Detroit Red Wings: A farewell tour for Jimmy Howard in Detroit?

The wheels fell off of a fantastic season for Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jimmy Howard as last year’s trade deadline approached. The Wings were unable to find a trade partner for Howard, so they decided to give him a one-year contract extension worth $4-millon.

Jimmy Howard was one of the lone bright spots for the Detroit Red Wings for the first half of last season, well the first two months anyway. December wasn’t kind to the Wings, but as the trade speculation started to amp up as the calendar turned from 2018 to 2019. One can’t help but wonder if the trade rumors crept into the head of the veteran netminder.

Over the past few seasons’ Jimmy Howard’s game seemed to decline. I mean, you can’t really blame him for getting older. Like they say, “father time catches up to everyone.” Howard also fought the injury bug for two years, starting four years ago.

Not just any injury, a knee injury that could have easily derailed his career but he’s seemed to bounce back nicely as he regularly anchoring the Wings goal over the last two seasons. The 35-year old is nearing the end of his career. To this point, an NHL career spent entirely with one organization, the Detroit Red Wings.

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Leading up to the 2017-18 season Jimmy Howard averaged just 41 games on average throughout a five-season span. That’s precisely half of the regular-season games. He did split time with Petr Mrazek, but various injuries often sidelined him. Two years ago Howard played in 60 games posting fabulous numbers when you take into consideration how bad the Wings were. His record was a mere 22-27-9, but his save percentage stood at .910% with a 2.85 goals-against average.

Not a bad multitude of statistics while owning such a lousy record. Think about the nights where the rebuilding Detroit Red Wings left him out to dry. Last year those numbers were much better for most of the season until the trade speculation ramped up.

Howard finished the year with a record of 23-22-5. Incredible for a team that finished fourth-worst in the NHL. The issue that stands out is the 3.07 goals-against average and .909% save percentage. The GAA to high for a starting goaltender and the save percentage a dip from his .914% career average.

From February 1st, until March 15th last season Jimmy Howard owned a .880% save percentage. Not many playoff teams are lining up for a struggling goaltender. During that time frame, Howard was allowing 3.46 goals per game. We can’t totally blame Ken Holland for not finding a deal. The issue was not trading Howard at the end of November when his stock was at it’s highest. If you remember, it was last November when Holland mentioned he’d command a first-round pick in return for Howard’s services–the steep price likely left the competition chuckling.

The Detroit Red Wings didn’t have many other options this season. The team isn’t quite ready to make a serious bid for a championship. They will likely be on the outside looking in at the playoffs for another year. The Wings weren’t going to spend all of their money on Sergei Bobrovsky, so Howard fills a void for the organization for another year. Possibly his last year in Detroit, depending on the development of Filip Larsson.

Larsson is expected to be the starting goaltender for the Grand Rapids Griffins this season. The Wings signed Calvin Pickard this offseason to help mentor the youngster during his first professional season. Next season the Detroit Red Wings may decide to ease Larsson in at the NHL level if he performs well in Grand Rapids this season while Jonathan Bernier will be entering the final year of his deal.

While Jimmy Howard has been nothing but a pro’s pro, the clock is starting to tick a bit more swiftly on his career. Howard ranks high on all of the Wings career goaltending stats. He’s third in games played well behind Terry Sawchuk, but only 49 games (516) behind Chris Osgood. His .914% save percentage ranks first among starting goaltenders. His 244 wins rank third behind Osgood and Sawchuk in franchise history. His 24 shutouts rank fourth in franchise history.

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The one thing missing is a Stanley Cup Championship. In Detroit, as a Red Wing, you are measured by championships; his is missing. Although Jimmy Howard may be a bit underappreciated, enjoy watching him in a Red Wings’ jersey this season because it very well could be his last in Detroit. This could be Howard’s farewell tour as a member of the Detroit Red Wings.

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