Dear Chris Osgood,

[MidMichSteve 1,115]

Thanks Oz for your stellar performance in the playoffs so far, but..........

OZZIE!

OZZIE!

OZZIE!

OZZIE!

OZZIE!

[tazzer82 0]

Ozzie has played amazing so far, and I hope to see it keep up. All the haters and doubters keep saying he's not good enough, man how I love to see him shut them all up so far. But yet, no matter how well he plays, the haters are gonna keep hating...as evidence I present this:

There is a weird undercurrent to this series with regards to Osgood. Every save he has made, no matter how pedestrian, has brought chants of "Ozzie" from the crowd. Teammates have gone out of their way to praise him. It is as if there is a citywide effort to channel positive thoughts and artificially inflate Osgood's confidence. Why? Osgood is, by any measure, the Wings' weak link, and everybody knows it.

He is fighting shots and fumbling pucks. "Shaky" is the age-old hockey term.

http://www.bluejacketsxtra.com/live/conten...UR.html?sid=101

[cupcrazy 13]

Ozzie has played amazing so far, and I hope to see it keep up. All the haters and doubters keep saying he's not good enough, man how I love to see him shut them all up so far. But yet, no matter how well he plays, the haters are gonna keep hating...as evidence I present this:

http://www.bluejacketsxtra.com/live/conten...UR.html?sid=101

If they could beat Lidstom play after play,they might have a change too,but we know that ain't happening either.

I couldn't imagine what it must be like to have all the pressure Osgood has on his shoulders.If the Wings are able to come togather and defend there title,all the credit go's to the team defensive effort,and scoring ablity. If how ever we get upset,and yes to me any team that beats us would be a upset,it all will fall on Osgood.

All the pressure would be a mind grenade for most people,but Osgood seems to have found a way to feed off the pressure the last two seasons.Keep it up Osgood,someday the opposing media will figure out there not getting in your head anymore.

Edited April 19, 2009 by cupcrazy

[Ms_Hockey 0]

Ozzie has played amazing so far, and I hope to see it keep up. All the haters and doubters keep saying he's not good enough, man how I love to see him shut them all up so far. But yet, no matter how well he plays, the haters are gonna keep hating...as evidence I present this:

http://www.bluejacketsxtra.com/live/conten...UR.html?sid=101

That guy is ridiculous. I was at the game last night. I wasn't chanting "Ozzie" because I knew he was the "weak link" and I wanted to "artificially inflate" his confidence... I was chanting "Ozzie" because I freakin' appreciated that he was making the saves he needed to make in order for us to win this game. We chant because we appreciate him - not because we don't want him to suck.

It's clear that he's really never critiqued Red Wing hockey before, and he highly underestimates the fans. I mean, come on.. "Put a few in net and get into the head of their goalie and their team"? Does he not realize that most of the guys on that team have been up this hill and down the other side COUNTLESS times? Seriously - when have the Wings EVER been a team that someone has been able to "get in the head" of?

Dude's an idiot. That's all there is to it.

[eva unit zero 271]

You're walking a dangerous line, posting such "anti-Ozzie" material in this thread.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I harken back to the Ranford analogy.....he also won 2 games to start a series, the 2nd being a shutout. Hopefully Osgood doesn't have a similiar experience.

HOWEVER; Ranford's experience was a washed-up veteran bringing all he had left against a team that was almost as capable offensively and defensively as the Wings. Had Osgood been healthy for that series, the outcome is probably different given that Osgood v. Roy was basically a wash in terms of regular season performance, and both goalies raise their level of play in the play in the postseason. Ozzie doesn't get injured in '99 and the Wings likely three-peat.

[pjgj13 30]

I just think it is funny most of the posters that think Ozzie is not HOF material and a hater, are kissing his ass right now because he has played great in this series so far.

[tweekvp 0]

You're walking a dangerous line, posting such "anti-Ozzie" material in this thread.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I harken back to the Ranford analogy.....he also won 2 games to start a series, the 2nd being a shutout. Hopefully Osgood doesn't have a similiar experience.

It had been nine years since Ranford had won a cup and it was his first playoff in three years when that happened. His career was done no long after that.

Osgood put up a great performance on the way to a cup just last year and right now there is no real reason to believe he hasn't shifted into a gear we just didn't see in the regular season.

We'll see how the game goes Tuesday and if Osgood has another strong game I think it will be time for the doubters to keep it to themselves.

If he falls apart a great many currently praising him will call for the bums head.

[CanadianJacketsFan 0]

Dear Chris Osgood, please play more like you did in the regular season, please please pretty please.

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

Link headline at nhl dot calm:

"Malkin, Osgood top playoff stats leaders ".

[eva unit zero 271]

I just think it is funny most of the posters that think Ozzie is not HOF material and a hater, are kissing his ass right now because he has played great in this series so far.

You know the funny thing?

Of goaltenders in the top 25 in wins in the playoffs OR wins in the regular season, I can only see 5 goalies, not including Osgood, who are unlikely to make the Hall of Fame with their current statistics and accomplishments.

John Vanbiesbrouck, who has the on-ice accomplishments but off-ice issues that will almost certainly prevent induction (otherwise he would likely already be in)

Mike Richter (long since retired with no HOF discussion)

Sean Burke (retired with no HOF discussion and none of the benchmarks of an HOF career other than wins)

Nikolai Khabibulin (close to the end of his career; most of which was average with a short and impressive peak)

Olaf Kolzig (close to the end of his career, at this point fighting to stay in the league. Does not have the necessary stats and

achievements for HOF induction)

Richter and Khabibulin each won a single Cup. Combined, that is what Osgood has won as a starter. Osgood has far more wins than all (except the much older Vanbiesbrouck) in the regular season and far more wins than all in the postseason.

As far as active goaltenders, Khabibulin is basically one month younger than Osgood and Kolzig is basically two and a half years older. Osgood is the only goaltender his team actually wanted to keep from the start of the season until the end, with Kolzig being traded due to Tampa needing cap space now and Toronto needing it in the summer; and Khabibulin being waived in an attempt to get rid of his contract. He proceeded to clear waivers, and then win the starting job over Cristobal Huet, who had arrived from Washington after taking the starting job away from Kolzig.

In other, simpler words; Osgood's stats and accomplishments are far more comparable to current Hall of Famers or players considered locks for the Hall of Fame. Saying that Osgood, an active player who will likely win quite a few more regular season and playoff games, as well as a very good chance at winning at LEAST one Cup as starter, should not be inducted is like suggesting that suggesting early NHL history should be ignored.

Ozzie is an HOFer. Prove he isn't, and use a reason better than "his teams were really good" because that knocks out guys like Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy, Jacques Plante, and other goaltenders who dominated their era and won a bunch of Cups.

[Opie 308]

Eva,

Can you name a goaltender in the HOF who didn't play for a great team?

Can you name a great team who didn't have a great goaltender?

It is funny Ozzie gets nailed for having great teams in front of him (not by you obviously), but I have a hard time coming up with a HOF netminder that didn't do good things with a good team in front of him. Even Hasek had a good(not great not all world, but a good) D in front of him in Buffalo, the offensive was putrid and he needed to only give up 1 or 2 goals a game to win. If Hasek's teams were losing everynight would he still be HOF worthy. I guess we will find out if Luongo gets into the HOF, as he has not won anything as far as team accomplishments (cups) go.

I was an Ozzie hater, I guess because he was so quietly going about his duty. It wasn't until he came back and posters started arguing his HOF worthiness and posters like you threw out his stats.

He did in fact carry the Isle and Blues on his shoulders while there, he may not have to carry the Wings very often however, last year he carried more than his fair share in the post season.

[Ms_Hockey 0]

Dear Chris Osgood, please play more like you did in the regular season, please please pretty please.

Hahahaha. I was waiting for you to show up.

[Reds4Life 51]

...

Ozzie is an HOFer. Prove he isn't, and use a reason better than "his teams were really good" because that knocks out guys like Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy, Jacques Plante, and other goaltenders who dominated their era and won a bunch of Cups.

Osgood never was top goalie in the NHL. Never. He is solid goalie with great numbers. Not HoF caliber goalie.

Roy, Hasek, Plante, Dryden, Tretiak, Sawchuk etc. just dominated their eras, something Osgood never did.

[soultrain 43]

after last years cup i said i would never say anything bad about ozzy ever again. the regular season was spent with my ******* clenched tight when i was in goal.....ozzy is great.

Edited April 20, 2009 by soultrain

[eva unit zero 271]

Osgood never was top goalie in the NHL. Never. He is solid goalie with great numbers. Not HoF caliber goalie.

Roy, Hasek, Plante, Dryden, Tretiak, Sawchuk etc. just dominated their eras, something Osgood never did.

1995-96 Ozzie was the top goalie in the NHL and should have won the Vezina; voters were simply impressed by Jim Carey's number of shutouts rather than his level of play, as well as figuring because the Wings were such a dominant team, that Ozzie must have benefitted from it, rather than recognizing that part of the reason the team was so dominant was the fact they had such a dominant goaltender.

Roy dominated his era? He played 23 seasons and won how many Vezinas?

The correct answer is three. 13% of his total seasons played.

SO dominant.

Hasek was as dominant as any goalie has been since they took away territorial rights, if you actually start with teams that were not built through that incredibly unfair process and do not count Dryden, Plante, Sawchuk, or any early-era goaltenders. And Hasek won six Vezinas in a 16-season career; 37.5%. That's very impressive, but not dominant.

Dryden was dominant; selected as the league's top goaltender five times in his seven year career. However; His team was so ridiculously great that any NHL-level goaltender should have been a first-team all-star at least three of those years. His defense included J.C. Tremblay, Guy Lapointe, Larry Robinson, and Serge Savard. His forwards included Guy Lafleur, Frank Mahovlich, Jacques Lemaire, Steve Shutt, Yvon Cournoyer, Bob Gainey, Pete Mahovlich, Pierre Larouche, and more.

There is no goaltender in the Hall of Fame, or headed there, who did not play for a team that had skilled defensive players and/or a defensive system that made his job easier, or controlled the play so much that the offense often served as a surrogate defense. Think about times HHOF goaltenders played for teams that didn't have these qualities. They may still have been among the league's better goaltenders, such as Osgood in 2001-02, but in those situations they certainly weren't the 'dominant' goaltender they were on the great teams they played on. Grant Fuhr's performances in different cities is a prime example. He played for Edmonton, Toronto, Buffalo, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Calgary. His best performances came with St. Louis, a team built around a Norris contender whose primary ability was defense. Despite the fact Fuhr won the Vezina in 1987-88, his best seasons were 1995-96 and 1996-97, even though he was proclaimed to have been "done" when he played for the Sabres and Kings in 93-94 and 94-95.

[RedWingsRox 614]

Do you think that part of the disrespect from people is the low salary that the Wings pay him? Wasn't he like less than a mil last year? Now he is at 1.4m.

Must hand it to Ozzie for no having huge ego. It's like you and me at the office, if we were constantly producing and getting paid less than other guys (goalies) doing less ... that's got to eat you up inside. I'm sure Ozzie gets paid less than goalies who are golfing already.

[BeeRYCE 2]

I just think it is funny most of the posters that think Ozzie is not HOF material and a hater, are kissing his ass right now because he has played great in this series so far.

Nobody hates Ozzy, hell nobody dislikes Ozzy here... But we were all rightfully disappointed in the fact that he had the worst SV% amongst all regular starters during the season and seeing him succeed is what we want most, not only for a stab at another cup, but for his own well being... Because we all love him!

[Reds4Life 51]

1995-96 Ozzie was the top goalie in the NHL and should have won the Vezina; voters were simply impressed by Jim Carey's number of shutouts rather than his level of play, as well as figuring because the Wings were such a dominant team, that Ozzie must have benefitted from it, rather than recognizing that part of the reason the team was so dominant was the fact they had such a dominant goaltender.

Roy dominated his era? He played 23 seasons and won how many Vezinas?

The correct answer is three. 13% of his total seasons played.

SO dominant.

Three. Conn Smythes. Roy was much better than Osgood, I do not see how this is even debatable.

Hasek was as dominant as any goalie has been since they took away territorial rights, if you actually start with teams that were not built through that incredibly unfair process and do not count Dryden, Plante, Sawchuk, or any early-era goaltenders. And Hasek won six Vezinas in a 16-season career; 37.5%. That's very impressive, but not dominant.

Hasek won games all by himself, taking pathetic Sabres deep into playoffs. Two Harts. Two Pearsons. Again, I do not see how this is even debatable.

Dryden was dominant; selected as the league's top goaltender five times in his seven year career. However; His team was so ridiculously great that any NHL-level goaltender should have been a first-team all-star at least three of those years. His defense included J.C. Tremblay, Guy Lapointe, Larry Robinson, and Serge Savard. His forwards included Guy Lafleur, Frank Mahovlich, Jacques Lemaire, Steve Shutt, Yvon Cournoyer, Bob Gainey, Pete Mahovlich, Pierre Larouche, and more.

Dryden is not close to Hasek or Roy, but he is still much better than Osgood. His career was short, but impressive.

There is no goaltender in the Hall of Fame, or headed there, who did not play for a team that had skilled defensive players and/or a defensive system that made his job easier, or controlled the play so much that the offense often served as a surrogate defense. Think about times HHOF goaltenders played for teams that didn't have these qualities. They may still have been among the league's better goaltenders, such as Osgood in 2001-02, but in those situations they certainly weren't the 'dominant' goaltender they were on the great teams they played on. Grant Fuhr's performances in different cities is a prime example. He played for Edmonton, Toronto, Buffalo, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Calgary. His best performances came with St. Louis, a team built around a Norris contender whose primary ability was defense. Despite the fact Fuhr won the Vezina in 1987-88, his best seasons were 1995-96 and 1996-97, even though he was proclaimed to have been "done" when he played for the Sabres and Kings in 93-94 and 94-95.

Osgood never ever won any major individual award, he was named to second all-star team once. No first team all-star. No Vezina. Nothing.

Numers alone do not tell the whole story. Ozzie is good, solid and reliable goale. He is not star player and HoF caliber goalie.

Edited April 20, 2009 by Reds4Life

[interminded 1]

Osgood never was top goalie in the NHL. Never. He is solid goalie with great numbers. Not HoF caliber goalie.

Roy, Hasek, Plante, Dryden, Tretiak, Sawchuk etc. just dominated their eras, something Osgood never did.

A solid goalie with great numbers.

That pretty much is the definition of a top goalie.

Thanks buddy, I knew you would turn around !

Go ozzie !

[RedWingAbner 13]

Scoffing at Hasek winning nearly 40% of Vezinas awarded during his career is perhaps the dumbest thing I have ever seen on these boards. You are talking about a guy who did that during an era in which there were 24 teams.

[TheOwl 77]

Scoffing at Hasek winning nearly 40% of Vezinas awarded during his career is perhaps the dumbest thing I have ever seen on these boards. You are talking about a guy who did that during an era in which there were 24 teams.

Exactly. People go on and on about Roy and Brodeur, but who was winning all the Vezina's in the 90's, when all 3 of these guys were in their prime? Hasek performance in the 98 Olympics also far surpasses anything Broduer and Roy did on the international level. Hasek is one of the top 5, maybe even top 3 goalies of all time. Not to mention he was actually exciting to watch. Loungo and all those butterfly goalies are boring, their like robots. Hasek on the other hand had a completely unique style.

Osgood does though deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, but that should depend on these playoffs. Most goalies retire before they completely break down. If Osgood breaks down and costs the Wings the cup this season, he won't be back next year, and he won't be in the HOF. SO hopefully he keeps playing the way he does. Remember Hasek last playoffs? Great for Game 1 and 2, horrible for Game 3 and 4.

And Hasek won six Vezinas in a 16-season career; 37.5%. That's very impressive, but not dominant.

What? Winning 40% of the Vezina's in your career isn't dominant? Who is dominant? Broduer? What about Roy? How many Vezina's did they win? Hasek won more then Brodeur, and twice as many as Roy. Not to mention all those Hart, Pearson and Jennings trophies. Not to mention the fact Hasek's career GAA IS FAR better then Roys or Brodeurs career averages.

Hasek statistically, and award winning wise, is the most dominant goalie in the last 20 years.

Edited April 20, 2009 by TheOwl

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Osgood rocks.

[Dynheart 42]

Some have a natural gift, others not so much. Unfortunatley for Ozzie he's the latter, but that doesn't mean he's a bad goalie. I'd put Ozzie around a 7 out of 10 scale. Above average. People saying the wings would do better with broduer type goalies...I think they would actually do worse. Most goalies, especially the good ones, need to stay active. 20 shots a night would kill these type of players. This is when it turns into the mental ascpect of the game, which IMO, ozzie is among the best of the best in that regard.

To me, and this is my opinion, but to me what has been holding ozzie back is his physical limitations. 5ft 10 maybe 180lbs? How many goals have you seen ozzie let in (cross crease one timers..prolly the hardest to face) and miss the puck by mere inches? It's not because he's out of postion, he just doesn't have the size to make those crazy saves, although he manages to save a good chunck of them anyway. He's positionally sound (with the exception of the first 3 quarters of this season), has one of the fastest glove hands in the NHL, even at age 37, and he makes himself big as possible in the net. Can't ask for more than that. And if he's put in a postion where he needs to jump across the crease or having to contort himself in funny ways to make a save, then the defense is doing something wrong.

The important thing is that he's among the best playoff goalies today. He sprays himself with uber juju juice when the playoffs start and he's a totally diffrent goal tender all together. Frustrating? Yes. But atleast he's there when it matters most: The playoffs. The whole "the regular season is a good indication of how the goalie will perform in the playoffs" cliche' doesn't sit anywhere near ozzie.

He deserves more props and respect that when he gets now.

Edited April 21, 2009 by Dynheart

[chet1530 1]

if you're tired of all the ozzie haters join the facebook group... power in numbers

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=362...6067&ref=mf

i even put a shoutout to the site in the group website

[drfnr14 0]

dear ozzy,

i will take back every curs word i said next to your name(in a negative way)!! your playing amazing!! keep it up!