Goaltender Chris Osgood is very happy to be a member of the Detroit Red Wings. So happy, in fact, that he was willing to take a discount to remain with the club for another three seasons.
The Detroit Red Wings announced on Wednesday re-signing Osgood to a three-year contract extension worth $1.5 million per season.
Osgood began his career with the Red Wings and was once considered their goalie of the future, even backstopping them to a Stanley Cup in 1998.
But despite that success his performance became plagued in subsequent years by inconsistency and a perception that he couldn’t win the big game for Detroit.
When the Wings acquired Dominik Hasek from Buffalo in 2001 the writing was on the wall for Osgood, and he was shipped to the NY Islanders, where again he was plagued by doubts, and dealt the following season to the St. Louis Blues, where he faced the same questions.
After the lockout the Red Wings brought “Ozzie” home by signing him as a free agent in 2005 but he was seen solely as a backup, first to Manny Legace and then last season to Hasek.
If that bothered Osgood it didn’t show as he was praised for his support of Legace and Hasek as well as for providing reliable netminding in a backup role.
But with age looking like it’s caught up to Hasek, Osgood has stepped up, playing his best hockey in years.
“Ozzie” is making $800, 000 for this season, but his performance thus far – leading all goalies in goals-against average (1.62) and tied for the lead in save percentage (.932) whilst sporting a 19-2-1 record – would’ve qualified him for considerably more than $1.5 mil per season on the open market.
But today’s news makes it obvious that Osgood had no intention of leaving Hockeytown USA, and is yet another noteworthy chapter in what has to be considered a comeback season for the veteran netminder.
For the Wings this signing allows room to re-sign other UFAs like Daniel Cleary and Chris Chelios, and if Osgood’s performance should falter over the course of that deal makes him affordable to relegate back to a backup role or perhaps to trade him again.
If he keeps playing as well as he has thus far this season, “Ozzie” won’t have to worry about that possibility.
If he keeps playing like that over the next three seasons he’ll be one of the lowest paid, high-profile starting goalies in the league.
But that doesn’t matter to Osgood. For him, it’s good enough to stay where he’s happy.
I don't want to take anything away from Osgood, he is truly having a great year, but a lot of that is because of the team in front of him. Lidstrom, Chelios,and Rafalski is all it takes for any goalie to be above average. If you put Ossy on a team like the Kings, I don't think he'd be doing nearly as well. Of course anyone can combat me about that statement by saying the same would be true about any goalie. On the other hand, if you put any goalie on the Red Wings, he'd be doing almost as good as Osgood. It's still a good signing for the Wings, because Osgood definatly has chemistry with his team that any other goalie in the NHL might not have.
Seems like a strange deal. Granted, he is having a great season. I just wonder what will happen next year. Hasek won't be around forever (even though it seems like it). Wings didn't think Osgood was the go-to-guy before...do they think he is the go-to-guy now?!?! He is 34, and not getting any younger. I can't imagine the Wings settling on Osgood as their starting goalie for the next 3 years. $1.5 mil is a lot for a backup or a time-share.
A great signing by the team. I've been an Ozzie fan since Day 1 and it's amazing how much more solid he is now than he has ever been.
sharkfan99: A lot of criticism against Osgood is that his numbers have always been a product of the team he's played for. But if you watched the Wings early this season, Ozzie was winning every game while Hasek (behind the same defense) was losing and putting up absolutely horrible numbers. I've watched him game in and game out since he broke into the league and he is far more technically sound and more consistent now than he has ever been. He's a better goalie now than he has ever been, and has outplayed Hasek by leaps and bounds.
flash8910: With the way he's playing now, I'd prefer Ozzie was the go-to guy over Hasek. But my guess (and it's pretty much just that) is that Hasek will be gone next year and the Wings will give Jimmy Howard every chance to make the team. He turns 24 in March, is in his 3rd pro season in the AHL, and is seen as their goalie of the future. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get 20-30 starts behind Ozzie if he proves he's ready. If he's not ready they have the room to bring in a solid backup for a year or two. I think the team wants Ozzie to be able to mentor Howard because he knows what it's like to be a young goalie in Detroit. And $1.5 million is a bit much for a backup, you're right, but Howard will probably still be on his entry-level contract so if the Wings go with that tandem you're looking at less than $3-4 million for your goalies and that's not a bad deal.
chaas: I haven't heard anything about one but my guess is that there isn't one. But in a worst-case scenario where he stays in a backup role, he would probably be better than any other backup they could bring in. And it's a pretty affordable deal for the Wings to keep on the books. Even without a no-trade clause (which I don't think the Wings give out very often anyway), I fully expect Ozzie to retire a Red Wing.
fauxrumors5: The $1.5 million is the average. The way it's structured is that he'll make $1.7 next year, then $1.45, then $1.1. So unless the Wings dash out and get a high profile starter in the offseason or Hasek comes back AGAIN, Ozzie will be the starter in Detroit next year. If they follow the Jimmy Howard route then I wouldn't expect Ozzie to actually be a full-time backup until the last year of this deal, and $1.1 million isn't bad for a good backup. Especially when you consider that Howard might not be making even that much (I'm not what his current contract status is).
Once again, here is the prime example of someone who is playing to play, and isnt worried about the money. I really respect Ozzie and Lidstrom for wanting to play and not holding out, or doing other stupid stuff. Thanks for keeping us so informed, Spector! Keep up the great work!
It's about time Ozzy gets some credit!!! Your right hes 34 yesr old and only has 20 or so less wins then hasek!!! If he starts the next 3 years he has a chance to reach #3 on the all time wins list if not higher, and even then he will only be 37 or 38. It's good to see hes finally getting crdeit, always has been my favopurite goalie and always will be. Good to see him staying where he belongs, at home, IN HOCKEY TOWN!!!
From the looks of things, it's not even a done deal that Osgood finishes this season as the number one goalie in Hockeytown. Rumors of Hasek's demise are greatly exaggerated. That said, he's been one of the better stories, and while I certainly think he has benefited at times from the system in which he's played, you can't argue (or be pleasantly surprised) with his numbers this season. Not even so much the wins, which are a total team effort, but the GAA. If Osgood isn't earning his backup money in a couple of seasons, they'll still be doing alright in the short term because he's proven an ability to play incredibly well in this system and as mentioned can mentor the next generation and carry the load temporarily while doing it.
MPH: You're right about him not finishing the season as #1 in Detroit. From the very beginning of the season the team kept claiming Hasek was their starter, even when he continued to stink up the joint through the first two months. And it certainly appears that he may be back on track (9-1-1 since the beginning of December), but there is no denying how terrible he was before that run. From the perspective of a Wings fan and a fellow goalie who gets to watch every game, he just doesn't instill a lot of confidence in me.
Babcock has said he will continue to rotate starts through the 60th game, and then what happens is up in the air. My gut tells me they'll turn to Hasek after that, despite the fact that even in the run he's on he is still being outplayed by Osgood. Ozzie has the better fundamentals and consistency at this point and all he's done this year is win, but come playoff time more than likely he'll be pushed to the bench. I think the upside though is that even when Hasek officially becomes the starter he's probably going to be on a fairly short leash.
In '02, Wings went 0-2 to the Canucks and all over Hockeytown, Wingnuts were screaming for Bowman to start Legace in net in Game Three. Every Wingnut knows what happened in the dressing room after Game Two. Bowman stuck with Hasek and the Wings won four straight from the Canucks.
Hasek will be the starter in net when the playoffs start.
Osgood has certainly gone a long way toward making it a true competition, but that's the way I feel about it as well. Hasek has the postseason resume to afford him the primary shot at getting the call for the playoffs. In my view, he'd really have to revert in order to back up Osgood, and with the way the Wings are playing any given night I don't see that happening. I know the Wings managed to juggle Osgood and Vernon to great success over a decade ago, but this has the makings of a dangerous and unsettled situation. Hasek could always suffer an injury and take himself out of the running, but my gut says if he's healthy and all else is equal, he'll be between the pipes for the second season.
MPH: I'm on the same page with you except for considering it a potentially "dangerous and unsettled situation". From the moment Ozzie came back to Detroit he knew it was to be a backup, but that's just the great team player that he is. He knows the team sees Hasek as the starter and he's fine with that. He just wants to stay in Detroit. And to Hasek's credit he has been great with the situation this year too. I think those two guys get along really well and whoever is starting at any given time has the full support of the other. Really it's an ideal situation for the Wings and Hasek both because the goal of both of them is to make sure Hasek is healthy and rested for the playoffs and Ozzie's phenomenal play couldn't be making it any easier. Full confidence in your backup goalie is underrated today when so many goalies play 70+ games a year.
Fogal, I definitely see where you're coming from. My point on the situation is not so much that I see Osgood as thinking he deserves to be the number one as much as the fans of the Wings being potentially torn because of his awfully strong play this season. By assuring that the two of them will play equal time for the majority of the season, Babcock might end up fueling the indecision of the fans as to this situation. Now it's true that they'd still have time to then throw their weight behind one guy in preparation for the playoffs, but there's no reason to assume the decision will be any easier then, barring injury. I also ultimately see Hasek as being the guy no matter what, but I feel the call to make a switch will be that much stronger with the roles being so undefined for most of the year.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
