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Howard ready to battle for his right to Red Wings' net |
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To outsiders, Jimmy Howard is filling the role of Dante, the forlorn convenience store employee from the Kevin Smith film Clerks, at training camp with the Detroit Red Wings.
He isn’t supposed to be here today.
Howard knows that, and realizes that the Wings unsuccessfully sought to deal him through the summer, only to find no takers.
A salary-cap hit like Howard’s - $5.5 million this season, $5 million next season and $4.25 million in 2018-19 – tends to quell the suitors.
No one on either side of that equation within the Red Wings organization seems at all unhappy by that outcome, however.
“I’m really not disappointed to be here, that’s for sure,” Howard said. “I’m happy I’m here. I really didn’t want to leave in the first place.
“My family loves it here, I love it here. I’ve got a lot of great friends in the dressing room, so I’m happy for that.”
And really, when you get right down to it, Red Wings fans should also be happy that the Wings didn’t just give Howard away.
As great as Petr Mrazek looked for the first half of last season, he crashed to earth and burned like a sizzling meteor after the New Year. Had Howard not been there to pick up the pieces, Detroit’s 25-season playoff run would be done.
Detroit coach Jeff Blashill is definitely delighted to know that he has two NHL-caliber netminders that he can turn to if need be.
The days of Martin Brodeur and Grant Fuhr carrying the load between the pipes for a team are long gone.
“If you look around the league, and I think this is true everywhere really, you need two guys that are going to help you win hockey games at different points,” Blashill said. “I don’t know anybody that plays 76 games or 70 games, even.
With the World Cup of hockey pushing back the start of the NHL regular season, the schedule will be extremely tighter than normal, and that’s where having two capable, trustworthy goaltenders could pay dividends for the Red Wings.
“Throughout the league, most teams have a guy that plays between 50 and 70 and the other guy will play up to 30,” Blashill said. “We’ll see how that all shakes out for us but I know both guys will have an impact on our success this year.”
Howard didn’t exactly ride the bench for Detroit last season. He saw duty in 37 games, 33 of those appearances being starts, posting a 2.80 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and two shutouts.
He recognizes that he begins the battle as No. 2 on the depth chart but Howard is ready to fight for his right to Detroit’s net.
“Obviously it’s Pete’s job to lose, (when) you finish the year in between the nets,” Howard said. “It’s my job to push him, not only to make himself better but me better as well.”
A summer of wondering whether he’d still be donning the Winged Wheel turned into an off-season of not only prepping for the fight ahead but also a time of reflection, as Howard considered how his role with the team has evolved and what he must do going forward to be a good teammate and a better goalie.
“Looking back on last season, over the course of the summer, dealing with that for the first time ever in my life, it’s about just not dwelling on it so much, just living in the moment,” Howard said. “When your number is called, just go out there and play. You can’t really control anything else around you except for yourself.
“That’s what I can control and that’s the approach I’m going to take into the season, find ways to basically reinvent myself out there on the ice.”
Conditioning, always a concern of the team with Howard in the past, appears to no longer be an issue. He dedicated himself to a new fitness regimen in the off-season and looks to be in solid shape.
“I was just trying to build lower-body strength the best I could,” Howard said. “To get to point A to point B a little quicker.
“This league is getting so much faster that you have to be able to be in position and have your feet set. That’s what I primarily worked on this summer.”
All Howard seeks is a chance to contribute and maybe prove that he can still be the go-to goalie for this team.
“Whatever my role is, that’s what my role is going to be,” Howard said. “I’m going to work hard, bring a great attitude to the work and find ways to get better in my game.”
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