Jimmy Howard named goaltending coach for PWHL Detroit, bringing NHL track record to expansion team

Jimmy Howard, a longtime Detroit Red Wings goaltender and one of the most recognizable names in recent franchise history at the position, has been hired as the goaltending coach for PWHL Detroit. The move places Howard on the coaching side of hockey in the city where his NHL legacy took hold, as the expansion club prepares for its first season this fall.

PWHL Detroit is among the newest teams in the PWHL, a women’s professional league that has been steadily building its on-ice and organizational footprint. For a club in its early buildout, staff decisions carry outsized weight, especially for goaltending, where development depends on day-to-day technical work and consistent systems. Howard’s appointment is designed to establish that foundation quickly rather than treating it as an afterthought.

Howard previously played for the Red Wings organization before retiring from the NHL. According to Yahoo Sports, after his playing career ended he occasionally served as a studio analyst for Bally Sports Detroit, indicating a continued presence in the local hockey media ecosystem while remaining close to the sport’s higher-level conversations.

As goaltending coach, Howard’s role will focus on the details that separate good starts from repeatable performance, including position-specific mechanics and in-game decision-making. For an expansion roster, those elements matter because the team will be assembling its goaltending depth and style while also working to align with broader defensive structure and team tactics.

The hiring also indicates how PWHL Detroit is thinking about credibility and local connection. Howard’s Detroit ties are immediate, but the bigger point is that he can serve as a bridge between the standards of the NHL and the realities of building within a new professional environment. The club’s goaltenders will be asked to handle both the physical demands of elite play and the mental load that comes with a new team learning how it wants to win.

What to watch next is how PWHL Detroit organizes its goaltending pipeline and whether Howard’s coaching emphasis influences the team’s on-ice identity early in the season. With the debut approaching this fall, preseason training and the first stretch of regular-season games should provide the clearest view of how the staff is translating experience into repeatable goaltending structure.