The Detroit Red Wings have a number of decisions to make this summer and as you might suspect, the dominos will start to fall once UFA-to-be Marian Hossa's contract situation is sorted out. Should he be re-upped to a long-term, contract-friendly deal, the writing would seemingly be on the wall for RFA Jiri Hudler and UFA Mikael Samuelsson. That's old news, but with the season finally drawing to a close we're on the verge of contracts being handed out.
One of the interesting post-season notes is that Ty Conklin, who had a fairly strong season as Chris Osgood's backup, told Michigan Live he would like to re-sign.
"I enjoyed it here. I was able to play a decent amount," Conklin, who started 37 games, said. "It's a hard locker room not to like, lot of good people here. People take less to play here for a reason."
Conklin said several factors, including playing time, will weigh into his decision, but added, "A lot of those questions for me are satisfied here in Detroit."
That's the twist in the story. It's not surprising that Conklin would want to be a part of this team, but it's a surprise that it actually might happen again. At the start of this past season it was seemingly a fait accompli that Jimmy Howard would be apprenticing behind Osgood for '09-10. Howard is out of minor-league options now, so that means if the team brings back Conklin (he signed a one-year deal last summer, which bought the Wings more time to season Howard) they'd pretty much have to deal Howard. Carrying three goalies on the active roster, especially in this cap world, makes little sense.
There should be at least a few teams interested in the 25-year old Howard as a back-up, should the Wings decide to go the veteran route behind Osgood again - right? But if the Wings, who can generally offer a goalie protection that few teams can provide, would feel more comfortable with Conklin, then what sort of confidence would that give other teams in Howard?
We'll see. Just because Conklin says he wants to come back doesn't mean the Wings will sign him and move on from Howard, who has spent four seasons in the AHL. That it's even a possibility at all is extremely interesting though. We'll know more in the coming weeks leading up to the July 1st free agency period.
Either Conklin or Howard would be in a position to log a healthy number of starts behind Osgood next season, which means whichever goalie lands the job should once again be a valuable depth player for poolies in virtually any size of a league. Ideally Osgood will be able to rebound from the horrific numbers he posted this past regular season too.
Regardless of what happens with Conklin/ Howard, that'll leave Daniel Larsson as the likely number one goalie for the Griffins next season with Thomas McCollum probably stepping up from the OHL to the AHL to begin his pro journey. He'll have one year of junior eligibility left, but from all accounts he's ready to take the next step. The first round pick from last summer is considered to be the goalie in the Wings system with the highest-end potential, although I still think Larsson is going to turn a lot of heads in the NHL within the next few years.
Notre Dame goaltender Jordan Pearce is the other man in the mix and while camp performances will dictate how the chips fall, he seems the most likely of the three to not play for Grand Rapids to begin next season.
Osgood has two years left on his current contract. Howard will also be a UFA in two seasons. Larsson has a year left on his entry level deal, while Pearce just signed a two-year entry level deal in April.
ONE-WAY LEINO
Michigan Live notes that pending RFA Ville Leino, who should be a prime sleeper pick in pools in the fall, anticipates getting a deal done with Detroit. But he wants an assurance he won't be sent down to Grand Rapids.
"I don't want to play in the AHL anymore and I won't do that anymore," the 25-year old winger, who spent his entire career in Finland before signing a one-year deal last summer, said. That's his right to say that and the Wings have made no secret of the fact that they want and fully expect Leino at the big league level next season, but it's still a bit weird to hear a player with the Wings actually make that sort of statement publicly.
The forward played in Grand Rapids for 57 games and he tallied 46 points (15G, 31A and 18 PIM). He had nine points in his 13 starts with the big club, including a memorable NHL debut. In the playoffs he notched 13 points in 10 GP for the Griffins and then had two helpers in seven starts with the Wings in a limited role.
Where exactly in Detroit's top nine forwards he'll fit in next season remains to be seen (contracts, camp performances and next year's line juggling will all come into play), but the kid undoubtedly has offensive talent. Playing with a good support system like the Wings offer with scoring threats on each line should only help his chances of success.
GUSTAVSSON TOUR HAS BEGUN
Hot Swedish free agent goaltending free agent Jonas Gustavsson has finally started his long-awaited mini-tours of the four NHL cities where he's considering signing. His first stop was Denver, where he spent about 24 hours.
The Denver Post notes that Avalanche VP Jean Martineau said Gustavsson arrived Sunday and left Monday afternoon. He was not made available to the media, but Martineau said Gustavsson met with several Avalanche players and management staff, including new coach Joe Sacco, and was given a tour of the city and the Pepsi Center, including the Avalanche's dressing room.
Martineau confirmed that former Avs star Peter Forsberg has spoken on the team's behalf, in an unofficial recruiting effort. The team would not divulge which players met with Gustavsson.
San Jose, Dallas and Toronto have also been confirmed as being on the goalie's North American itinerary and we should know where he'll sign within the next few weeks.
** Update ** The Mercury News confirms that Gustavsson is touring San Jose today. Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson has acknowledged his pursuit of Gustavsson in a fairly bland quote - "We'll have any conversation that will improve this hockey team" - but he won't assess his team's chances or provide any details of where the talks stand.
The Swede is more likely to have an impact in fantasy leagues in the '10-11 campaign, where he may well be the number one goalie on whichever team he plays. His potential back-up stats for '09-10, assuming that's where he fits in, will obviously depend on how strong the team he picks is at the time.
