News Article: Jimmy Howard extension coming (Maybe/Maybe not)

[The Zetterberg Era]

Jimmy should not be extended before June. His injury history, his potential value as a rental in February and the draft lottery or other information out of a full season is crucial to this. I don't like it. I know he had the opportunity to earn an extension but it shouldn't be in fall. Terrible decision by Holland if that happens.

 

[Shaman464]

Wait wait wait, let me put on my surprised face. This is my surprised face. Don't I look surprised?

 

[Number1RedWingsFan52]

2 x 3 or 2 x 3.5 is more then likely what Howard would receive.

 

[Frk It]

Why are we jumping the gun on this? There’s been 11 games played.

His stats are always good at the start of the year... then he tweaks something... then they dip.

Let’s wait and see how the season plays out.

 

[Invictus12]

Yeah, I'm actually onboard with most folks.. I don't mind a couple of years more at a reasonable cap hit but I don't think it's a good idea to do this so early in the season.

 

[Frk It]

Why? Because they're interested in keeping around a good goalie who is very likely to take a paycut because he's 35 and who knows what the deal is with the roster talent?

God, I hate how people react here. I'd rather have Jimmy Howard at 2.5M than ANY goalie on the FA market at that price. Hell, given equal stuff this year, if Howard was a FA and we had signed him to a 3x3 contract this year, that's the deal I would have thought was the best goalie deal on the market.

It might be alright IF it’s at a discounted rate, but that’s a big IF.

When’s the last time we re-signed a guy on an expiring contract to a discount?

Not Quincey. Not Helm. We’re paying Vanek more than the first time around.

 

[Sparty]

People never seen to acknowledge that there are two sides to a negotiation around here. Everyone always wants to be the GM and not the player agent.

If you're Jimmy Howard you probably tell the team that you'll negotiate for a couple months and then if we can't work something out, then I'll be playing the market after the season. If you're the player you can't just wait and see how the season plays out because then you might lose your leverage.

Holland kind of is over a barrel here because of its not Howard, then who will it be? Rinne just signed. Bobrovsky seems too rich for our blood. Do you want Mike Smith or Cam Talbot? Varlamov? Do you roll with a lesser quality guy and give the starting job to Bernier? You can't put yourself in a position where you have to give up assets for a goaltender at this point in your rebuild.

If you wait too long on Howard and he has a nice season, I'm sure he'd rather go play on another team closer to contending. Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado, etc.

 

[Oddbob]

This article is nothing more than them assuming things! Nothing in it is factual as far as resigning goes, it just says this and that are happening because the Wings and Howard are happy! Nothing from either side on this. I would imagine, Jimmy might like a chance to play for a team in a more competitive state as his career is winding down.

If he does get resigned I don't think that is that bad of an idea, as honestly I don't think we have even one goalie in our system right now that is going to be anything at the NHL level.

 

[Oddbob]

People never seen to acknowledge that there are two sides to a negotiation around here. Everyone always wants to be the GM and not the player agent.

If you're Jimmy Howard you probably tell the team that you'll negotiate for a couple months and then if we can't work something out, then I'll be playing the market after the season. If you're the player you can't just wait and see how the season plays out because then you might lose your leverage.

Holland kind of is over a barrel here because of its not Howard, then who will it be? Rinne just signed. Bobrovsky seems too rich for our blood. Do you want Mike Smith or Cam Talbot? Varlamov? Do you roll with a lesser quality guy and give the starting job to Bernier? You can't put yourself in a position where you have to give up assets for a goaltender at this point in your rebuild.

If you wait too long on Howard and he has a nice season, I'm sure he'd rather go play on another team closer to contending. Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado, etc.

You are way over doing it here with this over the barrel stuff. There are lots of goalies you can add, and right now, we do not need some vezina level goaltender. To get a decent/good enough goalie back wouldn't cost that much, maybe a 3rd round pick, or you sign a UFA in the offseason with which there are always plenty of options of good enough for where we are right now.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

And this is why we are where we are... moves like this over and over and over and over for the past decade

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

I'm glad Holland is doing me a solid and justifying my username once again.

Wish I could change mine to "Idontlookovermyshoulder"

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

Halak, small sample size, is outplaying Rask for instance. I wanted them to sign Halak for 1 season, even after signing Bernier & then trade Howard...then go Varlamov in '19.

 

[Invictus12]

People never seen to acknowledge that there are two sides to a negotiation around here. Everyone always wants to be the GM and not the player agent.

If you're Jimmy Howard you probably tell the team that you'll negotiate for a couple months and then if we can't work something out, then I'll be playing the market after the season. If you're the player you can't just wait and see how the season plays out because then you might lose your leverage.

Holland kind of is over a barrel here because of its not Howard, then who will it be? Rinne just signed. Bobrovsky seems too rich for our blood. Do you want Mike Smith or Cam Talbot? Varlamov? Do you roll with a lesser quality guy and give the starting job to Bernier? You can't put yourself in a position where you have to give up assets for a goaltender at this point in your rebuild.

If you wait too long on Howard and he has a nice season, I'm sure he'd rather go play on another team closer to contending. Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado, etc.

Howard is under contract now though. Meaning he can't really negotiate elsewhere either. And while Holland doesn't have much options on the market, I don't think Howard does either at this point. He's not a long term solution to any team at the moment and most teams, even the ones that are unhappy with their goaltending situation, tend to have quite of bit of money tied up in goaltenders as well.

 

[Invictus12]

You are way over doing it here with this over the barrel stuff. There are lots of goalies you can add, and right now, we do not need some vezina level goaltender. To get a decent/good enough goalie back wouldn't cost that much, maybe a 3rd round pick, or you sign a UFA in the offseason with which there are always plenty of options of good enough for where we are right now.

I would still rather have a guy that will keep us in the games though. If you're down 4 nothing at the end of first, (hyperbolic but still) the team is a lot likely to mail it in for the rest of the game and I certainly don't want our youngsters to ever do that.

 

[jkutswings]

People never seen to acknowledge that there are two sides to a negotiation around here. Everyone always wants to be the GM and not the player agent.

If you're Jimmy Howard you probably tell the team that you'll negotiate for a couple months and then if we can't work something out, then I'll be playing the market after the season. If you're the player you can't just wait and see how the season plays out because then you might lose your leverage.

Holland kind of is over a barrel here because of its not Howard, then who will it be? Rinne just signed. Bobrovsky seems too rich for our blood. Do you want Mike Smith or Cam Talbot? Varlamov? Do you roll with a lesser quality guy and give the starting job to Bernier? You can't put yourself in a position where you have to give up assets for a goaltender at this point in your rebuild.

If you wait too long on Howard and he has a nice season, I'm sure he'd rather go play on another team closer to contending. Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado, etc.

If Howard ends up staying healthy, and playing well the entire season, sure.

But I don't like those odds. Howard's track record says he probably needs Detroit more than Detroit should need him.

Just let things play out and see what happens - as a backup plan, <Random Average Goaltender> via free agency isn't the worst thing in the world at this stage of the rebuild.

 

[Goalie guy]

What good are we for Varly or Bob? And what good are they for us? By the time we are good enough to push they will not be.

 

[Shaman464]

People never seen to acknowledge that there are two sides to a negotiation around here. Everyone always wants to be the GM and not the player agent.

If you're Jimmy Howard you probably tell the team that you'll negotiate for a couple months and then if we can't work something out, then I'll be playing the market after the season. If you're the player you can't just wait and see how the season plays out because then you might lose your leverage.

Holland kind of is over a barrel here because of its not Howard, then who will it be? Rinne just signed. Bobrovsky seems too rich for our blood. Do you want Mike Smith or Cam Talbot? Varlamov? Do you roll with a lesser quality guy and give the starting job to Bernier? You can't put yourself in a position where you have to give up assets for a goaltender at this point in your rebuild.

If you wait too long on Howard and he has a nice season, I'm sure he'd rather go play on another team closer to contending. Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado, etc.

Why not use the goalie they signed for 3 years? Howard isn't going to get better over the life of any extension he signs, why not just hold pat, sign a cheap back up and hope one of the kids emerges?

 

[lidstromiscool]

Honestly I would be fine with a 2-3 year deal, except Kenny will give him the 6 year 6.0 AAV full NMC. Would rather let Yzerman decide what to do with Howard

 

[JoesuffP]

I don’t get it. Why would they sign another goalie when you can just pay Howard? Because of his injury history? I’m pretty sure that’s why they signed Bernier. Howard’s the best bang for your buck even if he misses games. He’s probably the only goalie willing to sign a 2 year deal too

 

[kliq]

I guess in theory I like the idea of trading Howard for a pick at the TDL, but realistically I don't see him bringing much of a return.
If its only 1 or 2 years, and the cap-hit is reasonable, I am fine with it. If its more then 2 years, I dont like it.

 

[SCD]

Jimmy may be at the point in his career where he wants a shot at the title as a rental with a competitive team. He will never have a chance if he stays in Detroit. That doesn't mean he couldn't return, but the risk would be a career ending injury. Holland could even hammer out details of a new contract before a trade, just can't sign. Could be win-win for both.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

He's going to get hurt at some point. When he returns from the injury his play will be awful. I'm not sure how people forget this is his usual pattern. Why would there be any talk of an extension at this point in the season?

It's because Ken Holland has this habit of signing them not as players, but as people. Every signing has this "we want to do right by ____" family feel to it. It's personal for him, which clouds his judgment quite a bit, IMO.

 

[Snuggs]

Am I the only guy holding out hope we can move him by the trade deadline? Health aside, I want picks for him more than I want to resign him...

 

[Dotter]

You sign the best possible starter on a fair price (not overpaid - inflated) with the right [rebuild] attitude/acceptance. Who do you pin all your hopes on and will be available and sign here that is consistently better and cheaper? Howard has the right attitude for the job here. He is not a headcase in the locker-room during these dark times and gives 100% every night, and most importantly, his teammates greatly respect him. There is literally not much more you can ask for during a rebuild.

During a rebuild through all the losing, tempers flair. Having a smooth running locker room is essential. I believe Howard is an important piece to any positivity in that room. Be careful as goalies are known to be headcases and/or sociopaths and that could be a house of cards. Lol.

 

[jkutswings]

Am I the only guy holding out hope we can move him by the trade deadline? Health aside, I want picks for him more than I want to resign him...

At this time last year, I would have said exactly the same thing, and would have given him away at any price. At the moment, I'm more on the fence, letting the market decide. If a team gets desperate (injury perhaps) and offers a good return for him, by all means.

I would still rather trade him for even a mediocre return than fork over a bloated extension, but if nobody is anxious to pony up a decent pick, and Howard could be inked to a cheap 1-2 year deal, I'm ok with that too.