Helene St. James

Detroit Free Press

The NHL is in its quieter days, offering a fine opportunity to take a look at individual Red Wings and assess expectations for the coming season.

G Jimmy Howard

Looking at 2015-16: 14-14-5, 2.80 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 37 games played (33 starts). Two playoff losses with a 3.59 GAA and .891 save percentage.

Looking at money: Signed through 2018-19 at an annual average value of $5,291,666. Actual salary next season is $5.5 million.

Looking back: Head coach Jeff Blashill started the season alternating between Howard and Petr Mrazek until Howard began to struggle in December. Howard’s woes dragged on as he saw sporadic backup duty, although his starts did also come during the second game of back-to-backs. When Mrazek went into a free-fall, Howard was able to play well enough that he took over as starter by season’s end. Howard started the first two games of the playoffs, then was pulled as part of the response to going down 2-0 in the series against Tampa Bay.

Looking ahead: Attempts to trade Howard, 32, were unsuccessful, as the few teams needing goaltending help found solutions elsewhere. If Howard is traded, the Wings would also need another veteran goalie, as there isn’t a goaltending prospect in the organization capable of jumping in. The Wings would need to acquire someone very trustworthy, because there is still uncertainty regarding whether Mrazek can handle a full NHL season. In sum, for the time being, it makes sense to hang onto Howard — he bailed them out this season when Mrazek stumbled, and the playoff losses had more to do with uninspired play from teammates than goaltending. Spending in the $10 million range on goaltending is costly, but doable. It’s always possible a team will suffer an injury once the season begins and a trade scenario materializes. If not, Howard can be exposed in the expansion draft next summer.

More players

• Brendan Smith gritty, aggressive, sometimes reckless

• Drew Miller inexpensive grinder to kill penalties

• Mike Green’s ‘go’ signal always on for Wings

• Dylan Larkin could make switch to center this season

• Wings expect more from veteran Jonathan Ericsson

• Tomas Jurco has winger skills but needs to regain form

• Alexey Marchenko proving to be a solid decision-maker

• Justin Abdelkader a player to count on

Contact Helene St. James: hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.

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