If Comrie ends up in AHL, Moose get missing puzzle piece

WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Less than two weeks after starting in goal for the Detroit Red Wings in his return to Bell MTS Place and given a video tribute commemorating the four seasons he spent playing in Winnipeg, Eric Comrie is once again a member of the Winnipeg Jets organization.

With Winnipeg having two healthy and capable goaltenders in Connor Hellebuyck and Laurent Brossoit, the Jets’ decision to claim Comrie on Thursday was not made to put a bandaid on a dire goaltending situation—as most goalie waiver-wire acquisitions are. This waiver-claim was different, as the Jets claimed Comrie with the intention of the 24-year-old goaltender joining the Moose and sliding back into his once long-occupied third spot on Winnipeg’s goaltender depth chart.

For the Jets to be able to send Comrie down to the AHL, they’ll have to once again pass him through waivers. And considering Comrie has been snagged off the waiver wire recently - by Arizona before their trading of Comrie to Detroit - it’s no slam dunk that the Jets will be able to send him across the hallway to their AHL affiliate.

“I’m not exactly sure what’s going to happen,” Moose head coach Pascal Vincent admitted to InsideAHLHockey.com after last Fridays practice. “But for now he’s ours.”

Despite the fact that the ‘next man-up’ torch has been bestowed upon 21-year-old goaltender Mikhail Berdin, the Jets re-acquired Comrie. But why?

Well, both Berdin -- and the Manitoba Moose -- need more support at the goaltender position.

Now, don’t be mistaken. Berdin is still the guy between the pipes until proven otherwise. Whilenhis numbers— 2.92 GAA, .912 SV%—don’t do him justice in portraying just how solid he’s been this season, there’s no question he’s been the Moose’s most valuable player thus far into the 2019-2020 season.

However, despite Berdin’s flashes of brilliance - such as when he was named the AHL’s player of the week on November 18th (4-0-0-0, .967 SV%, 1.24 GAA) - the Moose are treading on thin ice with how they’ve deployed their sophomore goalie this season. Having played 29 of the Moose’s 33 games this season, Berdin is currently on pace to play a whopping 67 games this season. But the thing is, Manitoba hasn’t really had much of a choice when it comes to Berdin’s usage, as the Moose have struggled mightily in games where either of the two backup goalies they’ve had this season - Griffin Outhouse (3.70 GAA, .882 SV%) and Adam Carlson (3.52 GAA, .863 SV%) - have started.

With the Moose recording a 6-9-0-0 record since Berdin received league-wide recognition, Berdin’s confidence seems to be at an all-time low. It almost seems like he feels the weight of Manitoba’s struggles are his shoulders .

“I’m pissed about [the] last [few] games,” Berdin told InsideAHLHockey on Friday before the team went on to split their weekend series against the Rampage. “I’m pissed [with] how I played. I didn't help my team.”

Vincent, however, thinks otherwise.

“The team, in general, has been going through a real tough schedule. He’s playing great for us,” Vincent said after the teams’ 6-4 win over the San Antonio Rampage on Saturday. “All players, during the course of the season, will have highs and lows. But even more-so for a goalie, when the team in front of you is not as sharp as it should be it could have an impact on your numbers and your game.”

The Moose’s season has been a roller coaster, with the team responding to their 1-7-0-0 start with a subsequent eight wins in nine games before the teams’ recent stretch of sub .500 hockey in the last couple of weeks. While being the definitive starter gives Berdin some exceptional trial-runs in terms of managing the emotions that come with a long season, you never want your goaltender too high, or too low. As much as it’s a team game, the Moose want Berdin to develop confidence in himself and surely, they don’t want him burned out come playoff time.

The timing of the Jets’ gamble on acquiring Comrie—and inevitably placing him on waivers with the intent of assigning him to the AHL—makes a lot of sense. If the remaining 30 teams in the league bypass Comrie’s services, the organization will be able to provide the Moose with the missing piece to their puzzle.

“Is there a better partner for any goalie, than Eric Comrie? I don’t know,” Vincent said. “I don’t think so. He’s a hard working guy. A great team player. Very positive. Super intelligent. He can stand up in the dressing room and be a real good leader. [Berdin and Comrie would] be a good combination for sure.”

Comrie would be the perfect addition for this group.

Being able to have Comrie with the Moose wouldn't just provide Manitoba with a solid insurance policy for their goaltending, it’d also create some healthy competition in the crease and you ought to think that in itself could elevate Berdin’s game even further.

Acquiring Comrie’s rights was a well-thought out ploy by the Jets, as you can’t just bring any higher-end AHL goaltender into the fold and expect cohesiveness between the two goalies. While Berdin pointed out that the goalie position is rather individual, he reflected fondly on his time playing with Comrie last season.

“He helped me a lot,” Berdin said. “He’s a good person."

To say the least, Comrie, a second round pick of the Jets in the 2013 draft, was a very popular teammate during his time dawning a Moose sweater. Just minutes before he was first picked up off waivers by the Arizona Coyotes on October 1st, Vincent says the Moose pushed back their practice time so that they could begin practice with Comrie, who was all suited up in Moose practice apparel in the event the team received confirmation that he was staying with the organization. When the bad news was delivered, it was hard for the team to digest.

“When we found out as a team,” said Vincent. “And just to tell you the impact he’s had on our team—the team went…it’s almost like you knocked them out. It took some time for us to recover from that.”

Moose players are amped up at even just the possibility of Comrie returning.

“There were a lot of guys that were close with Coms,” said forward Seth Griffith. “He was a big part of our team last year. It sucked to have him go like that. It’s exciting he’s back and hopefully we get to see him soon.”

On paper, the Moose - assuming that the likes of Jansen Harkins and maybe even Logan Shaw or Joona Luoto return to the AHL at some point - look equipped to find a way to wiggle their way into a playoff spot. But one transaction can (and at some point this season, probably will) completely change that. There is going to be speed bumps for the Moose, this season.

However, the organizations low-risk/ high-reward ploy of acquiring Comrie for the purpose of keeping the Moose competitive and taking some pressure off of Berdin could be the key to helping the Moose stay the course throughout the inevitable wrinkles that’ll be thrown at the Moose’s personnel throughout the season.