years, the teams could easily just re-sign the current goaltenders, Hiller and Talbot. James Reimer is also an upcoming UFA, and he has shown the ability to carry a bad Toronto team at different times in his career. If the teams decide to look to the trade market, young studs Jake Allen and John Gibson have made Brian Elliott and RFA Frederik Andersen expendable as well.

With so many options, it will be hard to get any sort of significant return for Howard. The good news is that Mantha and Anthanasiou look ready to take spots in Detroit, which will open up a decent amount of cap space. If Holland is able to sign Mrazek to a reasonable cap hit (2.5-3 million), the Wings will pay about 8 million for their goaltenders combined. Although slightly above the league average (~6.5), this is a reasonable amount considering they are both above average.


Red Wing nation has lost faith in Jimmy Howard, even I have to admit that it is time, at least temporarily, to turn the reigns over to Petr Mrazek. However, the current goaltending market makes it unlikely the Wings will be able to trade Howard for a good return. Without a viable trade option, the Wings should hold onto Howard for now and enjoy the benefits of having two reliable goaltenders, something the Red Wings have been without for far too long.

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