Ville Husso was vacationing in Florida when he turned on the NHL draft. Then his phone rang and he found out he had been traded.
“I’m very happy to join the Detroit Red Wings — historic team, 11 Stanley Cups, I think that tells a lot,” Husso said Sunday following the trade. “I kind of knew that I would not stay in St. Louis. I was ready for it and excited, and am really happy right now.”
General manager Steve Yzerman sent the Wings’ third-round pick in the ’22 draft to the Blues, and then signed the goalie for three years and $14.25 million. The trade addressed the need for a partner for Alex Nedeljkovic, and did so before what is expected to be a very competitive goaltending market opens when NHL free agency begins Wednesday.
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New head coach Derek Lalonde sounded excited, telling the Free Press: “It feels like Ville is going this way with his development and I think we’re going to get him at a really good time,” Lalonde said. “Those two will share the net. It will be good experience for both of them.”
Husso, 27, and Nedeljkovic, 26, are similar in age and experience — as in neither has a ton of the latter. Nedeljkovic has 88 career appearances, with a 2.86 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage, while Husso has played 57 games with a 2.74 GAA and .912 save percentage. Yzerman noted that Husso’s contract wouldn’t prevent the Wings from re-signing Nedeljkovic, who is entering the last season of his two-year, $6 million contract, although that could depend on how 2021 first-round pick Sebastian Cossa performs over the coming season.
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The bottom line is the Wings have two goaltenders looking to establish themselves as starters, and a demanding schedule that lends itself to sharing duties.
“I feel like these days in hockey, it’s good to have two good goalies,” Husso said. “I haven’t met Alex yet but I’m looking forward for that. I think we will be a good goalie duo.”
Husso described the Wings as a “young, talented team.” He was in net when the Blues lost to the Wings last season at Little Caesars Arena, allowing three goals on 22 shots.
Yzerman has used the Blues to supplement the Wings’ roster quite a bit, with Husso joining Robby Fabbri, Oskar Sundqvist and Jake Walman.
“They said really good things about Detroit and the fans and everything, so I’m looking forward to that,” Husso said Sunday from St. Louis, where he was packing his belongings. He is traveling to his native Finland on Tuesday.
Like Nedeljkovic, Husso wants to establish consistency. He posted a 2.56 GAA and .919 save percentage in 40 games last season; in the first 20 appearances, Husso had a 2.03 GAA and .935 save percentage, followed by a 3.08 GAA and .904 save percentage down the stretch.
He appeared in seven playoff games for the Blues, including starting the first three games of their series win against the Minnesota Wild. He won the opener with a 37-shot shutout, then allowed nine goals combined in the next two, both losses, before being shelved in favor of Jordan Binnington. Husso returned in net in the Blues’ second-round series against the eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche after Binnington was injured. He went 1-3, with a 4.16 GAA and .879 save percentage, against the Avs.
“I need to be on the level that I played long parts of last season,” Husso said. “That’s my goal, to be on that level every single night. I’m really excited for the opportunity.”
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 is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.