Curtis Joseph

[HenryMalredo 2]

We've seen some good goaltending performances in the last decade (Dom had his moments in 2002, and Osgood in 2008), but Cujo's play against Calgary was the best I've seen out of a Detroit goaltender in a decade.

[Guest Crymson]

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.

Sure. I'll find that reel for you, because, sv% or not, many of the goals CuJo gave up were very, very soft. I agree that Joseph bailed us out in the Preds series; however, 'bailed us out' happened because Legace's play went down the crapper.

I don't know how well Lang did or did not do in that series.

We've seen some good goaltending performances in the last decade (Dom had his moments in 2002, and Osgood in 2008), but Cujo's play against Calgary was the best I've seen out of a Detroit goaltender in a decade.

Apparently you didn't watch the 2002 playoffs.

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!!

In my opinion, game six was Cujo's only great game of the series. He was flawless. That the Flames scored that OT goal was the fault of Derian Hatcher deciding to play goalie #2 and thus leaving Gelinas wide open in front of the net. Even so, Joseph came only inches from making that save.

Edited June 16, 2008 by Crymson

[Statts 4]

I agree with most here... pass. Time to s*** or get off the pot with Howard.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

No thanks. It didn't work the first time, and Joseph certainly isn't a better goalie now. Besides, with Dom retiring, this is the perfect chance to let Howard come in as a back-up and get a chance to play behind and learn from Ozzie. I don't quite get the obsession with signing another "veteran" goaltender. We have one already -- a damn good one, nonetheless. Now is the time for Howard to get an opportunity to prove his development.

Curtis Joseph is done in the NHL. I don't care about the sentimental value whatsoever of him coming back, when he would provide nothing to the Red Wings. This would be a terrible idea, and hopefully Ken Holland will have nothing to do with it.

Edited June 16, 2008 by GoWings1905

[Guest EZBAKETHAGANGSTA]

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.

1)Still waiting for the highlight reel...

2)Hasek has had a bad season..... this year was atrocious. His stats are misleading to how badly he played and even then his stats arent all that good. Hasek was a better goalie now but if anythign the talent gap has SHRUNK not widened.

3) Joseph didnt play great in the Calgary series but it sure as hell wasent his fault. As Harold said " 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. " your cleary just an anti Curtis Joseph conspirator. Go home

[Guest Crymson]

1)Still waiting for the highlight reel...

2)Hasek has had a bad season..... this year was atrocious. His stats are misleading to how badly he played and even then his stats arent all that good. Hasek was a better goalie now but if anythign the talent gap has SHRUNK not widened.

3) Joseph didnt play great in the Calgary series but it sure as hell wasent his fault. As Harold said " 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. " your cleary just an anti Curtis Joseph conspirator. Go home

1) It appears to have been deleted from Youtube, unfortunately.

2) Joseph didn't have a job this year. What does that tell you about the talent gap?

3) Making insults that are rife with errors in grammar and spelling causes one to look quite silly. Work on those, please.

[Guest LivingtheDream]

I agree with most here... pass. Time to s*** or get off the pot with Howard.

Yea! Bluntness with a little crudeness is perfect here.

[NomadFromKazoo 42]

You can't just walk away when you're under contract.

You don't think the Wings were going to let him go? No, we want to pay you six mil a year to sit on the bench when we hit the jackpot and got the best goalie in the NHL (at that time). I'm making the assumption the Wings would have agreed to let him walk away. They probably actually have agreed to pay him a bunch of money to walk away. But he wanted the whole six mil a year. That's why he didn't walk away. And that's FINE. I'm not criticizing him for that. I am saying he can't stay for the whole wad of dough AND have been treated badly. Clearly the Wings would have negotiated his release but he CHOSE to stay and can't have it both ways.

[NomadFromKazoo 42]

......Please tell me this post is a joke.

Joseph signed a three year deal here for the same amount of money he was offered from Philly. Then after one year, the wings brought in Hasek, and basically left Cujo to dry, sending him to the minors. Cujo could never just 'leave' and sign with another team, he was under contract. I love the wings as much as anyone on here, but the way they treated Cujo was just embarassing. Cujo is an absolute class act, and I'm sorry things never worked out for him in Detroit. I don't think he'd want to come back, and I think the wings need to let Howard get his crack at the NHL.

Again, his being under contract is only an issue if the Wings won't let him go. Obviously they would. So why did he stay? And I clearly said I am NOT criticizing him, only saying he can't have it both ways. Actually read your post, it says you hope mine was a joke then you don't address my point other then the irrelevant you can't leave under contract when the Wings clearly would have let him go and probably paid him a pile of cash to do so. If you want to insult posts at least back up how you disagree with them. I hope yours was a joke.

[gowingsgo 3]

It does seem like the right move in order to stoke the fires of the goalie wars around here next season.

Oh lord knows we don't need to go back to our goalie war days. Please don't bring in a washed up Josieve.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Oh lord knows we don't need to go back to our goalie war days. Please don't bring in a washed up Josieve.

I'm confused.....when the hell did they *ever* go away?

Here's a recap of the past 6 years on LGW:

Manny, Manny, Cujo, Cujo!

Hasek, Hasek, Cujo, Cujo, Manny, Manny!

Manny, Manny, Ozzie, Ozzie!

Hasek, Hasek, Ozzie, Ozzie!

Ozzie, Hasek, Hasek, Ozzie!

Edited June 20, 2008 by Never Forget Mac #25

[skippy_kenn 0]

No Cujo will not be back in the Winged wheel. I know there were rumors of a trade with Buffalo for Miller but that has been dead for sometime now if the wings do go for a vet in goal they will probably go with Patrick Lalime, Jocelyn Thibault, or Kolzig.

[chrisdetroit 189]

No Cujo will not be back in the Winged wheel. I know there were rumors of a trade with Buffalo for Miller but that has been dead for sometime now if the wings do go for a vet in goal they will probably go with Patrick Lalime, Jocelyn Thibault, or Kolzig.

Ok I gotta add my 2 cents. Ozzie will be our starting goalie this year and Howard will be our back-up. If Howard falters, we will look for a replacement before the deadline.

Any speculation concerning Joseph or Ryan Miller is silly. Joseph is washed up and Miller would cost big $$$. Ozzie just won the cup and finished with nearly the top save % in the playoffs. He has proven that he is capable and as a bonus he is cheap. We have a young prospect who is out of minor league options.

This really is a no-brainer.

There is no goalie controversy unless something unforseen happens so everybody needs to think of other things to debate.

The free agent feeding frenzy is coming up. The bitching should start soon. We need Hossa, Fedorov, Forsburg.... Kenny needs to add toughness.... Secondary scoring sucks.... you know, the ususal crap....

[Guest Crymson]

Why on earth do so many people misspell 'Forsberg'? He's a first-ticket HOFer when he retires, ffs.

[T.Low 1,011]

We need to sign Cloutier as our third goalie to split back up time with Howard. Cloutier will come cheap and has many skills and techniques to teach the young Howard.

Edited June 21, 2008 by T.Low

[Dabura 12,232]

Cujo won't be back. Next thread.

[TNBT 3]

What we do as far as signing another goalie will depend on what we decide to do with Howard this year. Either way though, I don't see Joseph coming back here.

If we want to bring up Howard to backup Ozzie then I think we should look to sign a cheap prospect to give us some depth in the AHL. If we want to leave Howard in Grand Rapids all year then we should look to sign a solid goalie to play behind Ozzie, but not one who is past their prime like Joseph. A few names have been mentioned already, and Ray Emery and Dan Cloutier are also now available. The one thing we DON'T need to do is bring in a guy to start ahead of Ozzie, so that rules out guys like Miller.

Basically, if Howard comes up then we need to add a young/cheap prospect or two in net for a little depth. We've lost Joey MacDonald and Drew McIntyre in recent years, and Liv has gone home. However, if Howard is not coming up then we need a backup for Ozzie, not someone to replace him as the starter.

[CUJO#31 0]

Why on earth do so many people misspell 'Forsberg'? He's a first-ticket HOFer when he retires, ffs.

Pssssst.

I think it's because no one cares if they spell his name correctly...

FYI(Not gonna find a lot of love or respect for him here)

[glasgowcelticwing 18]

Just noticed this thread , not read it all . never going too . just gonna throw out my opinion . well one things for sure Ozzie has more than proved himself to be the number 1 goaltender for the Wings. so anyone who is within the system or comes in is gonna be riding the pine . i always thaught i'd be happy when Dom retired for the Goalie tandem to be Osgood and Howard . but i'd like to see Cujo come back . he'd be a solid and reliable back up who'd in my opinion would come back here in a heart beat . i mean no matter what happened a few years ago anyone who rejected the Stanley Cup Champions would be nuts . we'll be contenders again next year most likely so anyone who signs up has a real good chance to win . Cujo at his age will realise that and use common sense instead of holding a grudge. Howard since he was drafted i was very high on , i wanted the guy to get his chance and altough still a good goalie his developement stalled to an extent in someways which makes me nervous about him ...... hopefully i'm wrong though , but either way bringing back Cujo would IMO be a really good move.

[chrisdetroit 189]

What we do as far as signing another goalie will depend on what we decide to do with Howard this year. Either way though, I don't see Joseph coming back here.

If we want to bring up Howard to backup Ozzie then I think we should look to sign a cheap prospect to give us some depth in the AHL. If we want to leave Howard in Grand Rapids all year then we should look to sign a solid goalie to play behind Ozzie, but not one who is past their prime like Joseph. A few names have been mentioned already, and Ray Emery and Dan Cloutier are also now available. The one thing we DON'T need to do is bring in a guy to start ahead of Ozzie, so that rules out guys like Miller.

Basically, if Howard comes up then we need to add a young/cheap prospect or two in net for a little depth. We've lost Joey MacDonald and Drew McIntyre in recent years, and Liv has gone home. However, if Howard is not coming up then we need a backup for Ozzie, not someone to replace him as the starter.

You are being sarcastic right? Right?

[KronwallCRUNCH 5]

Is there really a thread talking about Curtis Joseph? Really?

[KronwallCRUNCH 5]

We need to sign Cloutier as our third goalie to split back up time with Howard. Cloutier will come cheap and has many skills and techniques to teach the young Howard.

Yeah, like letting in goals from the red line. No thanks, Ozzie can teach Howard how to do that.