Profile
Born: November 5, 1991 (25 years old) – Perth, Ontario, Canada
Height/Weight: 6’6″, 220lbs
Drafted: Undrafted
Contract: 1 year remaining (RFA), $613K
2016-2017 Scoresheet
GP: 14
Record: 5W-4L-3OTL
Stats: 3.46 GAA, .886 SV%
Last Season’s Performance
Ok, let’s get this out of the way up front: Goalies are voodoo and find success on a combination of unicorn farts and blood magic. But, based on that, last year’s version of Jared Coreau must have lost his spellbook.
Finally making his pro debut after another injury to Jimmy Howard and some very inconsistent play by Petr Mrazek, Coreau was definitely looking to show Red Wings brass that he belonged in the big leagues instead of the AHL. Unfortunately, he instead showed more of the inconsistency we were already getting from Mrazek.
Those stat lines from above are not kind when big names regarded as “good” goalies in the league are putting up GAAs under 2.50 and SV%s above .910 – even looking at even strength vs special teams, Coreau was not good even, down a man, or up a man. Blashill and Holland gave Coreau every bit of confidence they could afford while still trying to salvage the season, even starting him over Mrazek for the Centennial Classic against the Toronto Maple Leafs. But he consistently couldn’t get the job done.
To be fair, Coreau did manage to post 2 shut-outs during his 14 games. He also didn’t exactly get to play against garbage teams while putting up his season numbers… his first 6 games were all on the road (vs Pittsburgh, Florida, Ottawa, Toronto, LA, and San Jose). Those were followed by Pittsburgh again (at home this time), and a mixed bag of 3 games vs Boston and single games against Montreal, the New York Rangers, New Jersey, and Minnesota. Not that all of those teams can be classified as powerhouses, but that does stack most of his games against teams significantly better than last year’s Wings.
What To Expect This Season
Given how last season went, I’d be very surprised to see Coreau grab a job higher than 3rd goalie to start this season’s campaign – which is pretty much where he is already. Even with Mrazek’s reported attitude issues and Howard’s age and injury history, I expext both of them to start the season wearing the Winged Wheel while Coreau dons a Griffins sweater.
The team was looking for Coreau to steal a game or two last season during his short stint, but instead he mostly looked like someone unable to elevate and play beyond the skill of the team in front of him. Sure, he had his moments where he would flash a glove or reach a leg back to make a great save, but good goalies aren’t made by a sprinkling of amazing moments. Good goalies are models of consistency that make tough saves look easy and routine, anticipating shots just before they happen and doing it over and over and over.
The numbers dont lie – they may be skewed, and from a small sample size, but they still are what they are. Coreau was not good at being consistently better than the rest of our team – our skaters had a problem holding leads and preventing shots no matter the score, and Coreau had issues with letting those shots in. To his advantage, a lot can happen in the off-season if you train hard enough and improve on your weaknesses – which I’m sure he, and every other member of the Wings, has been working on all summer. But to get another shot at tending an NHL net, he probably has to wait for an injury or a trade after being handed the reins last season.
Where Will Coreau Spend Most Of His Games This Season?
| In the Red Wings’ net. | 7 |
| On the Red Wings’ bench. | 29 |
| In Grand Rapids. | 278 |
| With another NHL team. | 39 |
