After Injury Filled Season, Ville Husso Aims to Return Next Season
Ville Husso suffered multiple lower body injuries during the 2023-24 season, complicating his recovery process. Now, he plans to use the offseason to prepare for a fresh start next season.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports - After Injury Filled Season, Ville Husso Aims to Return Next SeasonBack in February, Ville Husso had finally made his way back to the Red Wings lineup. After seven weeks of battling back from a lower body injury, the Red Wings’ starter was ready for his triumphant return: a road start against Edmonton.
Then, he landed right back at square one.
“I was really excited to come back and then it’s the first game back in Edmonton and you kind of can’t even believe it happened,” Husso said Thursday at an end-of-season press conference. “And after that it’s just like a mental grind overall. It might sound crazy but I think even that helped me mentally and made me stronger.”
This was the first of two false starts to his recovery journey, as Saturday he left a conditioning stint start for Grand Rapids during warmups. Now, with the season over, Husso plans to use this offseason as an opportunity to get his body right ahead of next year.
“It was a really tough year injury-wise and I guess at the end it was even mentally (touhg) too,” Husso said. “It’s hard not to play. And we were trying everything to come back, maybe a little earlier than we were supposed to, but unfortunately it didn’t work. But I’ll be healthy for next year and I don’t think we need any surgeries or anything.”
Avoiding surgery is a positive for Husso, but his recovery process is still a significant one. He confirmed Thursday that his injuries were two separate issues instead of a reaggravated ailment, and Saturday’s re-injury was a “little setback” as he called it. His rehabilitation process this summer will look to avoid such issues in the future.
These setbacks had their obvious mental difficulties, as Husso fought through one injury just to get hurt again. He felt like he had a good offseason last year, too, which he wasn’t able to show off due to all the roadblocks. And as the Red Wings’ season came down to the last few games, all Husso could do was watch and hope his teammates pulled through.
“I love the game, so I just want to get out there and enjoy playing again,” Husso said. “And I feel like watching these last couple home games, how crazy the building was, and seeing the fans, how into it they are, I’m not able to help the team. So I think that was in my head, I was like ‘I just need to get healthy now and get ready for next year.’”
Husso feels that the injury situation helped him grow mentally, learning to face adversity and overcoming it. It’s a silver lining to what’s been a hellacious season for him, and one he’s ready to move on from next year.
Husso has a plan to get back into starting shape. He wants to rest and rehab early on, letting his body heal before piling on an offseason training regimen. Part of that training will occur in Detroit, but he also wants to spend more sustained time in his native Finland over the summer — jet-setting back and forth is difficult now that he has a baby to look after, too.
If Husso can get back to game shape for next season, the Red Wings will certainly need him. With James Reimer an unrestricted free agent, Husso and Alex Lyon are the only goaltenders with NHL experience under contract next season. Unless the Red Wings make an offseason move for another goaltender or call up prospect Sebastian Cossa from Grand Rapids, they’ll need Husso in the net next year. Husso will want to perform well next season, too. Next season is the last year on his contract, and the work he puts in could have a significant impact on his future deals.
Right now, though, Husso’s priority is to get healthy after a grueling season. The road ahead appears to be a difficult one, but it’s one Husso will have to overcome to get back to the game he loves playing.
This time, he hopes the setbacks are behind him.