The advice to sign Jared Coreau came after a night he let in six goals.
Since that time, the Detroit Red Wings have seen much to like, and backed that up by signing Coreau to a two-year contract Wednesday.
It’s worth $575,000 in the NHL/$150,000 in the minors in year one and $650,000 in year two.
The fact it morphs from two-way deal to one-way indicates how highly Wings management thinks of the 6-foot-5, 235-pound goalie.
“We see him as our top goalie prospect,” assistant general manager Ryan Martin told the Free Press. “He went from one victory his first year pro to almost 30 last season.”
The Wings first signed Coreau, 24, after he’d played at Northern Michigan from 2011-12 through 2012-13. He split 2013-14 between the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) and Toledo Walleye (ECHL), going winless in five appearances with the Griffins.
Coreau finished 2015-16 at 29-15-2 with a .922 save percentage that was tied for fourth in the AHL and a 2.43 goals-against average that ranked 10. He was fifth overall in victories.
Coreau has been called up by the Wings to have in reserve, but has yet to play in an NHL game. That’s almost certain to change this coming season. “We expect he will be recalled at some point, that’s just how it works,” Martin said.
Ideally, Coreau uses his third year of pro hockey to show he can be the Wings’ backup in 2017-18.
It was former goaltender Chris Osgood who pushed for the Wings to add Coreau to the fold.
“Chris Osgood deserves the majority of credit for us signing him as a free agent,” Martin
said.  “Ozzie saw him once and he let in six goals, and Ozzie still said sign this guy, he’s very raw but he competes really hard. He hasn’t had any instruction.
“Ozzie really liked the foundational skills he saw in him.”
Once Coreau turned pro, he gained from the tutelage of Jeff Salajko, who earlier this summer was promoted from goaltending development coach to goaltending coach with the Wings.
“Jared would be the first to admit his adjustment to the pro game was a bit of a challenge,” Martin said.
“He got in better shape and worked a lot with Jeff, and Jeff deserves a lot of credit.”
Coreau filed for arbitration by Tuesday’s deadline for restricted free agents, but a hearing was avoided within a day.