Can somebody tell me why Chris Osgood is terrible in the regular season, EVERY YEAR.
But when the playoff's come around, he becomes a god and makes saves left and right.
I remember last year when he stole 2 games against Columbus, especially early.
A lifetime 2.47 gaa .906 save pct and 49 regular season shoutouts. Those are pretty good numbers for a guy who's terrible in the regular season EVERY year.
Now start the it's was the team in front of him crap.
A lifetime 2.47 gaa .906 save pct and 49 regular season shoutouts. Those are pretty good numbers for a guy who's terrible in the regular season EVERY year.
Now start the it's was the team in front of him crap.
Osgood sucked last year in the regular season... and has definitely had some clunkers to start this year off --- but that is about it.
The previous year he led the league with 2.07 GAA and a also had a .914 SV%.
A lifetime 2.47 gaa .906 save pct and 49 regular season shoutouts. Those are pretty good numbers for a guy who's terrible in the regular season EVERY year.
Now start the it's was the team in front of him crap.
Is that "pretty good" for a team that's #1 in the West almost every year? Imagine how many more Cups Detroit would have if he was 2.2/.912. Oh wait...it's Osgood
Is that "pretty good" for a team that's #1 in the West almost every year? Imagine how many more Cups Detroit would have if he was 2.2/.912. Oh wait...it's Osgood
You might aswell ask, "why doesn't Detroit just get the best players at every position?"
The reason Detroit won a cup (in the modern era) is because they spend a lot of money on defense, and very little on goaltending... do you know Osgoods salary? We don't live in a world where you can have the best goaltending, defense, and offense in the league.
Is that "pretty good" for a team that's #1 in the West almost every year? Imagine how many more Cups Detroit would have if he was 2.2/.912. Oh wait...it's Osgood
What do cups have to do with the regular season?
What are the names of the 4 goalies that have won cup for the Wings since 1997.
You might aswell ask, "why doesn't Detroit just get the best players at every position?"
The reason Detroit won a cup (in the modern era) is because they spend a lot of money on defense, and very little on goaltending... do you know Osgoods salary? We don't live in a world where you can have the best goaltending, defense, and offense in the league.
Detroit can, and they'd win more Cups, but they're stupid...take Osgood's 1.5, parlay it with Rafalski's 6, and you got yourself a stud goaltender - you can't say THAT won't make a far greater impact than Rafalski's measly 50-55points.
Detroit can, and they'd win more Cups, but they're stupid...take Osgood's 1.5, parlay it with Rafalski's 6, and you got yourself a stud goaltender - you can't say THAT won't make a far greater impact than Rafalski's measly 50-55points.
That's the problem though. Holland is willing to pay an elite goaltender the money he would deserve. He just doesn't believe he's had a shot at one. So he spends it on defense instead. He says he won't pay a guy who's not the top five or so of goalies $5-6 MM per year as well. None of the elite guys have hit the market. Furthermore, Detroit hasn't been able to offer high value draft picks either, in a trade scenario.
Detroit can, and they'd win more Cups, but they're stupid...take Osgood's 1.5, parlay it with Rafalski's 6, and you got yourself a stud goaltender - you can't say THAT won't make a far greater impact than Rafalski's measly 50-55points.
What more does he have to do? Here are his 3 SC finals playoff numbers:
1998 2.12 gaa .918 save pct
2008 1.55 gaa .930 save pct
2009 2.01 gaa .926 save pct
Osgood sucked last year in the regular season... and has definitely had some clunkers to start this year off --- but that is about it.
The previous year he led the league with 2.07 GAA and a also had a .914 SV%.
Yet I believe Hasek has similar numbers. Ozzie played 43 games and Dom had 41 games. Each had 27 wins, and Ozzie had one less loss at 9 L. His 2.09 was matched by Dom's 2.14. SV% of .914 v .902. Dom had five shutouts, Oz had 4. I do believe that Dom, being the named #1 goalie, perhaps faced the tougher teams, but I'd have to check that...
That particular team was extremely good in suppressing shots on goal, and had the best goal differential in the league to boot.
What more does he have to do? Here are his 3 SC finals playoff numbers:
Are you saying he should be the Wing's starter this year?
I personally believe the team isn't going to much over .500 if they have Ozzie in net all year. The other point though is that he can only play 40-50 games per year. He's not the kind of goalie that can play 70 games or more (unless you want disaster on your hands).
What happened to all the other years in 1994-2000? Detroit could have had 2-3 more cups no?
How many available goalies were an upgrade? There were a series or two where Roy or Belfour outplayed Osgood. But other than that I dont think they lost many series due to the other goalie outplaying him.
How many available goalies were an upgrade? There were a series or two where Roy or Belfour outplayed Osgood. But other than that I dont think they lost many series due to the other goalie outplaying him.
That's the interesting thing about how Ozzie's departure from Detroit played out. Pretty sure it was Bowman who told management if they wanted another Cup, he'd need an upgrade in goal. Why trade with the Sabres for Hasek if you felt Ozzie was good enough?
What happened to all the other years in 1994-2000? Detroit could have had 2-3 more cups no?
1994 2.35 gaa .891 save pct (Rookie)
1995 1.76 gaa .920 save pct (Vernon starter)
1996 2.12 gaa .898 save pct (Vernon starter)
1997 2.55 gaa .905 save pct (2 games Vernon starter)
1998 2.12 gaa .918 save pct (1 cup as a starter)
1999 2.35 gaa .919 save pct (injured during playoffs, Ranford filled in)
2000 1.97 gaa .924 save pct
Are you saying he should be the Wing's starter this year?
I personally believe the team isn't going to much over .500 if they have Ozzie in net all year. The other point though is that he can only play 40-50 games per year. He's not the kind of goalie that can play 70 games or more (unless you want disaster on your hands).
I agree he's probably not answer anymore, but mtxed is saying they would have had more cups without Osgood. That's completely wrong. As you know the DRW didn't lose any playoff series due to Osgood. And if he didn't get hurt in 1999 they probably would 3 peated.
The OP's premise is flawed. Osgood is not terrible in the regular season every year. He was bad last year, but quite good the year before. Someone posted his career stats earlier. He's had seven seasons with at least a .910 save percentage. He's not terrible in the regular season.
He could still be significantly better in the playoffs, of course. His career playoff save % is 11 points higher than his regular-season mark (so is Luongo's, coincidentally, even though we know he's a big choker). But again Osgood is not universally good in the playoffs. In 1996 he played 15 games and put up an .898 save %, which was much worse than his regular season number.
In two of the four playoffs that he's played at least 10 games (1996 and 2008), he's faced significantly fewer shots per 60 minutes than in the regular season, so it's possible Detroit plays a more defensive game in the playoffs. Just a thought.
