Breaking Down the Red Wings' Organizational Goalie Depth ahead of Training Camp
A close look at the Detroit Red Wings' goaltending depth ahead of training camp
Last season, a three-goalie system proved to be the Detroit Red Wings’ saving grace. In a season in which their starting goaltender spent most of the year injured, the Red Wings received good goaltending from Alex Lyon and James Reimer. Heading into this season, another three-goalie system seems to be the answer yet again.
But the NHL isn't the only level where there are complex decisions to be made about the team's goalies. Ahead of training camp, here’s a look at where Detroit's goaltending stands up and down the organization.
The NHL Level
Cam Talbot
Talbot's two-year, $2.5 million AAV deal with the Red Wings flew in the face of everything Yzerman said heading into free agency. He didn't want his roster to tie up an extra spot for a goaltender. He believed Ville Husso would be healthy heading into the season. And yet, on July 1, Yzerman grabbed one of the top goalies on the market in Talbot.
At the very least, Talbot brings depth to the goalie room. Between him, Lyon and Husso, the Red Wings have three potential starters in the mix. Detroit coach Derek Lalonde wants to see a “healthy competition” from the group, as he said in early August.
“Speaking with all three goalies, I think Steve did a pretty good job of explaining to them the situation, that it’s going to be a competition,” Lalonde said. “And all three goalies over the last couple years have proven to play at a very high level. They’ve all shown it.
Talbot has perhaps shown the most not only in the past couple years, but also in his entire career. At 37, he continues to defy age by averaging about 41 starts per season for the past four years. Last year in Los Angeles, Talbot started 52 games during an All-Star season that saw him backstop the Kings into the playoffs. If there was a favorite to be the one true starter among the Red Wings’ triumvirate, Talbot’s it.
The questions with Talbot are: Can he continue to succeed behind one of last season’s worst defensive teams? And, can he continue to defy the age curve? If the answers to those questions are yes, Detroit would be making out like bandits having brought him in on such a cheap deal. If no, then it only muddies an already complex goalie situation.
Alex Lyon
Lyon’s in a tough position this training camp because nothing he did last season deserved a demotion, and yet he’s probably not going to see as many games as his career-high 44 appearances last season (the most since his first pro season in 2016-17 with Philadelphia’s Lehigh Valley AHL affiliate). Per data tracked by Moneypuck, Lyon’s 2.1 goals saved above expected ranked 18th among NHL goalies who played 41 games or more. Those stats would be far higher if it weren’t for a personal 10-game losing streak in March and April that saw overuse tank his performance.
Now, Lyon is the incumbent starter battling for his job. Lighter usage this season alongside Talbot and a healthy Husso may improve Lyon’s performance in his second season in Detroit. Even so, for a player who finally broke through as a regular NHL option last season, demotion by roster addition would undoubtedly hurt.
One caveat to Lyon’s situation is that his level of ability, costing a bargain $900,00, makes him an interesting player for teams looking for goaltending options. Detroit is four deep right now on NHL goaltenders counting UFA signee Jack Campbell, and a healthy and — most importantly, effective Husso may prove Lyon superfluous. Teams whose goaltending is in disarray may be interested in the services of Lyon. There would certainly be risk in trading him away after such a good season last year and with Husso’s injury history raising concern. All this is to outline an option, not necessarily an expectation.
Ville Husso
After two lower body injuries last season, Husso appeared to be on the mend when he took on a conditioning stint in Grand Rapids last April. That lasted until warmups, when he tweaked an injury and had to leave the ice. That ended his season, but more importantly raised questions about his long term future. Going through so many injuries in one season is, frankly, scary.
After an offseason of getting his body right, Husso appears to be ready to go for the season. Yzerman and Lalonde have both maintained this offseason that Husso is 100%. More telling, Husso spent the summer working out with a group of elite NHLers in Plymouth this summer. Just a few of the names: Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, Andrew Copp, Kyle Connor, Connor Hellebuyck, and all three Hughes brothers. You don’t face shots from NHL All-Stars if you aren’t fully healthy. Husso working out with that crew is as good a sign as any that he’s back to full health.
With health, where does Husso fit into the goalie room? He’s probably not getting his starting job right away with Talbot and Lyon in the mix, but he should be able to compete for the role. His starts, even when healthy, weren’t stellar in 2023-24, though nagging injuries may have played a part in that. Husso is starting on square one, in a way, though starting at all is a big win for him considering where he was five months ago.
The AHL Level
Sebastian Cossa
Cossa’s development has developed a pattern. When he takes on a new level of hockey, the start of his season sees a really shaky, up-and-down performance as he adjusts to the level. Then about halfway through the season, he hits his stride and becomes one of the league’s most dominant netminders.
Cossa did it in Toledo back in 2022-23, backstopping the Walleye to the conference finals with a 5-2 record and 2.32/.917 stat line. Then he did it in Grand Rapids, putting together a record-breaking 19-game unbeaten streak from January to April. There were nuances to both instances, such as improved team play and lots of goal support. For the most part, though, Cossa was brilliant in those performances.
The problem is, that pattern doesn’t fly at the NHL level, and not when four NHLers are already in the goalie pipeline. So, Cossa is destined for another season in the AHL unless he convincingly proves otherwise.
The biggest need for Cossa going forward is to learn to handle excessive usage. As Detroit’s top goalie prospect, the expectation is that he becomes a starting goaltender — that is, playing 50-plus games each season. Cossa has never topped 46 in a regular season, matching that number at the WHL and ECHL levels. So, this season is about working the pitch count for Cossa, getting him used to playing a whole lot of games.
None of these starts are just going to be handed to Cossa — Yzerman’s organizations don’t fly that way, as is well-known. Former NHL starter Jack Campbell is looking for a career revival with the Griffins, and he’s going to put pressure on Cossa to keep his job. That’s good pressure for the 2021 first round pick. How he handles it will be a good data point for his future timeline.
Jack Campbell
Edmonton appeared to have its starting goaltender when it signed Campbell to a five-year, $5 million contract in the 2022 offseason. Two years later, it ended in a buyout. For Campbell, a career reclamation is the goal for this season, proving he still has what it takes to play at the professional levels. He’s on a one-year, league minimum deal.
A situation like that is bound to make Campbell hungry. He’ll have an uphill battle to win starts from Cossa, but being in the mix for what should be a top AHL playoff contender is a good situation to put himself in.
There is a question of whether Campbell could get into some NHL games this season. In the past when NHL goaltenders were injured or otherwise unavailable, Detroit wasn’t too keen on interrupting the seasons of its prospects to throw them into the NHL fire. Last season, Yzerman opted to upgrade AHL signee Michael Hutchinson to an NHL contract rather than call up Cossa when both Husso and Lyon were hurt in December. Campbell finds himself in that role this season. There’s no guarantee that an opportunity will arise for him to play a game with Detroit, but the avenue is there.
The ECHL Level
Carter Gylander
Gylander was impressive in the Red Wings’ prospect games over the weekend — so much so that he was one of THN Detroit’s six takeaways for each game. Gylander moved well for a 6-foot-5 goaltender, and he came up with a number of really nice saves on his way to stopping 29 of the 30 shots he saw across 90 minutes of play. It was a great entry to his first pro season.
It’s really not a question that Detroit should play Gylander in the ECHL. For a prospect fresh out of the NCAA, and with two established goaltenders with the Griffins, there just wouldn’t be enough games for him in Grand Rapids. With Toledo, Gylander can ease into a tandem alongside Griffins signee and former Red Wings fourth round pick Jared Bednar, who played about half the season with the Walleye last year.
Organizations like to play goalie prospects where they can get volume, versus playing them against the best competition available. Gylander recognizes this, even if he does want to rise up the ranks with haste.
“I want to make it difficult for management to send me down if I'm playing really well,” Gylander said Sunday. “It's my first year (as a) pro, so I understand you have to go through it a little bit, but it's a matter of just getting the games in — especially as a goalie. It's about seeing minutes and seeing pucks. So whatever happens in the next year or next two, it doesn't really change. It's just more so play at the highest level that I possibly can.”
Gylander’s best option for volume comes at the ECHL, but a few AHL games wouldn’t be surprising. That’s what Cossa did in 2022-23, and while there are clear differences between the projections of a first round pick and a seventh rounder, there’s a door for Gylander to walk through should opportunity come knocking.
Gage Alexander
Alexander is the most recent addition to the Detroit goalie depth chart, acquired as part of the Robby Fabbri cap dump with Anaheim. Alexander is a 6-foot-6 tree, filled out to 205 pounds in a way that is often difficult for goaltenders of his size. Last season, he played 19 games with the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers, going 5-8-1 with a 3.76 /.887 stat line. He hasn’t br0ken the .900 mark since 2022, his second-to-last season in the WHL.
The expectations for Alexander should be low considering his track record, and it would be a surprise to see him play anywhere higher than the ECHL. Where he fits in — with Gylander and Bednar in the picture around him — is probably as a third-string backup.
The Reserve List
Trey Augustine
Augustine should be one of the NCAA’s top goaltenders this season, playing for Michigan State once more in the NCAA. He will also be Team USA’s starter in the World Junior Championship. Not bad for a second round pick in 2023. Not bad for a second round pick. His poise and control are his superpowers in net, producing some heroic saves in clutch moments. Consistency is the name of the game this season — that is, consistently playing at the top of his game, even if he’s good enough to get away with an off night.
Augustine’s NHL readiness is a bit wide open. There’s no indication that this will be his final collegiate year, and what should be an increasingly competitive Spartans team could draw him back after this season. Whenever he does get to the pro ranks, stops in the minor leagues would likely be in order. So, for now, keep watching him play, but don’t bank on a pro debut.
Landon Miller
Miller is a project goaltender, a 6-foot-5 goaltender with a lot of rough edges who Detroit is trying to buy early on with a fourth round pick. Miller is going to take on an expansive role with the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds this season, after putting together some nice tape last season. He didn’t have a strong showing in the prospect games over the weekend, allowing two goals in half of Sunday’s 3-2 win. Granted, Dallas played some of its better hockey in that stretch, but the difference between a guy like Gylander and Miller was fully apparent. He’s a long way off from NHL readiness, but that’s A-OK to Detroit.
“With the goaltender thing it's a little more complicated in that you want to make sure they have a runway, so to speak, to get to pro where they're going and an opportunity when they do turn pro to have a spot to play,” Yzerman said at the NHL Draft in June, “You don't want to have a logjam of goalies because you only have so many spots for them to play.”
Rudy Guimond
Guimond is Cedar Rapids’ top goaltender in the USHL, with a Yale commitment for the 2025-26 season. He has a long way to go before being pro ready — if he ever is pro ready. He struggled to separate himself at the USHL level last season. That comes with the territory when you gamble on a sixth round goalie coming out of high school.
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