Detroit Recalls Jimmy Howard, Puts Chris Osgood On Shelf

The big news out of Detroit today is the call-up of goaltending prospect Jimmy Howard from the team's AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. The move comes at the expense of a struggling Chris Osgood, who will sit out the next ten days " to get a mental breather and clear his mind and work with (goaltending coach) Jim Bedard," as GM Ken Holland told mLive's Ansar Khan.

Howard will back up Ty Conklin in tonight's home game against Anaheim. He will start tomorrow night in Minnesota and is expected to be sent back to Grand Rapids after the game. The move allows the Wings a chance to get a look at Howard at the NHL level, something they have not gotten since this time last year (Februry 23rd).
Some see the recall as a turning point in the Wings' goaltending situation this season, with Howard taking Osgood's place. However, that perspective doesn't jive with the Wings' public stance to this point in the season. As I wrote on my blog today, "Osgood's troubles provide an excuse to call Jimmy up, not a problem to which Howard is the solution." Far from having given up on Osgood, the team still seems intent on getting him going for the playoffs. Hence the "breather," something you wouldn't see the team handing out to someone they don't expect to use.

Obviously, it's a big-time message to Osgood, but it's also a sign that the Wings aren't done with the guy. They're still giving him a chance to turn his season around.

Despite Conklin's success this regular season, there's a sense in Detroit that he may not be the man to take the Wings on a repeat bid. Osgood showed himself capable of winning the Cup last season, but his troubles this season have provoked emotionl reactions from the fans.

On the one hand, you have the Abel to Yzerman crowd, who have vocally written off Osgood and are looking for other solutions. On the other, you have fans like myself, who feel Osgood is the Wings' only available route to playoff success. We are thus no less frustrated with the player who's looking more and more like the movie Wizard of Oz (i.e. a betrayal of expectations) with every game. We just haven't given up on him yet.

A lot is riding on this "breather" Osgood is getting. In all likelihood, Osgood will have to win his playoff starting job back when he returns or else he'll only see time in the postseason should Conklin fail. We of the Osgood party, so to speak, hope he uses the time wisely by getting both his attitude and play right.

In the meantime, the Wings will be able to gather data on two of the main contestants of the future. If Howard does in fact get sent back after Saturday's game in Minnesota, it stands to reason that the team's other goaltending prospect, Daniel Larsson, will see some time in Detroit.

The unfortunate side of all this is tht the Griffins will be without Howard's services for at least the next two games as they begin a three-games-in-three-nights home stint tonight against Manitoba. With Larsson currently sick, the team had to sign Joel Martin to a professionl tryout. My wife went to the game tonight expecting the worst.

She said before leaving that their meeting with the Moose tonight is like the Wings going into a game with San Jose without Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, and Nick Lidstrom and with a guy off the street in net (stud forwards Ville Leino and Darren Helm are with Detroit, and defenseman Jonathan Ericsson is injured).