Curtis Joseph

[Guest Crymson]

Howard is unproven, and goalie's are 50/50 anyways. I'm kind of nervous about our goaltending situation. Everything I've read about Howard indicates he's no longer considered the second coming of Roy and more like....a rookie Osgood.

All goaltenders are unproven when they're rookies, champ.

Howard played several games behind a decimated defensive corps this year and did notably well. 4-2 with a .926 save percentage whilst playing with a defensive corps made up of his fellow Griffins is quite good.

[eva unit zero 271]

If the Wings sign any goaltender, backup or not, I'd rather it be someone fairly young. We don't need another grandfather clock playing goalie.

Really though, in all honesty, hasn't Howard been here long enough to finally deserve a shot? I mean, maybe it's just me, but it would be nice if the Wings actually developed a goaltender within the system again. The last goalie to be drafted by the Wings, and actually play a meaningful role on the Wings, is... Osgood. Yeah, it's been that long.

The names that are being thrown around, I.E. Kolzig, Lalime, Thibault, etc. etc., are choices that people are mentioning just for the sake of mentioning names. The only goaltender really worth anything in free agency, in my opinion anyways, would be Dan Ellis, but that's out of the question. So, since there really is nobody better, Howard is the obvious choice.

I have been saying the Wings should look into signing Brent Krahn or Alex Auld, if it can be doen cheaply. The worst we could do is get someone to play tandem with Larsson in Grand Rapids or lose them on waivers when they are outplayed by Howard. The best we do is we get another young goaltender who was once considered a 'sure thing' and maybe he realizes some of that untapped potential a few years down the road. I'd rather have too many good young players than not enough. Krahn was supposed to be 'the next big star' when he was drafted out of juniors...and he has barely gotten a chance. Granted, the Flames have Kiprusoff...but Krahn showed a lot of promise and might still be able to deliver on it.

[P. Marlowe 748]

I'll give you 41 plus 1 reasons why Detroit will not sign Cujo and why he won't come back for his last shot at the Cup.

...he''ll have to play at least 41 games in the regular season (which he won't if Howard is play 20, whats that leave our REAL #1, 21 games to play, no...

...or he'd have to play at least 1 game in the finals or the above to get his name on the Cup, and unless there is a total FUBAR SNAFU by Osgood this coming season, Cujo wouldn't see either of those, so it would be pointless for him to sign here for one last try at the Cup, because he wouldn't be the starter...

Don't backups get their names on the cup?

[skacore 2]

I'll give you 41 plus 1 reasons why Detroit will not sign Cujo and why he won't come back for his last shot at the Cup.

...he''ll have to play at least 41 games in the regular season (which he won't if Howard is play 20, whats that leave our REAL #1, 21 games to play, no...

...or he'd have to play at least 1 game in the finals or the above to get his name on the Cup, and unless there is a total FUBAR SNAFU by Osgood this coming season, Cujo wouldn't see either of those, so it would be pointless for him to sign here for one last try at the Cup, because he wouldn't be the starter...

I don't think goalies operate the same way players do when it comes to getting their name on the cup, it just doesn't seem right, a back up goalie would get his name on the cup only like 5% of the time if that was the case.

[eva unit zero 271]

I don't think goalies operate the same way players do when it comes to getting their name on the cup, it just doesn't seem right, a back up goalie would get his name on the cup only like 5% of the time if that was the case.

Backup goaltenders absolutely get their names on the Cup.

It's how you end up with Andre Racicot, a guy who never played a single playoff game in his CAREER, and never played more than 26 regular season games in a single season during a 5-year career that saw him make 68 appearances, with his name on the Cup.

[spyder 0]

I for one never thought theyd bring back Hasek, and they did that, so I guess anything is possible. Hes not a great player anymore, but he would be added security, especially for the playoffs, and is a team player. He never complained about the way he was treated in Detroit..

Hasek was great at the beginning of the season, but then the injuries started happening and he started missing games, he is probably just getting to that age where stuff starts breaking down easily, has nothing to do with his greatness or skill.

[miller76 463]

Why would Miller come to Detroit to share duties?!

I guess in my own opinion, like I stated in my post. I keep hearing talk about Miller coming back to Michigan. Of course him coming here would be unfounded, I thought it would be cool to have another good goaltender to pay well and share duties like they did this year. Cause obviously it worked. Who's to say one starting goaltender and a measly back up is what your supposed to do?

[HenryMalredo 2]

I guess in my own opinion, like I stated in my post. I keep hearing talk about Miller coming back to Michigan. Of course him coming here would be unfounded, I thought it would be cool to have another good goaltender to pay well and share duties like they did this year. Cause obviously it worked. Who's to say one starting goaltender and a measly back up is what your supposed to do?

Miller wouldn't sign in Detroit to share duties. Hes still young, he's not gonna split time.

[VM1138 1,921]

Miller wouldn't sign in Detroit to share duties. Hes still young, he's not gonna split time.

Exactly. It'd be great, but I don't see him coming here until way down the line.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

That'd be awesome. CuJo couldnt hurt thats for sure, I'd take him back but I dont see it happening.

[58Miles2Joe 12]

Yes !

We should bring Cujo back for one very good reason: I have a Joseph jersey.

[Booster313 138]

I'm so tired of hearing that we treated Joseph bad. It's nonsense. He could have walked away any time he wanted. Why didn't he? M-O-N-E-Y. No one was going to pay him what we were. I am not in any way criticizing him for staying and taking the money. But it was his CHOICE. We didn't do anything but pay him millions to sit on the bench when he could have gotten up and walked away and signed with anyone he wanted any time his little heart desired. He can't have it both ways. He can't stay for the cash and still have been "treated pretty bad." He CHOSE to sit on the bench because he wouldn't walk away from the cash. He stayed for money. He wanted the bread, dough, smackers, buckaroos. In what way does a guy who wouldn't leave because he was so well compensated he would sit on the bench here instead of leaving and being a starter somewhere else make him a victim of anything?

I do agree he's not coming back, but the reason is that I don't see us giving the starting job with Ozzie having the year he did, I don't see Josphf as an upgrade from that. Joseph isn't going to sit on the bench when we have a cap and can't overpay him to do so.

That's kind of a good point...but I would still argue that it was a bad situation for him that year.

[shadow47 1]

I laugh when people talk about Joseph and "great" goaltenders...this guy has rarely done anything memorable and has had as many chokefests as upsets...sure he's hung on awhile to get his win total high, and I admired his play in that San Jose game in the playoffs, but what's the lure, I ask? Why no one ever mentions Dwayne Roloson is beyond me...

[miller76 463]

I laugh when people talk about Joseph and "great" goaltenders...this guy has rarely done anything memorable and has had as many chokefests as upsets...sure he's hung on awhile to get his win total high, and I admired his play in that San Jose game in the playoffs, but what's the lure, I ask? Why no one ever mentions Dwayne Roloson is beyond me...

Roloson! Your joking right? Not that Cujo is any better. I would take my chances with Howard, before acquiring Roloson or Cujo any day.

[Osgood=WIN! 0]

Man, i'd love to have Cujo back. The guy is still a beast of a goaltender, and he proved it last year by saving Kipper's ass.

If we could have an Osgood/Cujo tandem, i'd be happy as hell.

GET IT DONE KENNY!!!!

[Guest Crymson]

I laugh when people talk about Joseph and "great" goaltenders...this guy has rarely done anything memorable and has had as many chokefests as upsets...sure he's hung on awhile to get his win total high, and I admired his play in that San Jose game in the playoffs, but what's the lure, I ask? Why no one ever mentions Dwayne Roloson is beyond me...

He was hideous in both the Anaheim and Calgary series.

Man, i'd love to have Cujo back. The guy is still a beast of a goaltender, and he proved it last year by saving Kipper's ass.

If we could have an Osgood/Cujo tandem, i'd be happy as hell.

GET IT DONE KENNY!!!!

... he proved this in one game? I think you're going a bit fast.

Cujo has some wonderful games. He also has some terrible games. Case in point: the two games he played in the playoffs this season. He saved the first one and got lit up immediately in the other.

Aside from that, he showed last season in Phoenix that he can rarely pull a great game out of the hat anymore.

I laugh when people talk about Joseph and "great" goaltenders...this guy has rarely done anything memorable and has had as many chokefests as upsets...sure he's hung on awhile to get his win total high, and I admired his play in that San Jose game in the playoffs, but what's the lure, I ask? Why no one ever mentions Dwayne Roloson is beyond me...

I imagine nobody ever mentions Dwayne Roloson because he is under contract in Edmonton next year.

Edited June 15, 2008 by Crymson

[servo 15]

Ozzie is the ellite level goal tender, not Ryan Miller. He is our number one "go to guy" until he proves that he can't perform at this level or with this organization. What more does he need to do to convince you that he is the man? How many cups does he have to win the team? How many allstar games does he need to play? Vezina you say? So if he wins the Vezina next year will we need to bring in someone else? For those of you who say, he will never win the Vezina, your right. How could he possibly when fans of his own team debate bringing someone else (Ryan Miller) to replace him? You guys are ridiculous.

Sean Burk, Ed Belfour, Roloson and Joseph are all Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay past their prime and what we need to do is show that Howard is just as good as any Ryan Miller, Niklas Backstrom or any other guy. Before they got a chance to play, they were just another draft pick. And Joseph sucks now, thats why he was run out of Detroit. Joseph for insurace is like getting flood insurance in the desert.

[Osgood=WIN! 0]

He was hideous in both the Anaheim and Calgary series.

... he proved this in one game? I think you're going a bit fast.

Cujo has some wonderful games. He also has some terrible games. Case in point: the two games he played in the playoffs this season. He saved the first one and got lit up immediately in the other.

Aside from that, he showed last season in Phoenix that he can rarely pull a great game out of the hat anymore.

I imagine nobody ever mentions Dwayne Roloson because he is under contract in Edmonton next year.

He was hideous in the Calgary series??? He was the only guy who showed up!!! He played out of his mind when no one else on the team seemed to care. He kept us in that series alot longer than we deserved to be.

And yeah, I guess I am moving a bit too fast with what I said, but he can be scary when he's on his game, as he proved, and he would be an excellent addition to the team as part of a tandem.

[Guest LivingtheDream]

My God people, would you please let go of the past, it is really annoying. Cojo? Cujo??? Can you even begin to understand how we jilted him? If he did agree to come back, that would prove he has zero pride.

[Osgood=WIN! 0]

My God people, would you please let go of the past, it is really annoying. Cojo? Cujo??? Can you even begin to understand how we jilted him? If he did agree to come back, that would prove he has zero pride.

Hey, Hasek was brought back. Anything is possible. I honestly think Cujo would swallow his pride and come back if he was asked. He's never won a cup, and playing in Detroit he would have an excellent chance at achieving that.

[Guest LivingtheDream]

Hey, Hasek was brought back. Anything is possible. I honestly think Cujo would swallow his pride and come back if he was asked. He's never won a cup, and playing in Detroit he would have an excellent chance at achieving that.

But we didn't treat Hasek like a piece of 8 million dollar garbage. We even sent Cujo to GR!!! He was playing in the minors, he wore a jersey inside out at practice... No way, he was one pissed off big bucks goalie and he the right to be.

[Guest Crymson]

He was hideous in the Calgary series??? He was the only guy who showed up!!! He played out of his mind when no one else on the team seemed to care. He kept us in that series alot longer than we deserved to be.

And yeah, I guess I am moving a bit too fast with what I said, but he can be scary when he's on his game, as he proved, and he would be an excellent addition to the team as part of a tandem.

If you'd like, I can get you a highlight reel that shows how many atrocious goals he let in. We couldn't afford to let in such goals in that series. He was supposed to be an elite-level goaltender, and Kiprusoff outplayed him BADLY.

Hey, Hasek was brought back. Anything is possible. I honestly think Cujo would swallow his pride and come back if he was asked. He's never won a cup, and playing in Detroit he would have an excellent chance at achieving that.

Hasek had never had a bad season. He has still never had a bad season. He never had a season in which the reason he didn't play was because nobody wanted him. He ALMOST ended up unemployed before '06-'07, but this was because of injuries rather than playing ability; his season before that in Ottawa was very good. Cujo? He played two atrocious years in Phoenix, and this was why nobody wanted to sign him.

We brought Hasek back, yes. The chance we took on him was not on his playing ability. It was on his ability to stay healthy. When he was healthy, he played great hockey. Nobody is worried about Cujo's ability to stay healthy. Nay, teams are rightfully worried about his ability to play goaltender.

In short, the situations of Hasek and Joseph are incomparable, and Hasek was and is still the better goaltender. The performance gap between them has indeed probably become greater as the two of them aged.

There are better options out there, and I see no reason to spend money on an unreliable old fart at the expense of developing our up-and-comer. Mind you, that up-and-comer has proven that he can play as a reliable backup.

Edited June 15, 2008 by Crymson

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

If you'd like, I can get you a highlight reel that shows how many atrocious goals he let in. We couldn't afford to let in such goals in that series. He was supposed to be an elite-level goaltender, and Kiprusoff outplayed him BADLY.

Hasek had never had a bad season. He has still never had a bad season. He never had a season in which the reason he didn't play was because nobody wanted him. He ALMOST ended up unemployed before '06-'07, but this was because of injuries rather than playing ability; his season before that in Ottawa was very good. Cujo? He played two atrocious years in Phoenix, and this was why nobody wanted to sign him.

We brought Hasek back, yes. The chance we took on him was not on his playing ability. It was on his ability to stay healthy. When he was healthy, he played great hockey. Nobody is worried about Cujo's ability to stay healthy. Nay, teams are rightfully worried about his ability to play goaltender.

In short, the situations of Hasek and Joseph are incomparable, and Hasek was and is still the better goaltender. The performance gap between them has indeed probably become greater as the two of them aged.

There are better options out there, and I see no reason to spend money on an unreliable old fart at the expense of developing our up-and-comer. Mind you, that up-and-comer has proven that he can play as a reliable backup.

I'd like to see that highlight reel, because I think you're on crack. "outplayed by the other goaltender" is typically what people say when the Wings lose a series and can't figure out why other than to scapegoat the goalie.

The problem was not Joseph.

The Wings wouldn't have made it past the Predators had Joseph not bailed them out when Legace was faltering. He held Calgary to one goal in both game 5 and game 6. You lose two games in a row 1-0, seems like the problem is on offense. He also held them to two goals three other games in that series.

When your offense includes Datsyuk, Hull, Shanahan, Yzerman, Zetterberg and your boy Robert Lang (I'm surprised you don't think the loss is all his fault), the .939 save percentage Joseph had that postseason should've been plenty to get past Calgary, who once you got past Iginla, had Shean Donovan with 18 goals. Not exactly an offensive powerhouse, but they scored when it mattered. The Wings didn't.

To be clear, I don't want Joseph back here. But the Calgary loss was not due to "atrocious" goals he let in. He didn't completely stand on his head and steal the series for us, but he certainly didn't cost us it either.

EDIT: and we're also talking about a Calgary team that made it to game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The simple reason they beat the Wings is that they were the better team.

Edited June 15, 2008 by haroldsnepsts

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

I'd like to see that highlight reel, because I think you're on crack. "outplayed by the other goaltender" is typically what people say when the Wings lose a series and can't figure out why other than to scapegoat the goalie.

The problem was not Joseph.

The Wings wouldn't have made it past the Predators had Joseph not bailed them out when Legace was faltering. He held Calgary to one goal in both game 5 and game 6. You lose two games in a row 1-0, seems like the problem is on offense. He also held them to two goals three other games in that series.

When your offense includes Datsyuk, Hull, Shanahan, Yzerman, Zetterberg and your boy Robert Lang (I'm surprised you don't think the loss is all his fault), the .939 save percentage Joseph had that postseason should've been plenty to get past Calgary, who once you got past Iginla, had Shean Donovan with 18 goals. Not exactly an offensive powerhouse, but they scored when it mattered. The Wings didn't.

To be clear, I don't want Joseph back here. But the Calgary loss was not due to "atrocious" goals he let in. He didn't completely stand on his head and steal the series for us, but he certainly didn't cost us it either.

EDIT: and we're also talking about a Calgary team that made it to game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The simple reason they beat the Wings is that they were the better team.

Logic is a scary thing sometimes.

Joseph was far from atrocious in that Calgary series in 2004.

[Doggy 130]

Logic is a scary thing sometimes.

Joseph was far from atrocious in that Calgary series in 2004.

Yeah but he could've at least come up with ONE game-winner. I mean, is that too much to ask? I don't think so. Sometimes 50-something saves in a 1-0 OT game isn't enough. Cublow sucks!!