The Chris Osgood discussion thread

[b.shanafan14 733]

But the bolded line makes the other point applicable.

As long as the Wings are having scoring issues the goalie that is letting in almost 0.5 less goals a game will play...

If scoring picks up its easier to give Ozzie that chance, but while games are being won 2-1 and 3-2 its important to have the hotter goalie in to keep the game attainable for the struggling offense.

Since we're bolding ....

The Wings don't need a goaltender letting in 0.5 LESS goals a game to win at this point, they nee a goaltender averaging 0.5 goals a game period.

Goaltending hasn't made a difference for the positive a whole lot this season considering all the terrible offensive games we've had. We've had a few poor goaltending nights on both sides and lost plenty with both in goal. Tonite was definitely not a stellar night for Jimmy, but anything less than a shutout is a loss these days.

I can see your point if the games are 3-2 or 4-3 decisions, when we're letting in 3 or 4 and not getting a one, kind of dulls the idea of sitting one goaltender over the other. While Howard has been good, he has had plenty of not-so-good outings, he hasn't been mind-blowing enough to warrant icing your veteran clutch performer.

[b.shanafan14 733]

Osgood doesn't need to get going. He hasn't been playing his best, but he hasn't been playing poorly either. This argument is tired and it really makes no sense. Again, we're not losing many games because of goaltending. We didn't lose to Chicago because of Osgood (who still posted a save % in the .900's against one of the best teams in the league). He didn't play his best game and the 3rd goal was really soft, but at the end of the day, we didn't score a single goal and go watch the 3rd again if you think Osgood really played a lousy game overall.

Howard's outplaying Osgood especially if you're just going by numbers, but we're not losing games because of goaltending. That's the bottom line. It's not worth it to have such an unbalanced goaltending situation right now when that's the case. When you know Osgood is your playoff starter, it's beyond stupid to have him sitting for six games straight. He's lucky if he gets one start a week lately. That's just stupid.

Again, look at tonight. Howard had a s***ty first period but we're ultimately losing because we still haven't scored a goal. We'll get the scoring going as we get guys back, but opening the doors to problems with both goalies down the stretch the way it's going now.

My point exactly. This isn't the story of one goaltender playing god-awful and the other being a world-beater, the former losing winnable games, the latter saving our asses. This is a team that can't do squat regardless until they start scoring goals, so why are we icing and alienating the goaltender that was one game (the last two final games offensive flops, oddly enough) from winning us back-to-back cups. Because we think we may lose a game 4-0 instead of 3-0?

Edited January 6, 2010 by b.shanafan14

[Pucks 66]

Chris will get an opportunity real soon. He needs to be BETTER than he has been. If he plays solid and doesn't give up weak goals through his body or 5 hole he get the next start. If he plays poor he'll be sitting again. It's that simple.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

It's still pretty simple. Howard's been playing well lately. Until he really s**ts the bed and plays real bad for a game/stretch of games, he's playing the majority right now. Come playoffs, unless Howard just doesn't let go of the starting goaltender job, we all know Osgood will be between the pipes in all likelihood.

[Outsider 42]

Chris will get an opportunity real soon. He needs to be BETTER than he has been. If he plays solid and doesn't give up weak goals through his body or 5 hole he get the next start. If he plays poor he'll be sitting again. It's that simple.

The Game against Chicago which earned Ozzie a spot on the bench for the past 7 games wasn't much worse than Howard's Game against the Ducks last night, as far as performance goes. Both the first and second goals last night were terrible. And anyone who disputes that fact is insane.

The difference?

Osgood faced the #1 seeded Blackhawks on the road on the second night of back-to-backs. Howard faced the 25th seeded Ducks.

This is no longer about playing the hot goalie. This is about Babcock showing Osgood who's boss.

[Carman 387]

The Game against Chicago which earned Ozzie a spot on the bench for the past 7 games wasn't much worse than Howard's Game against the Ducks last night, as far as performance goes. Both the first and second goals last night were terrible. And anyone who disputes that fact is insane.

The difference?

Osgood faced the #1 seeded Blackhawks on the road on the second night of back-to-backs. Howard faced the 25th seeded Ducks.

This is no longer about playing the hot goalie. This is about Babcock showing Osgood who's boss.

Osgood should respect his boss, that's what he is payed to do. When he becomes coach he can control these things. Howard didn't have a great game, but I guess Babcock really thinks Osgood can't play right now, and he knows the situation better than anyone on an internet forum.

[Broken 16 381]

The Game against Chicago which earned Ozzie a spot on the bench for the past 7 games wasn't much worse than Howard's Game against the Ducks last night, as far as performance goes. Both the first and second goals last night were terrible. And anyone who disputes that fact is insane.

The difference?

Osgood faced the #1 seeded Blackhawks on the road on the second night of back-to-backs. Howard faced the 25th seeded Ducks.

This is no longer about playing the hot goalie. This is about Babcock showing Osgood who's boss.

Ya... this definitely, kinda, sorta makes it official that Osgood is in the doghouse.

[gcom007 1,465]

Ya... this definitely, kinda, sorta makes it official that Osgood is in the doghouse.

It's truly unbelievable at this point. Even if Osgood was "starting" and Howard wasn't playing as well, I would be pissed if Babcock didn't get Howard in at least every 3-4 games. Considering who Osgood is and what he's done in his career, especially for Babcock, as well as the fact that he truly hasn't played poorly this season at all, it's simply unbelievable that Howard is getting his 7th straight start, especially after the Anaheim game.

I'm not even upset at Howard for having a bad game! It happens! All the more so considering it was his 6th straight start and he's still a damn rookie. The first period could've been 5-0 he was so bad then, but he recovered well the rest of the game and I'm glad he stayed in. It was ugly to watch, but it's a good lesson for him to learn.

But Babcock is continuing to establish more and more inconsistencies in terms of the way he's running things by going with Howard again after Anaheim. Hell, Osgood really ought to get the start if only to give Howard a break.

This is just silly. There are not many things I'm worried about this season, but I wouldn't be surprised to see this really come back and bite Babcock, Howard and the Wings in the ass if something doesn't change real soon. Osgood is as classy and cool-headed of a guy as they come, no one can really argue that. But everybody has their breaking point, and he's absolutely justified in his frustration over this issue. I think it's fair to say that it has become a matter of disrespect, and I don't think anyone can blame Osgood for feeling insulted.

Babcock may be the coach, and thus the boss, but he should know that you've got to treat people reasonably and you've got to show people respect who have earned respect. Osgood has won 396 NHL games and has 2 Cups that are all his own. He carried the team to game 7 of the Finals last year despite countless team setbacks due to injury that should've sent us to the golf courses early. So when Babcock starts busting a guy like Osgood's chops to the press, making statements that he doesn't follow through on to boot, it's pretty certain to me that he's crossing some lines that he ought not to be messing with. He's starting to make Bowman seem like a nice guy.

Again and again, I think he's generally a great coach, but his goalie management has been s*** since day one as Wings coach. The only playoff series we lost in which goaltending played a major role was based on a stupid decision by Babcock in naming Legace the starter in October. He's proven that he can fail drastically in terms of managing the goalies. Again, if things don't change real soon, I fear that he may be setting us up once again to fail, and in the process, hindering the mental development of Jimmy Howard.

Stupid...

[Outsider 42]

Osgood should respect his boss, that's what he is payed to do. When he becomes coach he can control these things. Howard didn't have a great game, but I guess Babcock really thinks Osgood can't play right now, and he knows the situation better than anyone on an internet forum.

Osgood isn't paid to respect his boss. He's paid to put up results. But even if you argue that that is what Osgood is paid to do, then that's a two way street, Carman. Osgood's (lack of) ice-time is not indicative of the results he's put up thus far this Season. And his results won't get any better unless he gets more ice time. His Win/Loss ratio, his GAA, and his SVP cannot get any better from the bench. It's a statistical impossibility.

Furthermore, while I agree that Osgood does owe Babcock his respect as his Coach, I'd argue that Babcock owes Osgood some respect for knowing his position better than a man who's never played it, (nor any other at the NHL Level), to the extent that he's racked up nearly 400 Career Victories, AND a couple of Stanley Cup Rings, ONE of which happens to be a perfect match for the one on Mike Babcock's finger. A ring which wouldn't BE THERE if not for Chris Osgood.

I would also suggest that the fact that Osgood finally opened his yap about the matter isn't due to lack of respect. It's due to the fact that he's been "spanked" all Season long, when there's really been little reason for it. His frustration is justifiable.

It's not Ozzie who's being disrespectful. It's Babcock.

Edited January 7, 2010 by Outsider

[Carman 387]

We did fine last season with Osgood not getting a lot of starts, we'll do fine this season. There has to be a reason Babcock is doing this, he's too good of a coach just to be pissing off a player for no reason. If you want to believe this is a malicious move to ruin Osgood's career I don't know what to say. Babcock is making this decision for a reason, Osgood needs to be a professional.

edit: This is a team game, and Babcock is doing what he thinks is best for his team. Now if he doesn't give Osgood a oppurtunity, or start him in the playoffs then I'll agree with what you are saying.

Edited January 7, 2010 by Carman

[Broken 16 381]

Bunch of stuff I agree with

Except the notion of Howard being mentally scarred or wrecked at some point due to Babcock's decisions. IMO, there is no such thing as 'bad experience' as long as you have a strong support system. I think Howard will be just fine regardless of the outcome. Look at Osgood... he crashed and burned against San Jose way back in the day. Even cried on the news. He turned out pretty good.

I was championing riding Jimmy until he had a bad game (or lost, whichever came first) then giving Osgood a chance. Babcock surprises again. I just hope it isn't a vendetta. That would be bad.

[Outsider 42]

Ya... this definitely, kinda, sorta makes it official that Osgood is in the doghouse.

Exactly.

And don't kid yourself. Not for one second. Osgood was "in the dog house" long before he made those comments to McCosky on December 31st. He's played a total of six Games in the nearly TWO MONTHS since he's come back from the flu. With little to no justification for that benching stemming from his actual play in those six Games.

He played a total of THREE Games in the entire month of December. Note that the "doghouse" treatment was in full force and effect before Ozzie popped off to McCosky on New Years Eve. He'd been benched for almost two whole months prior.

It was Babcock who started the yapping in the Press about how Osgood had to "be better". How he had to "just battle hard in practice", in order to get an opportunity. Only to have that lie proved when he benched Osgood over and over again regardless of his performance.

Chris finally starting yapping back. While it may not have been the best decision to do it, he's justified in doing so.

Like I said earlier. It's personal. And not only is that disrespectful, it's childish and counterproductive.

Edited January 7, 2010 by Outsider

[Carman 387]

Babcock is obviously not seeing what he wants to see from Osgood right now. It's not like they don't see each other besides hockey games. He is with him practically everyday, and Babcock's job is to have his team in the best position possible. Maybe Osgood doesn't have the right mind set right now?

We do not know the situation, atleast do not know the situation as well as the people involved. Babcock is doing what he feels is best for the team, he's usually more right than wrong.

Howard is eventually going to need to play a string of games to progress, why not now when he is on a very impressive stretch?

[gcom007 1,465]

Except the notion of Howard being mentally scarred or wrecked at some point due to Babcock's decisions. IMO, there is no such thing as 'bad experience' as long as you have a strong support system. I think Howard will be just fine regardless of the outcome. Look at Osgood... he crashed and burned against San Jose way back in the day. Even cried on the news. He turned out pretty good.

I was championing riding Jimmy until he had a bad game (or lost, whichever came first) then giving Osgood a chance. Babcock surprises again. I just hope it isn't a vendetta. That would be bad.

I actually just mentioned the San Jose thing in another thread. In it I said if not for Mike Vernon coming in to settle things down, Osgood likely would've washed away with all the other young goalies who get rushed in and broken too early. And in saying that, we have to remember that Osgood was always pretty cool-headed and was a stronger guy coming in than Howard. Howard's had a rough development and I don't think at this point even he's as strong as Osgood was at 23 when San Jose went down. Goalies heat up and disappear all the time in this league and the regular season is 10% of the test the post-season is. And on top of that, Howard's still got some blatant technical issues in his game that he's mostly been lucky to escape thus far, but we've seen what can happen on more than a few occasions even since he's heated up.

I don't think that's a good recipe for a rookie who's had a bit of a rough road heading into the playoffs against top competition and more pressure than he's ever known. Why take the chance when you have the best playoff goaltender of the last two seasons here?

Oh, and vendetta...that's what I'm worried about. I really don't see this ending well if it continues to go on. You're going to pit Babcock, Holland and Osgood against each other if it goes on. I think Babcock's dumb enough to actually go with Howard in the post-season if he continues to ride him in the regular season, and I think Osgood's justified in being upset about that, which Holland will surely hear about if he hasn't already. I don't think Holland will want to go against the coach but do you think Holland likes the idea of sitting a guy who was a game away from a Conn Smythe last year who's been a Red Wing for a long, long time in favor of a rookie who's never faced playoff pressure? Somehow I doubt it.

I'm not trying to get all caught up in conspiracy theories, it's really not my style. But given comments that are readily available in the media from almost a week ago now and that it's only gotten worse, to the point where it's nearly impossible to not think that Osgood's deep in the Babcock doghouse, you've got to wonder how long this will go on before it really gets fiery.

[Pucks 66]

The Game against Chicago which earned Ozzie a spot on the bench for the past 7 games wasn't much worse than Howard's Game against the Ducks last night, as far as performance goes. Both the first and second goals last night were terrible. And anyone who disputes that fact is insane.

The difference?

Osgood faced the #1 seeded Blackhawks on the road on the second night of back-to-backs. Howard faced the 25th seeded Ducks.

This is no longer about playing the hot goalie. This is about Babcock showing Osgood who's boss.

Is this you being serious? Osgood was terrible in that Chicago game. All 3 goals were awful. That's why his ass hasn't played since. If you think differently, then we need not discuss further. In the Ducks game Howard gave up one bad goal, the first one. He stopped countless breakaways in that game. He looked a little shaky but made the saves anyway. If Osgood had been in net for that game we would have been down 5-0 before the second period because chris can't stop the puck on breakaways or odd man rushes.

[Outsider 42]

Is this you being serious? Osgood was terrible in that Chicago game. All 3 goals were awful. That's why his ass hasn't played since. If you think differently, then we need not discuss further. In the Ducks game Howard gave up one bad goal, the first one. He stopped countless breakaways in that game. He looked a little shaky but made the saves anyway. If Osgood had been in net for that game we would have been down 5-0 before the second period because chris can't stop the puck on breakaways or odd man rushes.

Are you being serious?

Against Chicago, Osgood wasn't good. No one is disputing that. But, Osgood was facing the #1 Seed in the NHL, on the second night of back-to-backs, after having been BENCHED for most of TWO MONTHS prior to being thrown into that Game.The first two goals were ugly. The last one was TERRIBLE. He was fantastic in the 3rd Period, however.

Last night Howard was less than "shakey", and HE is lucky it wasn't 5-0, himself. The first goal was terrible. The second goal was terrible. And the third goal wasn't anything to write home about. You also fail to mention all of the times he was bailed out by his teammates last night. And HE was facing one of the worst Teams in the League, on a night where the Team in front of him was well rested, and he had plenty of ice-time to warm him up.

But tell me.....just out of curiosity: When a goaltender gives up a shorty, on a crap rebound, 5 minutes into the first, and then a second goal two minutes later, does that only "deflate" the Team when the name on the back of the Goaltenders jersey is OSGOOD? Because I didn't hear Babcock make any mention of "obviously those two quick goals killed us, and we didn't play with any energy for the rest of the Game."

Osgood faced off against a vastly superior Chicago Team with the 'Hawks on a 7-2 streak. Howard faced the 25th place Ducks with the Ducks on a 3-6 streak.

Bit of a difference in the level of competition there, big guy.

Edited January 7, 2010 by Outsider

[Pucks 66]

Howard faced the Hawks also and while he gave up the same amount of goals, he looked better. That 2nd goal in the Anaheim game that came off the backend was a bad break. Osgood has already given up at least one of those goals this year as well. That was bang bang. He still finished north or .900 save %. That's hall of fame numbers according to some around here.

Are you really suggesting to start an ice cold, off his game Osgood right now when we need these points? That makes no sense. Wait until we get more bodies back and the guys get scoring more, so we have a better margin of error to bring chris back into the fold. Simple.

Edited January 7, 2010 by Pucks

[gcom007 1,465]

Babcock is obviously not seeing what he wants to see from Osgood right now. It's not like they don't see each other besides hockey games. He is with him practically everyday, and Babcock's job is to have his team in the best position possible. Maybe Osgood doesn't have the right mind set right now?

We do not know the situation, atleast do not know the situation as well as the people involved. Babcock is doing what he feels is best for the team, he's usually more right than wrong.

Howard is eventually going to need to play a string of games to progress, why not now when he is on a very impressive stretch?

Actually, I'd say Babcock's been as wrong, if not more wrong, than he has been right when it comes to the goalies...

1st year: The Legace disaster. Babcock f***ed up bigtime. Enough said.

2nd year: He didn't really get a chance to screw it up as Hasek played pretty well, but Hasek showed signs of shakiness in the playoffs that could've been handled better. They eventually reared their ugly head in a must win game 6 in the semi's in which Hasek s*** the bed. That shouldn't have happened one way or another. Still, it's tough to hold much against him for it, though it's tough to give him any credit either.

3rd year: Hasek's signs of shakiness from the previous season were far more abundant in this season, and Osgood got off to a terrific start and had an outstanding, All-Star season in which he was near the top of every goaltending stat at seasons end. Hasek improved from his horrid start but never looked too stable and Osgood blatantly outplayed him all year. But he goes with Hasek heading in to the playoffs anyways and it blows up in his face. Thankfully he wasn't so stubborn as to not make the switch to Osgood, and it all worked out in the end, but if not for an All-Star year by Osgood and Hasek playing absolutely horrendously in the playoffs, we likely would have seen a repeat of the previous year in which a shaky Hasek doesn't play bad but doesn't really play well enough to take us all the way either.

4th year: Heaven knows what happened in the regular season last year. So many rumors, so many stories. No one can remove fault from Osgood as ultimately he failed to rise to the occasion for the majority of the season. Who knows why. Babcock didn't seem able to solve it. If we remember correctly, Holland was the guy who had the talk with Osgood and instituted his "practice break" for him to get his s*** straight that ultimately lead to him getting going towards the end of the season and heading into the playoffs. Babcock starts Osgood in the playoffs, but Osgood had just won a Cup, finished the season looking pretty good despite the numbers and Conklin started slipping towards the end. If not for Holland, who is the guy with a lot of history with Osgood who was able to communicate with him and get him going, heaven knows what would've happened. Bottom line is that Babcock didn't seem able to get the message across.

5th year: Present. He's currently pissing off the best goalie of the post-season the last two years by sitting him on the bench game after game in favor of a rookie, all this despite the fact that Osgood really hasn't played poorly this season and we're not losing or winning games because of goaltending. He's taking shots at Osgood in the press that have pissed the typically cool Osgood off enough to say things that are totally out of character for him in regards to the situation. He's also making inconsistent statements and not following through on many of his words. Howard's about to get his 7th straight start after he played a game as bad as any Osgood has played this season. And all the while, Osgood's sitting while he's 4 wins away from 400. I'm sure that's a real fun monkey to have hanging on his back in general, let alone in this situation.

Bottom line, I don't think Babcock knows how to deal with goalies. I don't think he's ever proven to be very successful at dealing with them since he's been here. I think he's solid in nearly every other way, but he does not know how to deal with goalies. Bowman was the king of mind games, but there's no way in hell this would be going on under his watch. It's utterly and completely counterproductive in the long-run.

I think what it boils down to is that much like many other people in the league, Babcock came in with the built in distaste for Osgood. I don't think it's fair or logical and thankfully I think Osgood's done a great deal to prove that in the last couple playoff runs, but I think it's pervaded Babcock's handling of him since day 1. Naming Legace the playoff starter in October is a slap in the face to Osgood aside from simply being a stupid as s*** thing to do. Osgood humbly outplayed Legace down the stretch and swallowed his fate like a pro, and did the same when Hasek arrived again. He seems to turn to Osgood only when he really has to. He had to go to him in '08 because Hasek completely fell apart. He had to go to him in '09 because of '08 and because Conklin's a career backup who started slumping by seasons end. And this year, well, yeah...7 straight starts for Jimmy Howard.

Prediction: unless things change real quick, Holland will be the guy to save Babcock from his goalie mess once again. And it will get there if things go on as they have.

[Doc Holliday 1,888]

Howard faced the Hawks also and while he gave up the same amount of goals, he looked better. That 2nd goal that came off the backend was a bad break. Osgood has already given up at least one of those goals this year as well. That was bang bang. He still finished north or .900 save %. That's hall of fame numbers according to some around here.

Are you really suggesting to start an ice cold, off his game Osgood right now when we need these points? That makes no sense. Wait until we get more bodies back and the guys get scoring more, so we have a better margin of error to bring chris back into the fold. Simple.

So basically continue to tire out a rookie because you don't want to risk putting in a cold goaltender when that same rookie just crapped the bed against the 25th best team in the league.

What?

[Outsider 42]

Howard faced the Hawks also and while he gave up the same amount of goals, he looked better. That 2nd goal that came off the backend was a bad break. Osgood has already given up at least one of those goals this year as well. That was bang bang. He still finished north or .900 save %. That's hall of fame numbers according to some around here.

Are you really suggesting to start an ice cold, off his game Osgood right now when we need these points? That makes no sense. Wait until we get more bodies back and the guys get scoring more, so we have a better margin of error to bring chris back into the fold. Simple.

I'm suggesting that Osgood isn't as "off his Game" as you'd like to think he is.

He's not at Play Off Mode Level, but he's not nearly as bad as you'd like to make him out to be, either.

And when Howard faced the 'Hawks, he did it when they were coming in on the second night of back-to-back Games, on the road.

Who had they faced the night before? The Sharks. They fired nearly 50 shots at Nabokov, while holding San Jose to FOURTEEN. They were exhausted. And they still fired three pucks out of 31 past Howard.

You figure it out.

[Pucks 66]

So basically continue to tire out a rookie because you don't want to risk putting in a cold goaltender when that same rookie just crapped the bed against the 25th best team in the league.

What?

With how your brain works the answer would be......yes! Also I hate to break it to you but the Ducks are capable of beating any team in this league on any night. That team is playoff battle tested and plays hard against us. They lost some players and had some injuries but they can play. Any hockey fan knows this.

[Outsider 42]

So basically continue to tire out a rookie because you don't want to risk putting in a cold goaltender when that same rookie just crapped the bed against the 25th best team in the league.

What?

Exactly....

Not to mention the fact that Osgood is not playing as badly as everyone is making it out to be, for cripes sake.

[Pucks 66]

I'm suggesting that Osgood isn't as "off his Game" as you'd like to think he is.

We'll actually I agree with you there. I think he's playing the way he always does, but I was just saying it gentle for all the Osgood slappy's that might be reading.

[gcom007 1,465]

Is this you being serious? Osgood was terrible in that Chicago game. All 3 goals were awful. That's why his ass hasn't played since. If you think differently, then we need not discuss further. In the Ducks game Howard gave up one bad goal, the first one. He stopped countless breakaways in that game. He looked a little shaky but made the saves anyway. If Osgood had been in net for that game we would have been down 5-0 before the second period because chris can't stop the puck on breakaways or odd man rushes.

Howard's ass got saved numerous times in the first by the skaters. That game could've easily been 5-0 if not for blatant saves made by skaters after Howard lost control of the puck again and again. He had no handle whatsoever on the puck in the first last night and the second goal would've never happened had he handled one of the first two shots better. Anaheim wouldn't have had half the chances they did if his puck control wasn't such a disaster in the first. When you give up huge rebounds over and over and get caught out of position in the process, it's just as bad as a giveaway by the defensemen in front of the net.

I'm not trying to throw him under the bus, but he absolutely played as s***ty of a game as Osgood in Chicago when it all boils down. Both goalies in both games finished stronger than they started though, so give them that. Osgood had a hell of a 3rd period and Howard didn't crumble and finished pretty solid. And don't minimize the fact that Osgood was getting his first start in awhile against one of the best teams in the league as opposed to Howard who's got the rhythm going heading into Anaheim to play one of the worst teams in the league. If Osgood had been given a start a game or so before Chicago, I highly doubt those goals would've gone in. I don't care who you are, when you sit as long as Osgood's been sitting, especially when you're ultimately an NHL starter used to playing in a rhythm, you're going to have a rougher time coming off the bench.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

2nd year: He didn't really get a chance to screw it up as Hasek played pretty well, but Hasek showed signs of shakiness in the playoffs that could've been handled better. They eventually reared their ugly head in a must win game 6 in the semi's in which Hasek s*** the bed. That shouldn't have happened one way or another. Still, it's tough to hold much against him for it, though it's tough to give him any credit either.

You're gonna get nitpicked for this one: Hasek was fine in '07. The Wings were the victims of the most absurd misfortune imaginable and the thought of there being any justice in this universe was obliterated, but Hasek was not deserving of any blame.