It was expected that the Red Wings were going to have their backup goaltender situation straightened out by now, but Chris Osgood isn't returning from his golf trip to Scotland until Tuesday (today). He is heading to British Columbia once he gets back to North America, so it looks as though Red Wings general manager Ken Holland won't get a chance to speak with Osgood until Wednesday.
Once Holland does talk to Osgood, a decision could finally be made about who will serve as Jimmy Howard's backup for the 2011-12 season.
"There’s a couple of guys we have an interest in the open market and there’s Chris Osgood," Holland said. "I want to talk to him before I make a decision."
From the sounds of it, Holland wants to make sure Osgood is healthy and ready to play for another season before deciding anything. At this point it is really down to another season with Osgood as the backup or bringing back Ty Conklin. The free agent market is sparse after the Red Wings were unable to land a guy like Tomas Vokoun, so it's entirely possible they will decide just to go with Osgood, especially with Joey MacDonald re-signing as the Wings' insurance policy.
Holland also wants to talk with Kris Draper sometime this week to decide what is going to happen with his future. Forward is pretty much set for the Red Wings unless a trade happens, so Draper could be headed for retirement.