281 replies to this topic

[WizardOfOz30]

The question I present to you all, and it is tougher than it sounds:


Will #30 be worn again on the back of the winged wheel?

I don't think it will be used anymore.


Good luck Ozzie, you will be missed.

[vladdy16]

Ozzie will be on 97.1soon, specific time not announced.

On now - Darren is there are well.

[hillbillywingsfan]

Ozzie will be on 97.1soon, specific time not announced.

On now - Darren is there are well.

sounds like he's on now

[vladdy16]

Wrestled all summer with decision - knew he could play & would miss the team and the Joe; body tipped the scales as well as being at home more with family. Kenny offered him the "coaching" job & thought he'd be more useful in that capacity. He felt it was right time; was very nervous yesterday until the words left his lips. He's confident he made right decision.
Just got back from trip with Drapes, Hank, Howie & unnamed others to UK; made it harder to make decision because he was with a lot of team mates. Drapes helped make decision.
Stony asked how he manages to shake off bad goals so successfully - earlier coaches stressed this daily; learned from Cheli and Vernon; HoF - wants to be in (!) looks forward to it happening, feels he should make it, especially after playing with NY & St. Louis; more proud of playoff performances than regular season overall. Stony admits he said no, because he thinks Oz wasn't a dominant player, albeit a good goalie.

Those are the highlights.

[deetroit dario]

so, i don't even know why, but when i read the retirement article on mlive, i started to cry. not a sad cry, not a happy cry...just a few tears and when i'd finished reading, a slight salute.
i didn't even do that when stevie retired. i've only cried about this sport one time...when vladdie was in the accident.

still not sure what prompted it, or why i've felt the need to post about it after a long self imposed exile from lgw. all i know is, the man deserved our respect and never got it, he deserved every win (and a few of the losses!), and he now deserves a proper sendoff.

thank you, ozzie, for everything. you may not be on the ice, but both my wife and myself will wear your jersey with pride!!

[Majsheppard]

Just watched them debate whether Osgood deserves to be in the HoF on TSN. The debate pissed me off of course, there was nothing but the tired defense of the good team issue.

Best quote I read elsewhere said, I find it odd that every single player in the HoF played for awful teams.

I digress.


What pissed me off the most is they argued whether Cujo or Ozzie belonged in the hall, and the Pro Cujo guy was like, he was a great goaltender on average teams... he didn't get to play in Detroit with such a great team...


Ummmmm... How the hell did you get on TV moron. He did play in Detroit, for a team with tons of HoF players. He got bounced early. Why do you ignore this?

[Shoreline]

Retiring Ozzie's number and sending him to the HOF is the only reasonable thing's ahead for him.

Will miss the guy. Under appreciated, under rated.

[Doc Holliday]

Ummmmm... How the hell did you get on TV moron. He did play in Detroit, for a team with tons of HoF players. He got bounced early. Why do you ignore this?

Even if you include that it doesn't mean anything.

Cujo was lights out when he was here.

[dragonballgtz]

Even if you include that it doesn't mean anything.

Cujo was lights out when he was here.

That only happened during the 04 playoffs. Other than that he was shaky.

[Doc Holliday]

That only happened during the 04 playoffs. Other than that he was shaky.

2.08 and a .917 is shaky?

[vladdy16]

I could have sworn this thread was titled "Ozzie announces his retirement," not "The Ultimate Goalie Thread."

Keep it on topic, please.

[Rivalred]

I could have sworn this thread was titled "Ozzie announces his retirement," not "The Ultimate Goalie Thread."

Keep it on topic, please.

Ozzie was the Ultimate Goalie and he retired, he will be missed

[WizardOfOz30]

Just watched them debate whether Osgood deserves to be in the HoF on TSN. The debate pissed me off of course, there was nothing but the tired defense of the good team issue.

Best quote I read elsewhere said, I find it odd that every single player in the HoF played for awful teams.

I digress.


What pissed me off the most is they argued whether Cujo or Ozzie belonged in the hall, and the Pro Cujo guy was like, he was a great goaltender on average teams... he didn't get to play in Detroit with such a great team...


Ummmmm... How the hell did you get on TV moron. He did play in Detroit, for a team with tons of HoF players. He got bounced early. Why do you ignore this?

If you keep watching this stuff and reading it you're going to be very angry. We know he belongs in the HoF and I believe he'll get there someday. Until then, feel sorry for them that they don't see what we do.

[Holmstrom96]

Thanks for the memories Ozzie!

[echos myron]

Prime Cujo was better than Osgood. He had the misfortune of signing with the Wings in a transition period. Neither belong in the hall.

Edited by echos myron, 20 July 2011 - 12:23 PM.

[Motown4013]

Congrats to Chris Osgood on an amazing career and for everything he brought to the Red Wings. He is a class act and I hope he makes the hall...he certianly deserves it!

[Electrophile]

Retiring already. And he still looks like he's twelve.

He's got a portrait of Dorian Gray in his attic.

[Travis]

Chris Osgood's retirement is a glum day for those who like to laugh.

Osgood decamps with 401 NHL victories and an immeasurable amount of funny things said. This is the guy who referred to former Red Wings teammate Brian Rafalski as "Higgins," the bald character from "Magnum, P.I." The guy who accused another former teammate, Chris Chelios, of using too much self-tanner. Where other players simply noted Drew Miller's prematurely gray hair, Osgood observed that "his hair feels like straw when I run my fingers through it." Last season, Osgood went on about how handsome he found Mike Modano.

"Chris definitely has got that great sense of humor," Kirk Maltby said. Maltby would know, having been a teammate since the mid-90s through his own retirement last season. To almost everyone in the locker room Maltby was "Malts," but Osgood had a different moniker.

"He called me 'Falcon,' from 'The Maltese Falcon' -- you know, Malts, Maltese," Maltby said. "I don't think any of the younger guys had any idea what that was about.

"With Ozzie, you were never worried about picking up a hair dryer and turning it on to blow-dry your hair and finding baby powder blowing out. He was just the type that if he found out anything you'd done or something, he'd get a nickname out of it, usually having something to do with a 1980s TV series or actor."

Osgood is a soft talker, with a voice that sometimes barely breaks a decibel. But it's worth it to ask if he really just said something about nachos -- as he did last September, when Osgood suggested Todd Bertuzzi would do well as the star of the movie, "Nacho Libre."

When Bertuzzi found out, he dressed as the character for the team's Halloween party.

"He's irreplaceable," Bertuzzi said. "It's a sad, sad day. I'm going to miss those times when things weren't going well and we'd be having late-night talks in hotel rooms, going over life, family, hockey. I'd always come out of those talks laughing, and come out of my slumps at the same time."

Osgood didn't start out as a chatty guy. Kris Draper sat next to him during the 1993-94 season and remembers a guy who didn't say a word.

"Now he controls the dressing room," Draper said. "He's funny, witty, has great nicknames for everybody, and those are the kinds of guys you love to have as your teammate. He was one of the most popular guys in the dressing room because of the way he acts and the way he treats people."

Where everybody else called Draper "Chuck Norris" for his likeness to the actor, Osgood went one step further. "He started calling me 'Braddock,' and the first time, I didn't pick up on it," Draper said. "Ozzie just started laughing and said it's one of Chuck Norris' characters."

Draper got a call right after Osgood made his retirement official: "He talked for 10 minutes straight. You know when he starts going, you can't interrupt him. He's too much fun when he's on a roll."

As much as Osgood takes pride in what he's done on the ice, it's the off-ice camaraderie that made work so pleasurable.

"As I was making my decision about retiring or not, I knew that what I'd miss was playing first and the camaraderie second," Osgood said. "I mean, half of it has been the playing, but half of it was being with the guys, winning series with them but also hanging out, just joking around. I always liked making up nicknames, ever since I was a kid, I did it with my brother and my friends.

"I think Higgins was my best one. That was one of my favorites. I don't think Rafi liked it too much, but he had to accept it in the end. Things like that, they just add to the fun."

The Freep
Even in locker room filled with experienced players, tense moments occurred. When they did, few defused them better than Osgood.

[eva unit zero]

Prime Cujo was better than Osgood. He had the misfortune of signing with the Wings in a transition period. Neither belong in the hall.

Cujo had 454 wins.

Osgood had 401 wins, and 2 Cups as starter and was a game away from a 3rd.

Both were strong in the postseason.

During the past 25 years, the top 6 goalies in the league have been Roy, Hasek, Brodeur, Belfour, Osgood, and Joseph. Two are in the Hall. Two more are active and considered locks. So what is your argument against the remaining two?

[Happy Pancake]

Thanks for all the great years Chris! I still remember feeling so excited when Hasek came here and yet so sad that Ozzie was leaving. I also remember how glad I was to be right when I said he'd be back. Cheers to a great career!