WingedWheel1987
Registered User
probertrules24
Registered User
Underrated by other fans. Before his injury he was the reason we were in most games. Very good, great is saved for only a select few.
GoAwayDanCleary
DRWCC
- Aug 6, 2012
- 10,752
- 5
He doesn't have the talent to be considered elite, but he's definitely in the tier right under it. It blows my mind how the majority of HF sees him ~15 in goalie ranks.
Run the Jewels
Make Detroit Great Again
He really saved our ***** a couple years back during his rookie season when Ozzie was supposed to be "the man" but was flat out terrible. An Oiler blog actually tried to make the case that he should have been the MVP that year. He was up for rookie of the year but Tyler Myers won the award.
Detroit has always been tough on goalies, just look at the opinion on Chris Osgood in his hometown market. Hardcore hockey fans know Howard is a very solid goalie. He's only had one bad playoff performance this past year but the team was just so bad you can't really blame him. The team was completely over-matched. I do think he can be a consistent .920-ish save percentage guy which should put him right around the top 10 in the league.
Detroit has always been tough on goalies, just look at the opinion on Chris Osgood in his hometown market. Hardcore hockey fans know Howard is a very solid goalie. He's only had one bad playoff performance this past year but the team was just so bad you can't really blame him. The team was completely over-matched. I do think he can be a consistent .920-ish save percentage guy which should put him right around the top 10 in the league.
The Zetterberg Era
Ball Hockey Sucks
He is a top 10 goalie in this league in my opinion. He was the best Red Wing last year during the first half. A very good goalie, superb at taking away the bottom of the net. Funny the question comes from somebody named Sharp10, I don't think there is a player in the league Howard likes playing less, maybe Pavelski.
The Zetterberg Era
Ball Hockey Sucks
I think Jimmy might get a lot of respect here shortly a couple good years and my opinion is he beats out a lot of his more hyped National teammates and is on that team in Sochi. When Howard keeps a guy like Tim Thomas, Cory Schnieder or even Ryan Miller from some role I think that would be huge for his public perception. Honestly through the halfway point of last season I thought that was very realistic that he would be the main backup to Quick.
I think the Wings are in tough now for the next decade. Oilers and Wild will be more of a challenge. Oilers always bring their best against the Wings too. A lil nervous?!?
The Zetterberg Era
Ball Hockey Sucks
A lot of this depends on the CBA. I have a ton of faith still in the management and the organization, throw in a state of the art building (hopefully Edmonton gets one too) and really the Wings only bad selling point goes away. Lost in all this is the Joe is a dump, in particular even though they have squeezed everything they can into that dressing room the caverns of the Joe are really terrible. Honestly it is probably the worst part of the building when all the fans rattle off the other things that is where they lag the farthest behind the rest of the league.
The only part that worries me about the Wings future is what happens to the team when Mike Ilitch passes away. Those deals the Wild just handed out and the news on Harding (I hope he finds a way through that just terrible news) has slowed my roll on the Wild. They still get hurt a lot and these prospects aren't a ton different there. Bodin and Granlund are undersized guys and have already paid the price. I would never have paid Parise that kind of money.
On the Oilers they are interesting and assuming they get the right player in the next draft this could really get interesting. They are still not a destination place though despite the Schultz decision and really need an answer in goal. Lots of talent and lots of reasons to be excited but they have to start a culture of winning, the Wings have that in place. Sure the next generation doesn't look maybe as big and bad, but the Wings are fairly loaded on the farm as good as they have been since the early 90's. I am sure some are scared, but don't count me among them. I think the Wings have answers in house and around the league via their front office and that new building being attractive. As usual there are many lining up being the latest to talk about the decline that is coming, some day they will be right, but I still don't bet on today. They have a lot of flexability still right now and people I trust to fix it even if they take a step back from super elite for a season or two.
Over the years.. Edmonton has regularly used Detroit as an example of a hockey city that isn't very attractive to Free Agents but gets players to come there because of the winning culture. I think you will see more free agents wanting to play for Edmonton now because of the bright future and young stars they get to play with. Especially Canadian/Euro players..
Exciting times.
The Red Wings have one of the best GM's in the business so you don't have too much to worry about.
Exciting times.
The Red Wings have one of the best GM's in the business so you don't have too much to worry about.
I think Howard is a very good goaltender. It's too bad that the lockout had to happen, because I think this would be the year that he proves he is worth every penny that Detroit is going to have to spend to keep him, based on how the defense was going to look this season.
The Zetterberg Era
Ball Hockey Sucks
Most people that think that have never been to Detroit. I know every city has its nice parts but Detroit has some of the nicest areas in the entire world and I really mean that. It is part of the reason Detroit has great luck re-signing superstars across all sports. It is why you will find out that Detroit actually has one of the largest off-season contingents for players. It also in hockey in particular has the original six brand. The notion that Detroit cannot sell itself is bunk in pretty much every sport. It is a big market and behaves like one. It might not sell real well to the early 20's crowd, but guess what they are rarely free agents in any sport. This angle on Detroit is blown out of proportion and mostly made up about certain stereo types associated with the city, parts of which no Detroit Red Wing, Tiger, Lion or Piston has ever seen themselves either.
Winning helps to be sure and Edmonton should improve a little, but most of their money will go to those kids in house, just as large parts of Detroit has. But make no mistake Cabrera, Verlander, Sanchez, tons of the lions signings and all of those Wings throughout the years didn't just sign for money. They got the tour of Birmingham, Grosse Pointe, Rochester Hills, Bloomfield Hills, Northville, and Novi and came away very impressed. The State of Michigan still has the 7th most fortune 500 companies of any state and even the downsized auto industry still boast two in the top ten. There is a plethora of money still pumping around the area and with it some of the most exceptional places to live. The metro population is still basically twice the size of combining both of Calgary's and Edmonton's metro population.
The worst part of selling Detroit in terms of hockey is the Joe Louis Arena a problem they just solved. Edmonton might have used as an example, but chances are they never listened to what any of the actual players that sign in Detroit or their own guys say when they are in town at the Townsend Hotel north of town or the Ritz out in Dearborn Heights.
Winning helps but you have to spend to the cap and you better win the whole thing, otherwise it doesn't make the whole impact and guys look around. I think Edmonton can do it, but the use of Detroit as a comparison is probably a bad one.
Run the Jewels
Make Detroit Great Again
They're actually completely different. Detroit hasn't had a top 10 draft pick in probably 20+ years and has built through the draft and the occasional free agent signing or trade. Edmonton is building the way Chicago and Pittsburgh did, by building with a lot of top 5 draft picks. Edmonton will be in very good shape if the other draft picks develop (Duncan Keith in Chicago's case) and the Oil make good trades (Patrick Sharp as an example with Chicago). The Bolts have Stamkos and Hedman as very early draft picks but haven't done the other things that helped the Hawks and Pens win the Cup. The jury is still out on Edmonton but at least the owner seems willing to spend money and it's a strong hockey market.
Hckytwn
Don't do it Kenny...
This is always a loaded question. In general, hockey fans vacillate more on assessing goalie skill than any other position. I've seen so many goalies go from being called "one of the best" to overrated inside a season. This includes solid, all-star quality goalies like Luongo, Bryz, Fluery, Price, Broduer, Miller, etc. They get into a slump and suddenly fans everywhere denounce them.
Look no further than the NHL's latest sweetheart: Jonathan Quick. It was only a couple years ago when everyone thought he wasn't the goalie of the King's future and Bernier was the true talent in the org. I remember tons of commentators and fans calling for them to move in that direction.
But to answer your question: Yes, Howard is a good goalie. He has the skills and mindset to be in the top tier of the league's netminders. (He was a Calder candidate and an All-Star for god's sake.) But does that mean he's a lock for greatness? Of course not.
Look no further than the NHL's latest sweetheart: Jonathan Quick. It was only a couple years ago when everyone thought he wasn't the goalie of the King's future and Bernier was the true talent in the org. I remember tons of commentators and fans calling for them to move in that direction.
But to answer your question: Yes, Howard is a good goalie. He has the skills and mindset to be in the top tier of the league's netminders. (He was a Calder candidate and an All-Star for god's sake.) But does that mean he's a lock for greatness? Of course not.
gretskidoo
Registered User
- Nov 26, 2011
- 4,794
- 395
Inconsistent. When the Wings play great, he tends to lose them the games by letting in easy goals. When they play like ****, he tends to play godly and win games for them.
Just my impression of the 40 or so Wings games I watch per season.
Just my impression of the 40 or so Wings games I watch per season.
GoAwayDanCleary
DRWCC
- Aug 6, 2012
- 10,752
- 5
I'd say the reason he was in Vezina talks last year was because he improved his consistency (until he got injured).
I agree with this, and that's all he needs to be. As Red Wing fans we've seen all it takes is a hot goalie. When Jimmy is 'hot' he's just as good as the rest of them.
#1 goalie, just under elite status till he wins a Vezina. Needs to keep consistency up in the coming years to stay as that status or better.
Crymson
Fire Holland
- May 23, 2010
- 3,667
- 0
You underrate every single player on the roster, so no, almost certainly not.
Howard...an average to above average starting goalie. I won't say he's very good. Kid just seems to be unable to be at his best in the playoffs. I think he could end up being a very good goalie. But I don't see him as elite or top 5.
He's a UFA after this year? Difficult contract for Hoilland.
He's a UFA after this year? Difficult contract for Hoilland.
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