Support Chris Osgood (and the Detroit Red Wings)

[The Secret 304]

Could you explain to me how Ozzie failed on NY or STL? Also, how the Wings not winning the Cup every year since 98 isn't considered a "goalie failure" yet when Ozzie's in net, it is?

Every time he has played as a #1 goalie he has failed to play consistently at a high level that is expected of a #1 goalie, Every team he has played on he has failed to keep the teams confidence in him as a number 1 goalie. He's a great backup but a bust as a #1, he's just not that good.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Every time he has played as a #1 goalie he has failed to play consistently at a high level that is expected of a #1 goalie, Every team he has played on he has failed to keep the teams confidence in him as a number 1 goalie. He's a great backup but a bust as a #1, he's just not that good.

He didn't fail in NY or STL....those teams just weren't good enough. If anything Ozzie made NY better than what it was and gave STL a chance they weren't able to capitalize on. Does anyone blame Toskala for the Leafs sucking? You smell what I'm stepping in?

[The Secret 304]

He didn't fail in NY or STL....those teams just weren't good enough. If anything Ozzie made NY better than what it was and gave STL a chance they weren't able to capitalize on. Does anyone blame Toskala for the Leafs sucking? You smell what I'm stepping in?

Not sure what your stepping in but I can guess what your sniffing. Why would a team trade a player that made them better? If he was that good and made them that much better he would still be there. He was brought back to Detroit as a backup and inherited the #1 spot by the #1 goalie retiring. He did play better then the #1 goalie in last years play offs and earned the #1 spot in the play offs. But as history as shown, he is now the #1 goalie and is not able to play consistently as a #1.

[pjgj13 30]

eh no. Wings won the cup despite of him, not because of him. You could had put any decent goalie for wings last season and they would still win. Osgood is washed up at this point. I mean, the guy rarely has a save % in the 0.90s

Show me where he "rarely has a save percentage in the 90s"....

1993-94 Detroit Red Wings NHL 0.895

1994-95 Adirondack Red Wings AHL 0.908

1994-95 Detroit Red Wings NHL 0.917

1995-96 Detroit Red Wings NHL 0.911

1996-97 Detroit Red Wings NHL 0.910

1997-98 Detroit Red Wings NHL 0.913

1998-99 Detroit Red Wings NHL 0.910

1999-00 Detroit Red Wings NHL 0.907

2000-01 Detroit Red Wings NHL 0.903

2001-02 New York Islanders NHL 0.910

2002-03 New York Islanders NHL 0.894

2002-03 St. Louis Blues NHL 0.888

2003-04 St. Louis Blues NHL 0.910

2005-06 Detroit Red Wings NHL 0.897

2005-06 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 0.882

2006-07 Detroit Red Wings NHL 0.907

2007-08 Detroit Red Wings NHL 0.914

2008-09 Detroit Red Wings NHL 0.876

Looks like the years he had his S% below was 93-94, 02-03, 05-06 and 08-09. In 93-94 his record was 23-8-5, 02-03 he was 21-17-6, 05-06 he was 20-6-5 and 08-09 he is 11-1-4. In his 4 worst seasons on S% his record is 75-32-20. Even when his S% is below .900, his record is STILL amazing. Take out the 02-03 season when he played for the Blues & Isles he is 54-15-14 which equates to 83 games (full season) and have 122 points. If you look at 3 of the seasons, he was within .007 of the .900 (not counting AHL stats).

Point is, Ozzie STILL wins when he is letting in goals. He hasn't lost in regulation since Oct 9th. I will take all the 6-5 games as long as we have the 6.

Get facts straight before posting. Ozzie is one of the greatest goalies in Wings history. I would say top 5.

[pjgj13 30]

No kidding, it's like 12-1, which is why a lot of people (including myself) feel his career wins and career win/loss record is at least a little inflated. In terms of his 12-1 record this year, I truly believe that the record has almost nothing to do with him, the team is simply scoring more goals then he is letting in. I understand the defense hasn't played very well, but that's when you really get to see what your goalie is made of. Through the early part of this season, he hasn't looked very good, it's that simple. Does this mean he deserves to be bashed? No, he is the goalie for this team, let's not bash the guy, but if he's playing poorly, no harm is actually pointing out a fact. I'm not sure if there is a lot of bashing going on anyway, I generally stay as far away from goalie threads as I can, they can get ugly.

Last I checked, that is how the game is won. Not on what goalie has the bext GAA or S%.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Not sure what your stepping in but I can guess what your sniffing. Why would a team trade a player that made them better? If he was that good and made them that much better he would still be there. He was brought back to Detroit as a backup and inherited the #1 spot by the #1 goalie retiring. He did play better then the #1 goalie in last years play offs and earned the #1 spot in the play offs. But as history as shown, he is now the #1 goalie and is not able to play consistently as a #1.

Because when the team as a whole struggles even though the goalie played well enough management will go with a youth movement and drafting for the future. Was Ozzie irreplaceable on those teams: no, was he strong enough to be the starter: you bet he was and he had the numbers to prove it.

While Oz certainly isn't playing at the level he played at last Spring, he does seem to thrive when he's fighting for playing time. I've mentioned this before and perhaps a little stiffer competition with ConkBlock will help him in the long run, but you don't achieve the accolades Oz has through being a mediocre talent. If that were the case the Wings wouldn't have kept him as long as they did and wouldn't have brought him back in the first place. They could've just as easily brought up MacDonald at that point and then gone with Howard to back up Dom.

[wingsnut25 10]

I dont buy all this crap with the defense. The defese sometimes limits the shots to 15-20, yet osgood lets in a couple on that. Most goalies would be fine with that shot total. MCdonald had 46 shots and let in 4 last light.

im not trying to say that Osgood isnt struggling, because he is, but it doesn't always have to do with the number of shots vs the quality of the shots.

How many goals have been scored on him in a 5 on 3 situation? How many have been scored directly off of a bad turn-over? And yes he has let some weak goals in. For now Osgood is playing well enough to keep them in the game, if he wasn't he wouldn't be starting.

Its not accurate to place the blame entirely on the defense or on the goalie. Osgood is struggling, the defense is struggling. The two make for a bad combo. He will get over the hump or he will become the backup. At this point Babcock is obviously confident he will get over it, otherwise he would have benched him by now. For now the Wings are still winning, so they will continue to give Osgood a chance.

[pjgj13 30]

I just checked out Brodeur's career stats and he has rarely lost less than 20 games a season. Something Ozzie has only done 4 times in his career (2 of the with the Blues and Isles). Does that make Brodeur a bad goalie with all those losses.

I mean, based on your calculations, the S% and GAA is how you win games.

[wingsnut25 10]

He's already failed as a number 1 goalie here in the past, failed on the Islanders and also failed on St. Louis so it should be no surprise that he is failing here again. He's good for the team as a backup though and for what he adds to the lockerroom. He's always been a top notch back up and always been a second rate starter despite what his stats are.

I wouldnt say that he failed as the number one goalie here in the past, he was not playing bad for Detroit, but who would pass up the chance to bring in the best goalie in the world?

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Last I checked, that is how the game is won. Not on what goalie has the bext GAA or S%.

True, but that isn't an excuse for a poor GAA or SV% either. The fact of the matter is that the Wings are winning, but if they don't score as much (which is bound to happen in the playoffs) they will get bounced if the D and goaltending doesn't tighten up.

[russianswede919293 95]

Osgood has been awful this season, he's basically the worst starting goaltender in the league at this point other than Turco. I realize people idolize the man around here, but his performance last night was laughable, and he was terrible last week as well. Center ice goals again? I thought we were past that.

Start Conklin until Osgood gets his head back together.

Yeah because Conklin's last start against Boston was much better....

And no this is not a knock (edited) on Conklin...or Ozzie...

I am stating...Goals are up this year...is Danny Sabourin and Craig Anderson really the best goalies in the league...no...

The rule changes and frequent penalties, and many 5 on 3 PPs and what not has goals up this year...so statistics are down...now Ozzie looked uncomfortable out there from the puck drop last night...but the Wings still won the game so I'm not too upset. I agree that Conklin and Ozzie should split time right now (which they are) until one of them can get hot.

Edited December 5, 2008 by russianswede919293

[russianswede919293 95]

im not trying to say that Osgood isnt struggling, because he is, but it doesn't always have to do with the number of shots vs the quality of the shots.

How many goals have been scored on him in a 5 on 3 situation? How many have been scored directly off of a bad turn-over? And yes he has let some weak goals in. For now Osgood is playing well enough to keep them in the game, if he wasn't he wouldn't be starting.

Its not accurate to place the blame entirely on the defense or on the goalie. Osgood is struggling, the defense is struggling. The two make for a bad combo. He will get over the hump or he will become the backup. At this point Babcock is obviously confident he will get over it, otherwise he would have benched him by now. For now the Wings are still winning, so they will continue to give Osgood a chance.

Great Post

[Johnny Law 15]

Sometimes I wonder if we are all watching the same game.

First, in the salary cap era Osgood fulfills on very important function, he is a high value low $$ player. If I remember right he's 1.4 a year that's Draper/Lilja type money. In a league where Jeff Finger get 3, Mark Bell get 2 to sit in the AHL and Gerber is getting 3.7, Osgood is a steal. He's not Luongo but where would the Wings be in terms of the rest of the roster if he was.

Second, stop looking at the number of shots and actually look at what type of shots they are. 40 shots from the blue line with no traffic is a lot different than 6 shots from 10 feet out. The Red Wings historically have given up a relatively low number of shots per game but due to their style of play a decent number of them are very high percentage scoring chances. Mistakes by skaters are far more often masked than those of equal magnitude by goalies, lets say Lebda forces one up the middle for an easy turnover but said skater whiffs on the shot or misses the net. No one remembers that like when a goalie lets a soft one in.

Lastly, all players are going to go through rough patches. Sometimes its not even directly related to your play, rather the puck just isn't bouncing your way. The difference between the greats and the ECHL players are how they respond to this adversity, Osgood has proven over the last 14 seasons that he can get the job done and done well.

Have a little more faith in a guy who has provided so much for this team, it's not like there loosing these games right now. If he continues to be shaky and they start loosing games then maybe its time for a reassessment but that simply isn't the case right now.

[pjgj13 30]

Sometimes I wonder if we are all watching the same game.

First, in the salary cap era Osgood fulfills on very important function, he is a high value low $$ player. If I remember right he's 1.4 a year that's Draper/Lilja type money. In a league where Jeff Finger get 3, Mark Bell get 2 to sit in the AHL and Gerber is getting 3.7, Osgood is a steal. He's not Luongo but where would the Wings be in terms of the rest of the roster if he was.

Second, stop looking at the number of shots and actually look at what type of shots they are. 40 shots from the blue line with no traffic is a lot different than 6 shots from 10 feet out. The Red Wings historically have given up a relatively low number of shots per game but due to their style of play a decent number of them are very high percentage scoring chances. Mistakes by skaters are far more often masked than those of equal magnitude by goalies, lets say Lebda forces one up the middle for an easy turnover but said skater whiffs on the shot or misses the net. No one remembers that like when a goalie lets a soft one in.

Lastly, all players are going to go through rough patches. Sometimes its not even directly related to your play, rather the puck just isn't bouncing your way. The difference between the greats and the ECHL players are how they respond to this adversity, Osgood has proven over the last 14 seasons that he can get the job done and done well.

Have a little more faith in a guy who has provided so much for this team, it's not like there loosing these games right now. If he continues to be shaky and they start loosing games then maybe its time for a reassessment but that simply isn't the case right now.

Great Post!!

[The Secret 304]

Because when the team as a whole struggles even though the goalie played well enough management will go with a youth movement and drafting for the future. Was Ozzie irreplaceable on those teams: no, was he strong enough to be the starter: you bet he was and he had the numbers to prove it.

While Oz certainly isn't playing at the level he played at last Spring, he does seem to thrive when he's fighting for playing time. I've mentioned this before and perhaps a little stiffer competition with ConkBlock will help him in the long run, but you don't achieve the accolades Oz has through being a mediocre talent. If that were the case the Wings wouldn't have kept him as long as they did and wouldn't have brought him back in the first place. They could've just as easily brought up MacDonald at that point and then gone with Howard to back up Dom.

They brought Osgood back as a role player and he thrives at that. He plays his role as a competitive backup quite well and in that role he also has a way of getting the other goalies best game out of him as well. Great role guy! Why pick an unproven young guy like Howard or Macdonald as a backup over a known success at backup like Ozzie?

Just curious, how many years has he played as a #1 and how many as a backup? How many other goalies were brought in while Ozzie was on the team? I think if you have a designated #1 you don't bring in any other goalies unless you don't have the confidence in your current goalie or you need a better option at backup.

I disagree that a mediocre goalie could not achieve super star stats playing for arguably the best team in the sport for the last 15+ years. Osgood proven that, his best was all that was needed but he would not have the stats he has if he had followed Loungo's career path for example.

[Mors 201]

From Bruce MacLeod:

"Coach Mike Babcock is obviously fed up with his team's goaltending and he should be. Three straight games giving up a goal on the first shot against ... that alone would be bad. But tonight, the fat rebounds, the lack of hugging the post, the soft outside goals. The goaltending is so bad that it makes you forget about how soft the team defense was."

From Red Wings Team Report:

"Chris Osgood has not resembled the goaltender who led the NHL in goals-against average last season and led the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup with solid performances on a nightly basis during the season and in the playoffs.

Osgood continues to struggle nearly two months into the season. That was evident in Thursday’s 6-5 victory over Vancouver, when Osgood seemed to be fighting the puck all night while picking up his 374th career victory, which tied him with John Vanbiesbrouck for 12th place on the NHL’s all-time list.

He doesn’t appear to be as fundamentally solid, staying too far back in his crease, failing to cover the angles properly on many occasions, and allowing big rebounds. He allowed a goal on the first shot he faced for the second straight game.

Osgood has a sparkling 11-1-4 record, but his goals-against average (3.17) and save percentage (.876) are among the worst in the league for a starting net-minder. He is benefiting from a powerful offense that ranks second in the league, and the NHL’s top-rated power play.

He still has plenty of time to turn it around, but his performance has prompted coach Mike Babcock to rely more on backup Ty Conklin, who is expected to start Saturday’s game against Central Division rival Chicago."

Edited December 5, 2008 by Mors

[The Secret 304]

From Bruce MacLeod:

"Coach Mike Babcock is obviously fed up with his team's goaltending and he should be. Three straight games giving up a goal on the first shot against ... that alone would be bad. But tonight, the fat rebounds, the lack of hugging the post, the soft outside goals. The goaltending is so bad that it makes you forget about how soft the team defense was."

From Red Wings Team Report:

"Chris Osgood has not resembled the goaltender who led the NHL in goals-against average last season and led the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup with solid performances on a nightly basis during the season and in the playoffs.

Osgood continues to struggle nearly two months into the season. That was evident in Thursday’s 6-5 victory over Vancouver, when Osgood seemed to be fighting the puck all night while picking up his 374th career victory, which tied him with John Vanbiesbrouck for 12th place on the NHL’s all-time list.

He doesn’t appear to be as fundamentally solid, staying too far back in his crease, failing to cover the angles properly on many occasions, and allowing big rebounds. He allowed a goal on the first shot he faced for the second straight game.

Osgood has a sparkling 11-1-4 record, but his goals-against average (3.17) and save percentage (.876) are among the worst in the league for a starting net-minder. He is benefiting from a powerful offense that ranks second in the league, and the NHL’s top-rated power play.

He still has plenty of time to turn it around, but his performance has prompted coach Mike Babcock to rely more on backup Ty Conklin, who is expected to start Saturday’s game against Central Division rival Chicago."

That pretty much sums it up.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

They brought Osgood back as a role player and he thrives at that. He plays his role as a competitive backup quite well and in that role he also has a way of getting the other goalies best game out of him as well. Great role guy! Why pick an unproven young guy like Howard or Macdonald as a backup over a known success at backup like Ozzie?

Just curious, how many years has he played as a #1 and how many as a backup? How many other goalies were brought in while Ozzie was on the team? I think if you have a designated #1 you don't bring in any other goalies unless you don't have the confidence in your current goalie or you need a better option at backup.

I disagree that a mediocre goalie could not achieve super star stats playing for arguably the best team in the sport for the last 15+ years. Osgood proven that, his best was all that was needed but he would not have the stats he has if he had followed Loungo's career path for example.

After Ozzie took the reigns as the starter in 98 he has easily been the #1 for almost all of it. Legace won it in 05/06 only to throw it away, Dom won it 06/07 as still one of the best to ever play the game, but other than that Oz has been the go-to guy.

They brought Osgood back as a role player and he thrives at that. He plays his role as a competitive backup quite well and in that role he also has a way of getting the other goalies best game out of him as well. Great role guy! Why pick an unproven young guy like Howard or Macdonald as a backup over a known success at backup like Ozzie?

Just curious, how many years has he played as a #1 and how many as a backup? How many other goalies were brought in while Ozzie was on the team? I think if you have a designated #1 you don't bring in any other goalies unless you don't have the confidence in your current goalie or you need a better option at backup.

I disagree that a mediocre goalie could not achieve super star stats playing for arguably the best team in the sport for the last 15+ years. Osgood proven that, his best was all that was needed but he would not have the stats he has if he had followed Loungo's career path for example.

That's BS right there because a great team wouldn't stand pat with a mediocre-at-best goaltender when they've got a chance to win the Cup. Ozzie proved he could handle the load, hence he earned the tag. I'm not claiming he's the best ever to play the game, but he's not as mediocre as you claim him to be.

[Doc Holiday 0]

Secret: Did you know that coming into New York he had better numbers than his last year with the Wings?

And his numbers with St Louis were better the last year than when he came back to Detroit?

Product of the system?

[The Secret 304]

Secret: Did you know that coming into New York he had better numbers than his last year with the Wings?

And his numbers with St Louis were better the last year than when he came back to Detroit?

Product of the system?

To be a #1 goalie takes being a great goaltender consistently which he does not seem to be able to do. When he is on he's great, # 1 like. When he is off, he is God aweful. When he is off he not only loses his own confidence but that of his teams as well. Like he is doing right now. He will play better at some point but who knows when and for how long! Thats not going to give the rest of the team the confidence it needs either.

[Pucks 66]

From Bruce MacLeod:

"Coach Mike Babcock is obviously fed up with his team's goaltending and he should be. Three straight games giving up a goal on the first shot against ... that alone would be bad. But tonight, the fat rebounds, the lack of hugging the post, the soft outside goals. The goaltending is so bad that it makes you forget about how soft the team defense was."

From Red Wings Team Report:

"Chris Osgood has not resembled the goaltender who led the NHL in goals-against average last season and led the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup with solid performances on a nightly basis during the season and in the playoffs.

Osgood continues to struggle nearly two months into the season. That was evident in Thursday’s 6-5 victory over Vancouver, when Osgood seemed to be fighting the puck all night while picking up his 374th career victory, which tied him with John Vanbiesbrouck for 12th place on the NHL’s all-time list.

He doesn’t appear to be as fundamentally solid, staying too far back in his crease, failing to cover the angles properly on many occasions, and allowing big rebounds. He allowed a goal on the first shot he faced for the second straight game.

Osgood has a sparkling 11-1-4 record, but his goals-against average (3.17) and save percentage (.876) are among the worst in the league for a starting net-minder. He is benefiting from a powerful offense that ranks second in the league, and the NHL’s top-rated power play.

He still has plenty of time to turn it around, but his performance has prompted coach Mike Babcock to rely more on backup Ty Conklin, who is expected to start Saturday’s game against Central Division rival Chicago."

Finally there we have it plain as day. Osgarbage has been horrid. The coach is starting to let it out in the media because he sick and tired of it. People want to bash Lebda and others, but give Osgood a pass...please.

He's easily been the worst player on the roster this year, and with some of the performances put in so far that's saying something, and not in a good way For those who want to blame the defense, Ok sure maybe the firs 7-10 games but they have tightened up quite a bit.

The goal tending from Osgood still hasn't improved. They are scared, not playing solid in their own end. It's because of Osgood not the other way around. Use your eyes and your brain people....yeesh!

[AtomicPunk 296]

Dude just needs a little luck. You know how some goalies just have pucks hit them? Think Brian Boucher. (not a comparison, by the way). He had 3-4 shutouts in a row a few years back. And everything just seemed to hit him. Not a world class goalie but he was in a groove.

Maybe if the D can clear out some traffic in front of him and cut down on the giveways in front of him, things will get better. He is getting a lot of bad bounces and deflected goals and it sucks. And yes, I know some of the goals are soft like Charmin. Hopefully the deflections will start hitting him in the logo and not in the inch of space between him and the post.

[wingslionstigers 12]

Get facts straight before posting. Ozzie is one of the greatest goalies in Wings history. I would say top 5.

Why isn't he paid like a greatest goaltender?

Alot of you guys think Osgood is so great. Why isnt he paid for being so great then? Because hes not. I like Osgood and im glad hes on our team but hes not a great goaltender hes a decent goaltender and thats it. Thats all he ever was and thats all he ever will be.

[Frozen-Man 144]

Sometimes I wonder if we are all watching the same game.

First, in the salary cap era Osgood fulfills on very important function, he is a high value low $$ player. If I remember right he's 1.4 a year that's Draper/Lilja type money. In a league where Jeff Finger get 3, Mark Bell get 2 to sit in the AHL and Gerber is getting 3.7, Osgood is a steal. He's not Luongo but where would the Wings be in terms of the rest of the roster if he was.

Second, stop looking at the number of shots and actually look at what type of shots they are. 40 shots from the blue line with no traffic is a lot different than 6 shots from 10 feet out. The Red Wings historically have given up a relatively low number of shots per game but due to their style of play a decent number of them are very high percentage scoring chances. Mistakes by skaters are far more often masked than those of equal magnitude by goalies, lets say Lebda forces one up the middle for an easy turnover but said skater whiffs on the shot or misses the net. No one remembers that like when a goalie lets a soft one in.

Lastly, all players are going to go through rough patches. Sometimes its not even directly related to your play, rather the puck just isn't bouncing your way. The difference between the greats and the ECHL players are how they respond to this adversity, Osgood has proven over the last 14 seasons that he can get the job done and done well.

Have a little more faith in a guy who has provided so much for this team, it's not like there loosing these games right now. If he continues to be shaky and they start loosing games then maybe its time for a reassessment but that simply isn't the case right now.

Excellent post!

I saw an article not too long ago that stated that the Blackhawks have more than $10,000,000 more than the Red Wings tied up in goalies. If not for that we get no Hossa this year. We have no chance at the forward and defense roster that we have. I think Mickey put it really well last night when he said he may not have the highest save % but he rarely loses. Look at the man's win record. What is he 12th all time. Yeah he really sucks. We could pay 4 or 5 times as much and Ozzy and have a goalie that has never won a cup, has no proven track record of being able to go all the way, and no where near the wins but hey our goalie might have a higher save percentage.

[Doc Holiday 0]

To be a #1 goalie takes being a great goaltender consistently which he does not seem to be able to do. When he is on he's great, # 1 like. When he is off, he is God aweful. When he is off he not only loses his own confidence but that of his teams as well. Like he is doing right now. He will play better at some point but who knows when and for how long! Thats not going to give the rest of the team the confidence it needs either.

He played one full season with St Louis and had a 2.24 GAA and .910 save percentage. He never got the chance to be consistent with that team.

My point is he didn't "fail" there because he put up better numbers with inferior teams, which shows if he went to a bottom tier team he could hack it.

No he isn't playing well now (I didn't get to see last nights game so I can't say if he did bad or not) but he has been a very good goaltender in the past.