Former Stanley Cup champion Alexander Georgiev will be a free agent and could be a target for a Red Wings team hungry for help in net.
The Red Wings goalie room could use some retooling.
After finishing bottom 12 in goals against average as a team last year, it's no surprise that one of the focuses for Steve Yzerman and company is goaltending help, according to Daily Faceoff's Jeff Marek.
We've seen how quickly some teams can turn around their goalie rooms like the Colorado Avalanche this past season. They brought in Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood to restore stability in goal, trading away former All-Star and Stanley Cup champion Alexandar Georgiev, who was sent to San Jose for Blackwood in an early December deal.
The Avalanche went from the third-worst goals against average in the league at 3.55 to fifth-best in the NHL and this left Georgiev on the outside looking in.
The 29-year-old Russian netminder had his numbers further trampled on when starting games for one of the league's worst defences in San Jose. Georgiev is seemingly not returning to the Sharks next season and will be available as an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
He finished with a brutal .875 save percentage and a 3.88 goals against average through 31 appearances with San Jose, marking last season as his career-worst.
This is a netminder that had a 40-16-6 record with a 2.53 goals against average just three seasons ago and can still be a difference making goaltender in the right system.
New Detroit bench boss Todd McLellan has a history of inserting solid defensive structures in wherever he goes and could make the Red Wings taking a low-cost flyer on Georgiev a good idea.
Before this past season, Georgiev led all NHL goalies with 78 wins over the previous three years, posting a 2.77 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage during that span.
Some believe he was only successful due to Colorado's system and that the numbers are inflated but McLellan may be able to create a structure that works for him, if he was to sign in Detroit.
McLellan’s defensive schemes played a key role in the LA Kings finishing with a top-nine defence during his five-year tenure, much like his seven seasons with the San Jose Sharks, where his ranked top six in defence.
It's an option that the Red Wings will surely take into consideration as Georgiev is still relatively young at 29 and could work as a perfect spacer for the team as they wait for high end prospect Sebastian Cossa to develop. Until then, Georgiev would have the highest upside potential of any goalie in Detroit's current group.
