The Real Osgood Question

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

It would be both strange and wrong to see another player wear #30 for the Red Wings. I say yes.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

It would be both strange and wrong to see another player wear #30 for the Red Wings. I say yes.

Then why was Uwe Krupp wearing Red Kelly's number?

Or how about Meech wearing Shanny's number? Did you get used to that?

Edited August 4, 2011 by GMRwings1983

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Then why was Uwe Krupp wearing Red Kelly's number?

Or how about Meech wearing Shanny's number? Did you get used to that?

I didn't care for either. I was very surprised to see #14 worn again so fast.

[WizardOfOz30 1,886]

No, his number won't be retired. He was never "the man" for the Red Wings. If Fedorov doesn't get his number retired, no way in hell Ozzie does, and that's no offense to Ozzie, who I think is a first ballot HHOF.

I had to fix that for you only because it's you. Unless you meant Ozzie would look good in a tutu, and the way he is I could see him doing something like that just for fun.

[Konnan511 1,736]

I had to fix that for you only because it's you. Unless you meant Ozzie would look good in a tutu, and the way he is I could see him doing something like that just for fun.

I knew it looked funny. And you never know...

[puckloo39 5,686]

I think the fact that Red Wings fans don't get to vote for HHOF inductees will have a big impact on whether Ozzie gets in or not. Just because some of us think he's elite, doesn't mean the committee will agree. Just saying....

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

It would be both strange and wrong to see another player wear #30 for the Red Wings. I say yes.

Strange, yes, but I don't see what's wrong about it. Greg Stefan wore #30 for nine years here in Detroit before Ozzy did.

Kozlov was drafted by the Wings and wore #13 for ten years here, including for two Cup wins, but I think Datsyuk wore his number the very season after Slava was traded.

The game goes on.

Edited August 4, 2011 by haroldsnepsts

[eva unit zero 271]

Strange, yes, but I don't see what's wrong about it. Greg Stefan wore #30 for nine years here in Detroit before Ozzy did.

Kozlov was drafted by the Wings and wore #13 for ten years here, including for two Cup wins, but I think Datsyuk wore his number the very season after Slava was traded.

The game goes on.

Stefan was an average goaltender. It was stranger seeing Bob Rouse, Doug Houda, Jesse Wallin, or Andreas Lilja wearing #3 after Steve Chiasson, who was briefly one of the league's best. Cory Cross wearing #4 after Mark Howe and Red Kelly was just a disgusting sight.

Datsyuk taking on Kozlov's number was a bit less acceptable, but still acceptable. Kozlov was never one of Detroit's best players; he was always outshined by at minimum Fedorov and Yzerman, as well as some combination of Shanahan, Primeau, Sheppard, Ciccarelli, and Larionov. He was usually the fourth or fifth best forward on the team in any given year. And beyond that, there were Lidstrom, Konstantinov, Chelios, Coffey, Fetisov, and Chiasson on defense and Osgood and Vernon in goal. Kozlov attaining any kind of significant status in Detroit was not happening, despite his performance. He had a couple of seasons where he was among the league's top left wingers. When he left Detroit, he continued to star in this fashion, and finally started to get recognized as his teammates did not overshadow him the way guys like Fedorov, Yzerman, and Lidstrom will overshadow just about anyone. Had Kozlov been drafted by a weak team, he might have seen much better recognition for his performance.

But Osgood, however, is well beyond that. The only Red Wings goaltender who can be argued as better is Terry Sawchuk. His number hangs from the rafters. Osgood holds a number of Wings records, and will be a Hall of Famer. Only nine goalies have played more games with a single team. None of them can boast better winning percentages. Of all goaltenders with 275 games played or more with a single team, only George Hainsworth, Bill Durnan, Jacques Plante, and Ken Dryden can boast better winning percentages. And that is, interestingly enough, the list of starting goaltenders for the Montreal Canadiens from 1927 until 1979. They all came from a team that dominated the league, mostly during a time when acquiring a player was basically a "first-come, first-served" process except for local territories, which was given a special rule that was modified throughout the years that allowed it to protect a various amount of unsigned, undrafted Quebecois talent from other NHL teams.

All of those Montreal goalies joined a team that was already a Cup champion. If the Wings had traded Osgood and Drake for Essensa and Bautin, not made the Vernon deal, and then continued on the next couple of seasons with Chevy in net, do you think they go to the finals in 95 or win the Cup in 97?

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Stefan was an average goaltender. It was stranger seeing Bob Rouse, Doug Houda, Jesse Wallin, or Andreas Lilja wearing #3 after Steve Chiasson, who was briefly one of the league's best. Cory Cross wearing #4 after Mark Howe and Red Kelly was just a disgusting sight.

Datsyuk taking on Kozlov's number was a bit less acceptable, but still acceptable. Kozlov was never one of Detroit's best players; he was always outshined by at minimum Fedorov and Yzerman, as well as some combination of Shanahan, Primeau, Sheppard, Ciccarelli, and Larionov. He was usually the fourth or fifth best forward on the team in any given year. And beyond that, there were Lidstrom, Konstantinov, Chelios, Coffey, Fetisov, and Chiasson on defense and Osgood and Vernon in goal. Kozlov attaining any kind of significant status in Detroit was not happening, despite his performance. He had a couple of seasons where he was among the league's top left wingers. When he left Detroit, he continued to star in this fashion, and finally started to get recognized as his teammates did not overshadow him the way guys like Fedorov, Yzerman, and Lidstrom will overshadow just about anyone. Had Kozlov been drafted by a weak team, he might have seen much better recognition for his performance.

But Osgood, however, is well beyond that. The only Red Wings goaltender who can be argued as better is Terry Sawchuk. His number hangs from the rafters. Osgood holds a number of Wings records, and will be a Hall of Famer. Only nine goalies have played more games with a single team. None of them can boast better winning percentages. Of all goaltenders with 275 games played or more with a single team, only George Hainsworth, Bill Durnan, Jacques Plante, and Ken Dryden can boast better winning percentages. And that is, interestingly enough, the list of starting goaltenders for the Montreal Canadiens from 1927 until 1979. They all came from a team that dominated the league, mostly during a time when acquiring a player was basically a "first-come, first-served" process except for local territories, which was given a special rule that was modified throughout the years that allowed it to protect a various amount of unsigned, undrafted Quebecois talent from other NHL teams.

All of those Montreal goalies joined a team that was already a Cup champion. If the Wings had traded Osgood and Drake for Essensa and Bautin, not made the Vernon deal, and then continued on the next couple of seasons with Chevy in net, do you think they go to the finals in 95 or win the Cup in 97?

This is only true if you qualify it with some number of seasons a goalie had to be on the team to count. By virtue of the length of his tenure here and position as goaltender, that alone puts Osgood in rarified air. If you are just talking about goalies who were Red Wings, Dominik Hasek was a Red Wings goaltender and relatively speaking Ozzy isn't fit to carry his jockstrap. You could make a case for Cujo being as good as Ozzy too.

To the larger argument, there will be a lot of great players who come and go throughout the Wings history. It doesn't mean that all those numbers should never be worn again or we'd be into triple digits. Hanging a number from the rafters should only be for the best of the best. There was no one arguing Yzerman belonged up there and there will be no one arguing that Lids belongs up there.

As for the fictional Osgood trade, who knows? who gives a s***? If Robitaille's shot had been an inch lower and scored instead of hitting the crossbar, would the Wings have won another Cup instead of getting swept by Anaheim in 03?

Edited August 4, 2011 by haroldsnepsts

[Konnan511 1,736]

This is only true if you qualify it with some number of seasons a goalie had to be on the team to count. By virtue of the length of his tenure here and position as goaltender, that alone puts Osgood in rarified air. If you are just talking about goalies who were Red Wings, Dominik Hasek was a Red Wings goaltender and relatively speaking Ozzy isn't fit to carry his jockstrap. You could make a case for Cujo being as good as Ozzy too.

To the larger argument, there will be a lot of great players who come and go throughout the Wings history. It doesn't mean that all those numbers should never be worn again or we'd be into triple digits. Hanging a number from the rafters should only be for the best of the best. There was no one arguing Yzerman belonged up there and there will be no one arguing that Lids belongs up there.

As for the fictional Osgood trade, who knows? who gives a s***? If Robitaille's shot had been an inch lower and scored instead of hitting the crossbar, would the Wings have won another Cup instead of getting swept by Anaheim in 03?

Or if Charlie Conway's shot was an inch further to the left, the Ducks may have lost the championship.