Wings sign back-up goalie Ty Conklin
Thanks to a one-year contract signing of Ty Conklin, Jimmy Howard will have to fight to earn the back-up position behind Chris Osgood. I think most Wings fans expected GM Ken Holland to go out and sign a veteran goaltender so this wasn’t much of a surprise. There had been speculation about going after moody Ray Emery, but I must confess that I am pleased with this signing. Conklin went 18-8-5 when Marc-Andre Fleury went down with a high ankle sprain in February providing solid goaltending for the Penguins. Barring an injury, the Wings have their number one goaltender in Chris Osgood so Conklin should be a reliable back-up goaltender. Plus, Conklin will only be making $750,000 so this signing does not break the bank by any stretch of the imagination.
Howard has one more year in Grand Rapids before he would have to clear waivers so I suspect that he’ll get one more year of development. If the Wings don’t think he’s ready by then, I wonder if Howard becomes trade bait and the Wings go after Ryan Miller, for example.
Update: After reading Ansar Khan’s article on MLive.com, I think Howard would really have to outplay Conklin to earn the back-up spot for the reasons mentioned below.
“Ty Conklin has the inside track, but if Jimmy Howard is the obvious No. 2 guy (in training camp and the preseason), we’ll reassess,” general manager Ken Holland said. “Do we carry three (goaltenders)?”
Conklin, 32, received a one-way contract, meaning he will be paid the same whether he’s on the NHL roster or in the minors. And there’s a problem with sending him to the minors. If the Wings send him to Grand Rapids and he clears waivers, and then try to bring him back up on re-entry waivers, they will be responsible for half of his salary if another team were to claim him. The Wings have the option to send Howard down to Grand Rapids for one more season without clearing waivers.
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July 2nd, 2008 at 8:37 am
[…] to that, be sure to check out my posts on the Wings re-signing of defenseman Brad Stuart and the signing of back-up goaltender Ty Conklin. I will update this post later tonight with anymore relevant news and […]