Inside the Article:
Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman swung his second goaltending trade in as many years last offseason, acquiring Finnish-born Ville Husso from the St. Louis Blues and locking him up to a three-year contract extension.
Ville Husso played a career-high 56 games in 22-23
Husso, who had previously reached a career-high of 40 games in 2021-22 with the Blues, would appear in a new career-high of 56 games with the Red Wings this year. There were many nights when Detroit earned two points thanks to his prowess between the pipes, but there were also a few nights when Husso struggled to stop opposition shots.
Husso said that he wants to be better prepared next time around for an increased workload while also looking forward to the mental challenge.
“I think I just needed to be better at the end of the day,” Husso said during his end-of-season media availability. “I’m not happy at all how it ended.”
“Next year play the same amount of games, and when we make the playoffs, then play even more games. It’s going to be a good mental challenge, but at the same time I need to be in better shape.”
Having wrapped up his first year with the Red Wings, Husso earned 26 victories while posting a GAA of 3.11, four shutouts, and a .896 save percentage – all numbers he’ll be hoping to improve.
Wrapping It Up – Detroit needs Ville Husso to be better next season
Yzerman showed faith in Husso by giving him a contract extension that carries an annual average value of just under $5 million a year. But Husso knows that he’ll need to be more consistent next season if Detroit is to break their postseason drought, which is now at seven years. And he knows a big part of it is his mental preparation for the role of starting goalie.
“When I start training, I’ll for sure look into it, if somebody can help me with the mental part, breathing exercises or whatever,” Husso said.
“As a goalie, it’s hard to explain. When you are in the net by yourself you need to be mentally strong whatever happens. At the end, I probably got scored on easy goals. For next year, I need to bounce right back.”
