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Detroit Red Wings

Jimmy Howard Willing to Leave Red Wings to Continue NHL Career

Jimmy Howard has settled into the fact he may need to move on from Detroit to keep playing in the NHL.

There has been a lot of speculation as to what the Detroit Red Wings will do this offseason. Who will they bring back? Who will they let walk? How quickly will they try to get this rebuild going and who will they sign to speed up the process?

The consensus among the many opinions is that goaltender Jimmy Howard will not be back with the team. An abysmal season on an even worse team, Howard’s numbers were not good. At his older age and declining production, there’s not much of a reason to hang onto him, the starting job going instead to Jonathan Bernier.

Howard commented on his status with the team and his NHL future recently:

“I want to keep playing,” Howard told The Detroit News while discussing his future. “This year left such a bitter taste in my mouth. I want to go out there and show people I can still play in this league – I know I’m capable.”

When asked if his preference would be to stay in Detroit, he responded, “Absolutely.” He added, “I love this state, this city, and this city is home to us now. I would want to finish my career a Red Wing.” But, he knows what people are saying.

He explained:

“But at the same time, I’ve been around this game long enough to realize there comes a time when you have to separate ties. If that’s the way it’ll have to go, I’ve mentally prepared for that. My wife and I have talked about it a little bit, and if that’s going to be the case, it’ll have to be the case.”

Is There A Team That Will Pick Howard Up?

The goaltending market has some good available netminders and with so much uncertainty surrounding the NHL salary cap, Howard might get a look from a team if he’s willing to sign a one-year “prove it” type deal for little money.

He’s coming off of a $4 million deal, which means he’ll have to take a significant pay cut to get a look over netminders like Robin Lehner, Mike Smith, Cam Talbot, and Braden Holtby. If he’s willing to go low enough, there could be a spot for him.

The idea might be to sign with a team that needs more a 1A and 1B, than a true backup.

Related: Why the Edmonton Oilers Will Be a Force if this Post-Season Happens

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Brian Guindon

    June 7, 2020 at 3:22 pm

    His stats are atrocious, partially due to the lousy team in front of him. He’s been demoted from fringe starter to backup from this season going forward. If I were him, I would sign with a coach who has a proven history of coaching goaltenders to better GAA and SV% stats such as Barry Trotz.

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