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Detroit Red Wings sign Jonathan Bernier to a three year deal

By Ash Thompson

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - NOVEMBER 11: Jonathan Bernier #45, goaltender of Colorado Avalanche lets the puck in to the net to make it 1-0 on a shot from Mike Hoffman #68 of Ottawa Senators during the 2017 SAP NHL Global Series match between Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators at Ericsson Globe on November 11, 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Nils Petter Nilsson/Ombrello/Getty Images)
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN - NOVEMBER 11: Jonathan Bernier #45, goaltender of Colorado Avalanche lets the puck in to the net to make it 1-0 on a shot from Mike Hoffman #68 of Ottawa Senators during the 2017 SAP NHL Global Series match between Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators at Ericsson Globe on November 11, 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by Nils Petter Nilsson/Ombrello/Getty Images) /
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It has become official. The Detroit Red Wings have secured the services of Jonathan Bernier for three seasons at a $3 million AAV.

The Detroit Red Wings have made their signing of Jonathan Bernier official. Bernier has played for the L.A. Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche and Toronto Maple Leafs during his career. The 29-year-old is a small goaltender by current standards. He stands only 6′ and weighs 184 lbs. The trend recently has been toward bigger, often less athletic space eating netminders.

Jonathan Bernier is a good goalie. That is why Ken Holland signed him to a three year, $3 million AAV contract on the opening day of free agency. Many point to his tumultuous time in Toronto to disparage him. He was caught in the situation of being the scapegoat for a team that was intentionally getting worse. Bernier is a career .915 save percentage goalie. He is going to be the Red Wings starting goalie for the next two or three years. That is not a bad thing.

Bernier does let the occasional bad goal get behind him. It is for that reason that the Toronto media, and shortly thereafter fans, turned on him. By and large, on a season-long basis, Bernier is an average to above average NHL goalie by the numbers. One can argue the psychological effects of one bad goal outweigh the weight of 20 routine saves, but that is on the psychological makeup of the team, not the goalie.

This is not going to be the goalie that takes the Red Wings on a cup run, but he is an upgrade from the 34-year-old version of Jimmy Howard. With Bernier, you know exactly what you are going to get. There is no gamble here. The upside and ceiling are basically the same things. There is something to be said for known quantities.

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