Red Wings prospect Jared Coreau signs two-year extension

No two pathways to the NHL are the same. This fact is especially true for goaltenders. You jump around from league to league, placed into the net when you are needed and discarded when you don’t perform up to the team’s standards. It is a tough, tough position. When you find a goalie with that “it” factor, you definitely don’t want to let him go. The Red Wings may have found their man in Jared Coreau. Where does he stack up on the goalie depth chart?

Coreau early yesterday had filed for arbitration in hopes that he could broker a better deal. The pressure of that filing surely helped with this deal.

The deal that was first reported by CapFriendly carries an AAV of 612,500. The first year of the deal is a two-way deal worth 575k while in the NHL and 150k while in the AHL. The second year of the deal is one way and worth 650k. The financial security for a minor league player is huge and this gives him more of a cushion than he had before.

As far as AHL goaltenders go, Coreau is right near the top. Still young at 24 years of age, he still has some potential left in his game as well. This past season he had a sv% of .922 in 47 games. Those numbers were good enough to put him fifth in the league. With names like Peter Budaj and Matt Murray ahead of him on the list, it is easy to see why the Wings are excited to see what they have in the netminder. 

The situation with Jimmy Howard has remained fluid as both sides have let their feelings be known. Meanwhile, Petr Mrazek is in the middle of negotiations with the team and could come to an agreement any day. Coreau is a good back up plan in case something falls through and they need a player to fill in, in a pinch. 

Coreau’s day has yet to come but if he continues the way he has, surely he will find himself in the NHL. Just another day in the life of a professional goalie, eh?