| Detroit Free Press
Steve Yzerman on signing Bobby Ryan, Jon Merrill to Detroit Red Wings
Steve Yzerman on signing Bobby Ryan & Jon Merrill. Oct. 9, 2020.
Steve Yzerman addressed the biggest need for the Detroit Red Wings by signing goaltender Thomas Greiss on Saturday.
Jimmy Howard’s struggles last season left the Wings in need of someone to stabilize things in net, and the answer was found in a two-year, $7.2 million deal with Greiss. The German netminder most recently played for the New York Islanders and has nearly 300 NHL games on his resume.
Greiss, 34, has posted a save percentage above .900 in nine of his last 10 seasons. In 282 games split among the San Jose Sharks (who drafted Greiss at 94th in 2004), the Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins and Islanders, Greiss has a 2.63 goals-against average and .915 save percentage.
[ Bobby Ryan, Jon Merrill explain why they picked the Wings in free agency ]
The Wings needed to find a proven NHL goaltender after parting ways with Howard, who won just two games in 2019-20. Howard posted a 4.20 GAA and .882 save percentage in 27 appearances.
Greiss will join Jonathan Bernier as the Wings’ two NHL-proven goalies.
On Friday, Yzerman signed forward Bobby Ryan for one year, $1 million and defenseman Jon Merrill for one year, $925,000.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter. Her book, The Big 50: The Detroit Red Wings will be published October 13 by Triumph Books. To order, go to Amazon or Barnes & Noble.