Chris Osgood’s great career

Many will tell you that Chris Osgood is NOT an amazing goalkeeper; people will tell you that he only wins cups because he plays for the Red Wings. These points may be valid, but there’s no way he’s not one of the best goalies in modern NHL history. He has won three Stanley Cups, including two as the primary goaltender during those playoffs. Seriously, how many other goalkeepers can say, “I punched the second best goalkeeper in history with my fist”? Mike Vernon, and no one.

Osgood entered the league drafted by Detroit in the 1991 entry draft and was eventually called up to the NHL in the 1993-1994 season. He started his career as a backup to Mike Vernon, who was a very successful goaltender for the Detroit Red Wings; leading them to a Stanley Cup championship in 1996. That year, Osgood led the league in GAA and wins (2.17 and 39, respectively). Osgood had almost no playing time in that postseason, but he still finished with his name in the Cup. In addition, Osgood scored a goal as a goalie, becoming the second goaltender to shoot the puck into the net. Ron Hextall also scored a goal directly as net-keeper.

The next season, Vernon left and Osgood had all the starts he could handle, leading the Red Wings to the finals, which resulted in back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, sweeping the Washington Capitals for the second straight time in the Finals. the Stanley Cup. That was the year in the playoffs when the Avalanche-Red Wings battled for the second straight playoff season. Osgood’s fight with Patrick Roy wasn’t as good as the fight with Vernon, but any time goalies throw punches, it’s good hockey.

After the Red Wings signed Dominik Hasek in 2001, Osgood became a free agent after the Wings tried to trade him multiple times. Osgood was signed by the New York Islanders, where his season numbers weren’t great by any stretch of the imagination. Osgood’s critics like to point out that he only got them into the playoffs and didn’t advance them to the second round. Of course, this is true, but the New York Islanders that season were a team without any serious stars or even top-tier hockey players. He timeshared with Garth Snow, then, in the following season, he timeshared with Snow and Rick DiPietro before being traded to the St. Louis Blues.

He played even worse on the Blues team, but again had very little help on that team. Chris Pronger was still a St. Louis Blue at the time, and they also had Keith Tkachuk, who scored over 20 goals. Apart from those two good players, there was no one in the Blues to protect Osgood or score goals. It’s completely unfair to look at Osgood’s numbers while he was at Blues and say he’s not a high caliber goalkeeper. To say that Osgood only plays well with an excellent one in front of him is ignorant and stupid. Goalies can only do so much to help a team succeed in the regular season. The playoffs are an entirely different matter because an attractive goalie can potentially be the only reason a team heads into the postseason.

Osgood essentially played part-time for a season and a half with the Islanders, and still won most of the games he played. His GAA was higher than his career average, but the defense (and offense) on that Islanders team was lackluster at best. It’s unfair to place much of the blame, or credit, on a bad team’s goalie when they go seven games and are eliminated in the first round. When he played for the Blues, his GAA and his wins were up compared to the previous season. The Blues had one of the longest streaks of consecutive playoff appearances achieved in professional sports history, but when a team like this lets its veterans and young stars go to other teams, you can’t expect the goalie to make up for everything. it’s.

Osgood won his third Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings last season in 2008. Dominik Hasek was again the No. 1 goalie early in the postseason. Hasek miserably played his first three games against the Predators; so Wings coach Mike Babcock put Osgood in goal. The Wings, in turn, began to dominate the playoffs, winning nine games in a row, including a four-game sweep of the Colorado Avalanche. He posted a 1.55 GAA and had three shutouts, two of which came in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was runner-up for the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) behind teammate Henrik Zetterberg.

This season, the Detroit Red Wings are primed and poised to make another run at back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. The Wings are second in the West behind the Sharks by four points. In all likelihood, the Wings will end up with second seed and host division rival Nashville. The Wings may struggle against the Predators, and Ty Conklin may even see some playing time during the postseason if Osgood falters. This season with the Wings has been one of Osgood’s worst statistical seasons in recent years. His SV% is only .884 and his GAA is 3.18.

Regardless of these numbers, and the outcome of this postseason for Detroit, Chris Osgood is one of the greatest goalies of all time. I’m not saying he’s THE best, but his championships and his ability to anchor a solid postseason team are undeniable. If the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup again this season with Chris Osgood, he could even become one of the top 5 goalies in NHL history. As far as goalies go, just about every other goalie in the league today (Broduer excluded) wishes their careers were as successful as Chris Osgood’s.