Oddbob
Registered User
- Jan 21, 2016
- 15,913
- 10,461
I honestly hope he gets a backup job elsewhere and has a good final season to end his career. I understand him not wanting his career to end that way.
Friedman: Howard “probably not” returning
- Thread starter Ricelund
- Start date
Ghost of Ethan Hunt
The Official Ghost of Space Ghosts Monkey
I wish Jimmy the best, but his time with the Wings should be over.
Hope he can be a backup with the Pens (after they lose Murray on a low value trade due to saturation, desperation etc.). Then on the last game of the year with the Angry Birds teetering on a PO bubble spot, Jimmy loses to the Detroit Red Wings & sends the Pens golfing.
Bonus:
Memes of Crysby & Malkin cryin' on the bench flood the interweb a la Marchand.
Later that day Crysby accuses Jimmy of throwing the game etc. Jimmah has "bulked up" to 260lbs., mostly from chili-cheesedogs, and practices his newly learned WWE moves on Sid.
Hope he can be a backup with the Pens (after they lose Murray on a low value trade due to saturation, desperation etc.). Then on the last game of the year with the Angry Birds teetering on a PO bubble spot, Jimmy loses to the Detroit Red Wings & sends the Pens golfing.
Bonus:
Memes of Crysby & Malkin cryin' on the bench flood the interweb a la Marchand.
Later that day Crysby accuses Jimmy of throwing the game etc. Jimmah has "bulked up" to 260lbs., mostly from chili-cheesedogs, and practices his newly learned WWE moves on Sid.
Last edited:
TCNorthstars
Registered User
I wish Jimmy the best, but his time with the Wings should be over.
Hope he can be a backup with the Pens (after they lose Murray on a low value trade due to saturation, desperation etc.). Then on the last game of the year with the Angry Birds teetering on a PO bubble spot, Jimmy loses to the Detroit Red Wings & sends the Pens golfing.
Bonus:
Memes of Crysby & Malkin cryin' on the bench flood the interweb a la Marchand.
Later that day Crysby accuses Jimmy of throwing the game etc. Jimmah has "bulked up" to 260lbs., mostly from chili-cheesedogs, and practices his newly learned WWE moves on Sid.
And then the Penguins win the lottery.
Ghost of Ethan Hunt
The Official Ghost of Space Ghosts Monkey
You're killing me dude. Alright then, we beat the Pens who slot into 8th seed/WC spot & have to play the Bolts. Jimmy trips over the chili cheesedog machine & lands on Crysby, rendering him useless for the playoffs.
Lazlo Hollyfeld
The jersey ad still sucks
- Mar 4, 2004
- 28,489
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Agreed.
I have not strong feelings about Jimmy either way. He was a good, not great goaltender and last season was a total shitshow. I totally understand him not wanting that to be his last season in the NHL.
Number1RedWingsFan52
Registered User
PelagicJoe
Registered User
Not sad or disappointed whatsoever
The DRW need to move on from a # of players in order to rebuild properly, Jimmy being 1 of those.
The DRW need to move on from a # of players in order to rebuild properly, Jimmy being 1 of those.
ManwithNoIdentity
Registered User
ManwithNoIdentity
Registered User
How long are we going to blame his poor playing on the defense? I love Howard but he’s been a detriment for many seasons
WingsMJN2965
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- Oct 13, 2017
- 18,106
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He's used to playing for an AHL team.
Gniwder
Registered User
If you're not good enough to play for the worst team in the league, you're not good enough to play in the league.
Quite frankly, his head was not in the game. Aside from gaining a ton of weight, he failed to cover the post and would try to cover the puck with the back of his hands which is really strange. His weight gain made him even slower post to post, he was never quick to begin with.
I'm not sure even an AHL team will sign him.
Quite frankly, his head was not in the game. Aside from gaining a ton of weight, he failed to cover the post and would try to cover the puck with the back of his hands which is really strange. His weight gain made him even slower post to post, he was never quick to begin with.
I'm not sure even an AHL team will sign him.
Pavels Dog
Registered User
Mlotek
Registered User
Number1RedWingsFan52
Registered User
Yes, We pretty much knew after the season was suspended that Howard was out the door.
Ricelund
̶W̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶t̶e̶a̶m̶
Yzerman just confirmed they won't be offering Howard a contract and they'll be looking at UFA goalies.
ArGarBarGar
What do we want!? Unfair!
- Sep 8, 2008
- 44,032
- 11,727
Thanks for the memories, Jimmy, and thanks for giving us Wings fans some good years.
GreatGordie9
Registered User
I saw the press conference I wonder though if he would consider a trade for a goalie like Matt Murray.
Mlotek
Registered User
What's the point in trading for a goalie when there are so many available on the free agency market?
Unless you are acquiring the goalie for a discount price such as mid or late pick with a meh prospect as kick at best FA is the better option. Recall Yzerman gave up a pair of 2nds for a goalie who never broke out as a starter.
There are always more goalies than there are open starting positions.
This made me really sad watching this
Thanks for the memories Howie
ShelbyZ
Registered User
- Apr 8, 2015
- 3,816
- 2,577
For a goalie, I think the likelihood is that Yzerman steers clear of trades or the big money UFA's and just signs a mid tier veteran option to platoon with Bernier next season and at least be place holder for 21/22 when Bernier and Pickard will potentially hit the UFA market. Someone like Greiss, Elliot, Talbot or possibly Khudobin.
As for Howard leaving, I kind of thought the writing was on the wall when he got extended for a year. Figured with a decent season, he'd be gone as a deadline rental or would otherwise not be re-signed unless for whatever unlikely reason Bernier was no longer in the picture. Regardless of his performance, at his age he's never again going to see contract offers longer than a year. I can't imagine Yzerman wants to be in a position where he has to potentially replace his #1, #2, and #3 goalies in the same offseason where the NHL is adding another team of open goaltending jobs. So there was really no fit for Howard after this season.
I don't know that I really have any sort of reaction to Howard not returning, other than to think it just makes sense given where the team's at and how the year went for him. I do know that he does deserve some credit and some context for his career as a Red Wing:
-Who knows what would've happened to the team if Howard didn't take over the starting job as quickly and cheaply as he did, but it probably wouldn't have been good for much longer... We didn't completely know it yet, but Osgood pretty much drained the tank on that 2009 Finals run. The Wings also didn't even have enough cap space to carry a full 23 man roster, let alone bring in another starting goalie. Had Howard not stepped up, who knows what kind of desperate ridiculousness Ken Holland might've unleashed to bring in a starting goalie.
-There should be a statue outside LCA of Howard putting his glove in Crosby's face. Howard was basically Superman at that point.
-His entire tenure on the NHL roster was with the team in front of him in a steady decline. It started with the team losing some talent and depth after the cap crunch in the summer of 2009, then continued as the team lost 3 pretty important dmen they couldn't replace, then entered the "just get in" period where the front office tried and failed to put bandaids on an aging core that was hemorrhaging talent and they also couldn't develop young dmen to save their lives. Then he was still around as the team entered a rebuild and hit rock bottom.
-Say what you want about his much maligned 6-year contract, but he certainly earned the raise after the previous year. That 2013 season was way more fun and entertaining than it had any right to be and Howard was a huge factor in that. I mean we're talking about a season where the Wings D had a top pairing of Kronwall and Ericsson, followed by a revolving cast of noted stalwarts like Quincey, Smith, Kindl, Lashoff, Colaiacovo, Ian White and Kent Huskins... In a season where they crammed 48 games in 3 months, the Wings rode Howard into the ground after Gustavsson couldn't even brush his teeth without getting hurt and then sucked if he could play. They went from out of the playoffs to getting the 7th seed at the last minute and nearly knocked off the Presidents Trophy and eventual Cup winning Blackhawks in a 7 game series where the Wings handed the Hawks the only 3 consecutive losses they had all season...
As for Howards future, I think he probably gets a similar shot to what Antti Niemi got from the Pens after he was bought out by the Stars. He'll get a back up job with a team hurting for cap space, probably for near league minimum but with performance bonuses, and will have a short leash.
I'm also betting the Wings have something lined up for him in the front office for when his playing days are over.
All that said, we heard the same "not getting a contract offer before free agency starts" about Quincey and Helm and they were back within maybe 4 hours, so we aren't out of the woods yet...
As for Howard leaving, I kind of thought the writing was on the wall when he got extended for a year. Figured with a decent season, he'd be gone as a deadline rental or would otherwise not be re-signed unless for whatever unlikely reason Bernier was no longer in the picture. Regardless of his performance, at his age he's never again going to see contract offers longer than a year. I can't imagine Yzerman wants to be in a position where he has to potentially replace his #1, #2, and #3 goalies in the same offseason where the NHL is adding another team of open goaltending jobs. So there was really no fit for Howard after this season.
I don't know that I really have any sort of reaction to Howard not returning, other than to think it just makes sense given where the team's at and how the year went for him. I do know that he does deserve some credit and some context for his career as a Red Wing:
-Who knows what would've happened to the team if Howard didn't take over the starting job as quickly and cheaply as he did, but it probably wouldn't have been good for much longer... We didn't completely know it yet, but Osgood pretty much drained the tank on that 2009 Finals run. The Wings also didn't even have enough cap space to carry a full 23 man roster, let alone bring in another starting goalie. Had Howard not stepped up, who knows what kind of desperate ridiculousness Ken Holland might've unleashed to bring in a starting goalie.
-There should be a statue outside LCA of Howard putting his glove in Crosby's face. Howard was basically Superman at that point.
-His entire tenure on the NHL roster was with the team in front of him in a steady decline. It started with the team losing some talent and depth after the cap crunch in the summer of 2009, then continued as the team lost 3 pretty important dmen they couldn't replace, then entered the "just get in" period where the front office tried and failed to put bandaids on an aging core that was hemorrhaging talent and they also couldn't develop young dmen to save their lives. Then he was still around as the team entered a rebuild and hit rock bottom.
-Say what you want about his much maligned 6-year contract, but he certainly earned the raise after the previous year. That 2013 season was way more fun and entertaining than it had any right to be and Howard was a huge factor in that. I mean we're talking about a season where the Wings D had a top pairing of Kronwall and Ericsson, followed by a revolving cast of noted stalwarts like Quincey, Smith, Kindl, Lashoff, Colaiacovo, Ian White and Kent Huskins... In a season where they crammed 48 games in 3 months, the Wings rode Howard into the ground after Gustavsson couldn't even brush his teeth without getting hurt and then sucked if he could play. They went from out of the playoffs to getting the 7th seed at the last minute and nearly knocked off the Presidents Trophy and eventual Cup winning Blackhawks in a 7 game series where the Wings handed the Hawks the only 3 consecutive losses they had all season...
As for Howards future, I think he probably gets a similar shot to what Antti Niemi got from the Pens after he was bought out by the Stars. He'll get a back up job with a team hurting for cap space, probably for near league minimum but with performance bonuses, and will have a short leash.
I'm also betting the Wings have something lined up for him in the front office for when his playing days are over.
All that said, we heard the same "not getting a contract offer before free agency starts" about Quincey and Helm and they were back within maybe 4 hours, so we aren't out of the woods yet...
kliq
Registered User
- Dec 17, 2017
- 2,727
- 1,319
Not exactly, he said the following:
"I've spoken with Jimmy Howard. We are not going to offer him a contract prior to the free agency period."
This doesnt mean that the Wings wont offer him a contract if their plan A, B, C etc. fail.
Detroit Red Wings
@DetroitRedWings
"I've spoken with Jimmy Howard. We are not going to offer him a contract prior to the free agency period." Full Yzerman pre-Draft media availability: http://redwn.gs/yzermanmedia
Syckle78
Registered User
Semantics. The Wings posted farewell Jimmy crap on social media. He's not in the plans A,B,Z or otherwise.
kliq
Registered User
- Dec 17, 2017
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I get the wishful thinking, but thats a very specific choice of words and I disagree that its simply "semantics". I dont believe Steve Yzerman is going to make decision based on the social media department.
With that said, I don't believe he will be back, but I'm not naïve enough to think its impossible.
