The Ducks acquired goaltender Ville Husso from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for future considerations, both clubs announced on Monday.
Husso, 30, will report to San Diego (American Hockey League), where a position of relative strength has been weakened considerably by severe lower-body injuries to netminders Tomas Suchanek and Calle Clang. Husso, even more so than depth veteran Oskar Dansk, could be considered something of an AHL-NHL tweener. He’s made 141 appearances at the top level. That included nine this season with Detroit, when he also played 13 games in the AHL with Grand Rapids.
That means Husso will address an immediate need in San Diego, and that he could also fill a future one as an NHL backup if a potential trade of the longest-tenured Duck, goalie John Gibson, comes to fruition. Gibson sustained an injury in Boston on Saturday that is not expected to linger.
In the 2021-22 season, Husso ousted Stanley Cup winner and recent 4 Nations Face-Off star Jordan Binnington from the St. Louis net, leading the Blues with 38 starts and 40 games played. He was traded to Detroit that offseason and signed to a three-year deal with an annual average value of $4.75 million, which is set to expire on July 1.
His time in red and white, however, underwhelmed, as his save percentage plummeted below .900 and his goals-against average ballooned to well above 3.00 in each of his three campaigns in the Motor City. This season, he fell behind Alex Lyon and Cam Talbot, making him a pricey yet superfluous asset for the Red Wings.
Now, Detroit, which has gone from one of the league’s most disappointing teams to its one of its hottest after hiring a name-brand coach in Todd McLellan, cleared some salary cap space ahead of the trade deadline, while the Ducks plugged a transitory hole in their goalie pipeline.
This was a deal consummated between friends as Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek and Detroit’s Steve Yzerman worked together in both Detroit and Tampa Bay. This is the second trade between the former colleagues this season, after the Ducks acquired Robby Fabbri and a fourth-round draft pick in exchange for prospect goalie Gage Alexander during the summer.