"You're Just Jimmy's Type..."

Chris Osgood's bout with the flu is the best thing that ever happened to Jimmy Howard. Along every step of his development, Howard has never been under real pressure to live up to expectations. Whenever he faltered, there was always a safety net of supporters telling him that he was still young, still developing, and that everything would eventually work itself out. Up to this point, Howard has been allowed to develop his game at the lower levels, far away from the toughest job in Detroit, the starting goaltender for the Red Wings.

We all knew Jimmy Howard. He was that guy that everybody said was supposed to be the next great Wings goalie. He was like Dick Clark, he never seemed to age. I swear the kid has been 23 years old since 2004. He was the perpetual light at the end of the tunnel for any Hasek-hater or Ozzie-basher. Howard was widely known as a can't-miss superprospect, but nobody ever seemed to raise the most obvious of questions: "If he's so great, why the hell is he still playing in Grand Rapids?"

In the salary cap era of the NHL, that question has been answered. Teams like the Red Wings don't have the luxury of paying a veteran backup $1-3 million a year to keep the seat warm for a developing youngster. More than ever, young NHL players are being thrown right into the fire because their teams can't find a financial reason to explain why the kid they just paid $15 million should be wasting his skills in Sault Ste. Marie.

Now, Jimmy Howard is no longer a prospect. He is 25 years old. He has plenty of minor league experience. Ozzie is out, it's Jimmy's job for now. It's time for Howard to show us something, and he has. Statistically, Howard has been more than solid in the last few games, but I wasn't 100% convinced until I watched him last night. He was terrific. The Wings allowed far too many odd man rushes (I won't even get started on that), but Howard bailed out his defense on multiple occasions. One of the goals was complete luck, and another was a seeing-eye shot from the point that Howard never saw. Aside from that, he could have stopped the 3rd period goal, but it was by no means soft. All in all, Howard has played well and, aside from last night, the Wings have been winning. Let's not go assigning nicknames or anything, but it's safe to say that the early returns on Jimmy Howard are looking good.

Quick note: How ironic is it that Howard's birthday is March 26, the same day of my greatest Red Wings memory, the 6-5 overtime beatdown (literally) of the Colorado Avalanche that spurred the Wings on to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships? Weird...