A new netminder?

[Ms_Hockey 0]

The wings are loyal but not at the obvious expense of the team. There is a balance to be kept.

Our goal tending could very realistically cost us the cup this year. It's not like it would be the first time Osgood has been dumped.

There'd be nobody to dump him on anymore.

[Outsider 42]

Never thought you attack me, everyone here attacks(?), not a proper word but we know the trash talk is a half fun in the forum so you do not have to say like that.

LOL....

I'll have to take exception to that, AND call you out for it.

You did, in fact, accuse me of attacking you. And moreover, accused me of being a "coward" for doing so. You then followed that up by inferring that I was both ignorant, and uneducated.

Scroll down to post #50 in the thread...

Again, if my posts were sounded to attack you, and your post sounded to attack me, well then I am sorry for it.

If that is an offer of truce, then I accept.

[Outsider 42]

Wings aren't seeking goalie...

Some choice excerpts from the man who scouted him, drafted him, and knows him better than anyone else in Hockey....(hmmm....maybe dcd is right, and I am psychic....either that, or I freakin' KNOW this goaltender....) :

"It's been a grind for Chris," said Holland, a former minor-league goaltender. "He's working on his game.

He's battling, he's more focused, he's working harder, but the results aren't there."

"I just think Chris has got to continue to battle," Holland said. "That's what he's done throughout his entire career. He's gone through this before.

"Sometimes you get into a funk and it's hard to get out. The harder you try, the worse things get."

And for those of you criticizing Oz for his unflagging confidence in himself, rather than playing the "I've been terrible. I have to be better." violin....

"In order to get wins in this league for a long time, you've got to forget about the past," Holland said. "I think that's been one of Osgood's strengths.

"If you're going to focus on the negatives and beat yourself up, you're probably going to get worse. What's allowed him to be successful is forgetting about yesterday".

Come on, Oz....

Pull up, buddy....Pull up......

Edited February 17, 2009 by Outsider

[TheOwl 77]

If Detroit is knocked out in the first or even second round because of poor goaltending, I doubt Hossa will stay. Think about it, if Hossa stays, the Wings cap will be air tight, and a decent goalie couldn't even be added anyways. If Osgood costs the Wings in this years play-offs, why would Hossa even think about re-signing? The goal-tending situition will be 10x worse, the cap will be filled, Franzen and possibly Hudler may be lost. Detroit will be one sorry team next season if Osgood fails, which is more then likely to happen. Why would Hossa want to play for a team with the worst goalie in the league by far, and zero cap room to get a decent guy in? Osgood will cost us Hossa. You'll all see.

Anyone want to take any bets? I'll bet anyone 10,000$ that the Wings will be eliminated in the first round if Conklin isn't the starter.

"I feel good out there, I feel confident," Osgood said.

Oh yeah. I don't know what kind of guy can feel any confidence after letting in 6 goals in versus the worst team in the league. Not to mention the dozen other games he's single handedly blown.

Edited February 17, 2009 by TheOwl

[puckloo39 5,686]

If Detroit is knocked out in the first or even second round because of poor goaltending, I doubt Hossa will stay. Think about it, if Hossa stays, the Wings cap will be air tight, and a decent goalie couldn't even be added anyways. If Osgood costs the Wings in this years play-offs, why would Hossa even think about re-signing? The goal-tending situition will be 10x worse, the cap will be filled, Franzen and possibly Hudler may be lost. Detroit will be one sorry team next season if Osgood fails, which is more then likely to happen. Why would Hossa want to play for a team with the worst goalie in the league by far, and zero cap room to get a decent guy in? Osgood will cost us Hossa. You'll all see.

Anyone want to take any bets? I'll bet anyone 10,000$ that the Wings will be eliminated in the first round if Conklin isn't the starter.

Oh yeah. I don't know what kind of guy can feel any confidence after letting in 6 goals in versus the worst team in the league. Not to mention the dozen other games he's single handedly blown.

oh, dear. I hadn't even thought about that.

[Ms_Hockey 0]

Oh yeah. I don't know what kind of guy can feel any confidence after letting in 6 goals in versus the worst team in the league. Not to mention the dozen other games he's single handedly blown.

Osgood has always been that way - it really shouldn't surprise you. That's just how he is. If he were to turn around and begin to beat himself up over it, it'd be extremely counter-productive because that's just NOT Osgood.

He's not an idiot - he knows when he makes a mistake. He just doesn't see a point in dwelling on it and putting himself down over it. There's nothing wrong with that. He recognizes his mistakes and his works his butt off to change them - but he won't cry himself to sleep if he messes up.

[Guest mindfly]

Osgood has always been that way - it really shouldn't surprise you. That's just how he is. If he were to turn around and begin to beat himself up over it, it'd be extremely counter-productive because that's just NOT Osgood.

He's not an idiot - he knows when he makes a mistake. He just doesn't see a point in dwelling on it and putting himself down over it. There's nothing wrong with that. He recognizes his mistakes and his works his butt off to change them - but he won't cry himself to sleep if he messes up.

But why lie to people? "I feel confident out there" - Err no you don't obviously, "I feel good" - Err no, it's impossible to feel good lettin 6pucks behind you, you failed to give your team a chance to win even though the team bailed you out on 3 occasions..

Edited February 17, 2009 by mindfly

[e_prime 1,936]

Would you rather he have the attitude of Manny Legace?

Look, I'm not ready to give up on Osgood, nor am I willing to give him a pass.

Our team defense was downright horrible some games this year, but of late it seems we're getting over some of those woes.

Now Osgood needs to do his part and pick up his games. Shelving him in favor of Conklin is not the answer.

I'm willing to give Osgood more time to sort out his issues. If we continue to win games and accumulate points no matter how ugly the wins are...

and Osgood shakes off whatever is ailing him. As is said so frequently on these boards... "make it happen"

If Holland isn't going outside the organization for a goalminder, we all better get used to seeing Osgood.

[e_prime 1,936]

EDIT: Double Post

Edited February 17, 2009 by e_prime

[HOCKEY MATTERS 167]

My, my, my. The mindset around here blows me away sometimes. It seems that if the Wings are not many points ahead of the pack, looking down on the rest of the league, some around here think there is no hope. Seems that the Wings have been so good for so long that some folks have this kind of sense of entitlement. The Wings place in the standings is not guaranteed.....either way. Goaltending has not been what we alll want this season, neither has the defense. Offense has been above average, but not strong enough to outscore our goals against every time. Personally, I find the rollercoaster ride exciting. No one can say for certain who will hoist the Cup. The Wings have been struggling, for sure, but is there no hope at all of pulling out of it? Do you really think the Sharks will not have any slumps this year? Both of those seem like a stretch of the imagination, to me. There are those who seem to think they have a crystal ball or some other wonderful method of reading the future, but I think that is retarded thinking. I remember a Cup run a few years back when the Wings were down in a series and hope was just about gone. Then Nick let one fly form center ice and the whole thing turned around. To those who don't know how to hope, I feel very sorry for you. What a way to view life. I am looking forward to the excitement of the Wings pulling everything together, with or without the Presidents Trophy or home ice advantage. It's the process I'm talking about. If being optimistic bugs some folks, that's ok. If my hope is misplaced and the Wings don't win the Cup, feel free to rub my face in it. If they do pull out of this and win, I won't rub yours in it. That's not how I roll.

Now, where is Shawty. She got the apple bottom jeans. The boots wit the furrrrrr........

Ahhhh, pleasant distractions.......

Edited February 17, 2009 by HOCKEY MATTERS

[dat's sick 1,002]

But why lie to people? "I feel confident out there" - Err no you don't obviously, "I feel good" - Err no, it's impossible to feel good lettin 6pucks behind you, you failed to give your team a chance to win even though the team bailed you out on 3 occasions..

First of all, no one but he knows how he feels and "I feel good" probably refers more to being in good shape physically than actually feeling good about losing the game and letting in pucks.

Secondly, you really think all hockey players, or anyone in sports (hell, in the world), are completely 100% honest in every interview they do?

Have you never heard players say things like "I love it here, right now I'm completely focused on staying here and helping this team" only to sign for another team the next week?

"Why lie to people?", seriously? You make it sound like he's a politician who has made promises he hasn't kept.

It's kinda like when reporters ask players after the game why they lost. They only talk in cliches and about how they, as a team, didn't fight hard enough or how they had bad luck or that the other team was simply better.

If they always told the truth you'd constantly hear things like "Well, we were the better team but we had crappy goaltending" or "We would have won if [insert player name] had scored on his chances". Yes, some players put a lot of blame on themselves and simply say "I played bad, I need to be better", but that is often also a way of protecting his teammates by shouldering the blame himself.

Henrik Lundqvist does this a lot. He lets in 3 or 4 pucks and he says he is the reason they lost, when everyone knows it often has more to do with the Rangers being completely useless offensively and not that great on defense either.

Ozzie won't become better because he's dwelling on his mistakes and telling everyone how bad his confidence is and how terrible he is playing right now. Ever heard of "thinking positive"? I guess not since you seem to be a natural born pessimist.

[Ms_Hockey 0]

But why lie to people? "I feel confident out there" - Err no you don't obviously, "I feel good" - Err no, it's impossible to feel good lettin 6pucks behind you, you failed to give your team a chance to win even though the team bailed you out on 3 occasions..

I doubt he's lying. Again.. that's Osgood. If he says he feels confident and he's thinks he's going in the right direction - then he probably really does feel that way.

He's the only goalie that I know of who can make mistakes, recognize them, and still be confident in his ability to turn himself around.

I don't think he lied at all.

[wingsdiehard13 33]

If Detroit is knocked out in the first or even second round because of poor goaltending, I doubt Hossa will stay. Think about it, if Hossa stays, the Wings cap will be air tight, and a decent goalie couldn't even be added anyways. If Osgood costs the Wings in this years play-offs, why would Hossa even think about re-signing? The goal-tending situition will be 10x worse, the cap will be filled, Franzen and possibly Hudler may be lost. Detroit will be one sorry team next season if Osgood fails, which is more then likely to happen. Why would Hossa want to play for a team with the worst goalie in the league by far, and zero cap room to get a decent guy in? Osgood will cost us Hossa. You'll all see.

Anyone want to take any bets? I'll bet anyone 10,000$ that the Wings will be eliminated in the first round if Conklin isn't the starter.

These are the kind of posts that get pulled back up when we win the cup.

[Guest mindfly]

Osgood's body language tells everyone that he has no confidence at all, so it's just hilarious that he tells us he feels good and confident.. it's a proper lie.

Edited February 17, 2009 by mindfly

[Ms_Hockey 0]

Osgood's body language tells everyone that he has no confidence at all, so it's just hilarious that he tells us he feels good and confident.. it's a proper lie.

You have a right to believe what you want.. but "it's obviously a lie" isn't really a good defense. We have no idea if it is or not.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

These are the kind of posts that get pulled back up when we win the cup.

And these are the kind of posts that get pulled back up when we don't.

Owl is right about Hossa. I said it earlier in the season. Next year, we are a weaker team on paper. If we don't go far in the playoffs, we aren't going to have a whole lot of room to fix what went wrong.

[FLWINGSFAN4013 5]

betteman is going to let crosby join our team and allow a sidsalary exemption

[Wingsallwin 0]

And these are the kind of posts that get pulled back up when we don't.

Owl is right about Hossa. I said it earlier in the season. Next year, we are a weaker team on paper. If we don't go far in the playoffs, we aren't going to have a whole lot of room to fix what went wrong.

There is no guarantee we will be a weaker team next season. However, by the theory Osgood starts the playoff, I don't see we will even pass the first round of the playoff. Who cares if we can score 5 goals now. No team in the west will allow more than 3 or 4 goals during the playoff; well maybe some teams will do but better defensive is favor of winning the cup.

Am I the only guy who thinks we do not have to resign both Franzen and Hossa? Signing only one guy is fine, no more. Huds and Sammy are not big deals because they will not capture that much part of the salary of this team.

Now Osgood is in slump. He is 35 years old when the player cannot bounce back to his game again even though it is a goalie position. If we see the future far, Nick will retire.

As some Osgood protectors say about Osgood will be fine in the playoff, then Eriksson will be as good as Lidstrom. There is no just magical and untrustworthy assumption in the life. Is hockey a third dimesional life for humans? Is it just childish lottery debate?

Don't get me wrong. If we sign both Hossa and Franzen, we will not be the cup contender. I would like the Wings signing only Hossa and Huds which idealically causes 7.5 million. Then, if we can make some middle size of trade, then we will have a lot of cap room to bring up a high level goalie.

Besides, if we sign Franzen, that means we will lose Leino. Then what is the future of this team? Can you guys explain about this? We are the oldest team in the league and people do not realize it

If you still think we do not have to get a good goalie, that is a wrong concept. Nick has been almost goaltender for this team as the best defenseman as the Wings but he will not bounce back to his prime again; now people say his game is over but he is still awesome.

[TheOwl 77]

^ Perhaps the thinking is that after next season, Lidstrom will either retire, or sign for much less, possibly next to nothing? That's wishful thinking, but more then likely we'll get around 7 million of cap space open. So a goalie could be bought etc. But really next season may be real messy if we re-sign both Franzen and Hossa, or even just Hossa at 6 million. Leino and Hudler should both be signed, and if Sammy will take what he's making now, keep him. Too many "big" contracts will hurt this team severly, I'd much rather see them sign all the secondary guys for cheap, then Mule and Hossa for a discount.

But really, how many years are we away from Larrson and McCollum being NHL ready? Maybe after next season? Conklin can tide us over, but getting a 2 year goalie at the trade deadline would ensure Hossa stays.

Let's face it, Detroit winning the cup this year is some what unlikely, it was unlikely last year too. If Detroit wins the cup this season, it'll probably win it next season too, since all the major UFA's will sign for cheap. But an early exit this season because of goaltending will ruin both this year and next year.