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Wings' backup plan slowly forming
By Sarah Lindenau - RedWingsCentral.com / September 20, 2008The Detroit Red Wings are making sure Jimmy Howard earns his way into a full-time job in the National Hockey League.
Instead of hand the backup job behind Chris Osgood to Howard following Dominik Hasek's retirement, the Red Wings went out and signed journeyman Ty Conklin. The move left Howard as the third-stringer coming into training camp in Traverse City, Mich., with a chance of winning the No. 2 duties.
"Howard and Conklin are in a real battle," Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said. "We will work that through the rest of September and the start of October."
Howard is waiver-exempt for another season, meaning he can be sent to the American Hockey League without consequence. Conklin, however, has to clear waivers to go to the minors and is subject to re-entry waivers on the way back up.
"Really, by the rules, it's going to be tough to send Ty Conklin to the minors because he has to go through re-entry waivers," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "Jimmy Howard can be assigned to the minors, so it's pretty clear that Jimmy Howard has to clearly win the backup job."
Howard has spent three full seasons in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins. He started 54 games last season, going 21-28-2 and posting a 2.83 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage on a poor defensive team.
The Red Wings like to groom their prospects slowly, especially goaltenders, and Howard is finding out the hard way.
"I just have to go out there and do my best every single day," Howard said. "I have to play within myself and just let my talent come out. If I play as well as I am capable of playing then it will make the decision really tough for the coaches and management."
Similar to last year, Howard arrived at camp in top physical condition.
"I trained really hard with my trainer every single morning," he said. "I feel like it's paying off out there on the ice. I am not getting winded."
In addition to Osgood and Conklin, the Red Wings drafted Thomas McCollum in the first round of June's draft and are excited about the progress of 2006 draft pick Daniel Larsson, who was named Sweden's top goalie last season.
Howard has plenty of competition from all sides.
"It's just a healthy competition," he said.
If Howard ends up on the losing side of his current competition with Conklin, he is prepared to make the best of the situation.
"If I get sent to Grand Rapids, I know I haven't done my job," he said. "I am going to have to go down and play my best. If the opportunity arises to come up and play with the Wings, then I will come up and give it my best shot."
— Team Delvecchio defeated Team Sawchuk by a 2-0 margin on Saturday. Darren McCarty and Marian Hossa scored in the second period. Howard stopped all four shots he faced for Delvecchio, while Conklin stopped 12 of 12 in the Sawchuk goal.
— Babcock appears to be well aware of the phrase "Stanley Cup hangover."
"We are trying to get back to normalcy," he said. "We understand that in the end it's about will and determination and work ethic. That's what we are trying to do, get our game back to a level we can be proud of and a compete level."
Added Holland: "We look good on paper. But as I told the players yesterday, it's got to happen on the ice."
— The pace of the game was a bit slow as the players were clearly getting back into the rhythm of being on the ice. Babcock said defensively he was pleased, but that offensive cohesiveness is going to take some time.
— The line of Hossa, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom started slow, but got better as the game wore on, with several quality chances in the second.
— Dan Cleary was the best forward for Team Sawchuk. The 6-foot, 203-pound forward made an excellent read while killing the only power play of the game, and nearly took the puck in for a shorthanded goal.
— Jamie Tardif made his presence felt on the ice with several big hits, including an open-ice hit on Mattias Ritola in the second. Tardif signed a two-year free-agent contract with the Red Wings this summer.
— Babcock singled out the play of Larsson, Cory Emmerton and Darren Helm.
"I thought Cory Emmerton had a good (prospects tournament)," he said. "He looks like he has some skill level ... The fitness of Helm has been very impressive to say the least ... I was real impressed with Larsson again today."
— Saturday was a big day for Justin Abdelkader. The former Michigan State forward worked with the Wings to arrange a Stanley Cup visit to Saturday's Michigan State-Notre Dame football game. Proceeds are going to Shoot For the Cure, a charity Abdelkader founded to benefit pediatric cancer patients in Lansing.
The 6-foot-1, 209 pound forward has dedicated himself to the cause. For his efforts, he won the CCHA humanitarian of the year award last year.
"It's an important cause," Abdelkader said. "Cancer in general has effected so many people, but then when you see it effect young kids you just feel so bad for them."
— Abdelkader wasn't the only player with an interest in the Michigan State-Notre Dame game. Brett Lebda, a Notre Dame alumnus, was taking a lot of good-natured ribbing from teammates and coaches on Saturday. At one point, the 5-foot-9, 195 pound defenseman walked by the media saying, "Why can't Notre Dame be playing San Diego this weekend? I'd be hearing a lot less from you people if they were."
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