The Detroit Red Wings' Top Ten Goaltenders (1932-2013)

The Detroit Red Wings are one of the oldest franchises in the National Hockey League. Inevitably, when you're talking about the all-time best players per position, there are going to be a few Red Wings that pop up on the list. Now seems like a good time to reflect on over eighty years of players and do one of these Top Ten lists.

Self-deprecation aside, here's my top ten list of Detroit's ten best goaltenders all-time. Please feel free to chime in on the comments section and tell me how wrong I am. Enjoy and destroy!

 10. Tim Cheveldae

Tim Cheveldae served in Detroit from 1988-89 to 1993-94, appearing in 264 games, going 128-93-30 with a 3.40 GAA and an .883 save percentage. Those numbers don't seem very impressive but Cheveldae played during a time where goal scoring came much easier. A true workhorse, he holds the team record for appearances in a single season (72 in 1991-92) as well as career points (15, tied with Chris Osgood and Greg Stefan). During the 91-92 season Cheveldae led the NHL in games played, wins, and appeared in the NHL All-Star Game. That season, the Red Wings squeezed out a game seven victory over the Minnesota North Stars before being knocked out by the Chicago Blackhawks in four games in the Division Finals. During the 1993-94 season Cheveldae was traded to the Winnipeg Jets when Chris Osgood emerged as the starting goaltender, and his career declined quickly in Winnipeg. While his legacy may be a little tarnished by not capitalizing on a very good Red Wings team with Steve Yzerman in his prime, Cheveldae deserves a place on this list for his string of excellent regular seasons.

He looks like how we felt during his playoff games. Photo courtesy of "Maureen Landers" via Wikipedia.

 9. Manny Legace

Manny Legace is a surprise on this list as I believe he doesn't receive much credit for his regular season performances. Legace's time with Detroit saw him rack up a 112-34-19 record in the regular season with a 2.18 GAA and a .918 save percentage. His playoff record is 4-6 with a 2.54 GAA and an .888 save percentage...which is why Legace is often forgotten in any conversations about good Red Wing goaltenders. He's still a Stanley Cup champion thanks to the 2002 team, but the massive caveat is that he stayed far away from the action on the ice. Personally, I thought Legace's performance in the 2005-06 regular season was Vezina calibre, but that just makes his performance in the playoffs against Edmonton even harder to digest. Still, the regular season numbers are enough for me to put Legace on this list.

Jimmy looking very busy. Photo courtesy of "Anna Enriquez" via Flickr and Wikipedia.

 8. Jimmy Howard

Jimmy Howard is Detroit's current starting goaltender and has already impressed with a 131-67-26 regular season record, boasting a career GAA of 2.29 and a save percentage of .920. His playoff numbers (20-22, 2.57 GAA and .918 sv%) leave a little to be desired but there is still a lot of time for Howard to prove himself as an elite NHL goaltender. It's bizarre to see Howard on this list even though he has played less games than others, but Howard represents a new era for the Red Wings and a new method to signing and developing goaltenders. It took several years in the minors before Howard was given the nod as the starter, and the approach to his development is paying off in dividends thus far.

Photo via goaliesarchive.com.

7. Glenn Hall

The sum of Glenn Hall's career might make him the best goaltender on the list, but since we're looking at his time as a Red Wing, Hall squeezes onto the list with a 74-45-29 record with a sparkling 2.12 GAA. Hall won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1956 during a season where he tied team records in ties in a season (16 tied with Terry Sawchuk) and shutouts in a season (12 , also tied with Sawchuk). Hall's time in Detroit was cut short as he was shipped with Ted Lindsay to Chicago in 1957 for a bunch of players who never made the same impact. Hall went on to be an NHL iron man, playing in 502 consecutive games without wearing a helmet. His multiple Stanley Cup championships, Vezina Trophies, and All-Star Games made him one of the game's best goaltenders, but one cannot forget he started off his streak and his impressive play in Detroit.

Lumley accidentally wearing another team's jersey with some random trophy. Photo from Wikipedia.

6. Harry Lumley

Harry Lumley is another goaltender that gets lost in the shuffle when talking about Detroit's best goalies. Lumley sports a regular season record of 163-105-56 with a 2.75 GAA, and a playoff record of 24-30 with a 2.30 GAA. Lumley's best moment might have been winning the Stanley Cup championship in 1950, although he took Detroit as far as they could, losing the Stanley Cup in 1945 by just one goal in the seventh game. Lumley may have been the best goaltender in the NHL from 1947-1950 and certainly pulled through for Detroit during playoff runs. Time is really the only enemy to his case for being one of the best Detroit Red Wings goaltender of all time.

Photo from beehivehockey.com

5. Norm Smith

Norm Smith is the player on this list who began his career the earliest and thus is furthest removed from the public's historical consciousness. As someone born more than 40 years after his playing career ended, it's impossible for me to comment on anything but his statistics, but it's interesting to see the

accolades he achieved during the Red Wings' earlier year. He helped the team win the Stanley Cup in 1936 and 1937, winning the Vezina Trophy once in 1937. Smith's most notable career victory was a 1-0 shutout in the longest game in NHL history, where the Red Wings won on a Mud Bruneteau goal in the sixth overtime. Smith retired in 1938 after refusing to report to Boston after a trade, but was recalled during World War II on an emergency basis only. Smith is a great addition to this list from the early years, and his 76-71-31 record and 2.26 GAA in the early years of the Red Wings deserve recognition nearly eighty years after his start with Hockeytown.

4. Dominik Hasek

Hasek is yet another example of a goaltender whose total career includes many more accolades than he received during his tenure in Detroit, but unlike Glenn Hall, Hasek's later years were spent with the Red Wings. Hasek's record with the Red Wings (114-39-19 regular season, 28-17 playoffs) is very strong, along with his 2.13 GAA and .911 save percentage demonstrate a lack of a decline in his career even on a Detroit team that didn't need superb goal-tending Hasek won the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2002 and 2008, along with a William Jennings Trophy in 2008 that was shared with Chris Osgood. Hasek's time with Detroit is stunted by the mediocre performance in his 4 starts during the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs. He was replaced by Chris Osgood, who put up a Conn Smythe calibre performance en route to the Stanley Cup. Hasek is low on this list, but in terms of all time greatest goaltenders, he's undeniably near the top.

Crozier making a save. Without a helmet on, too. Photo from goaliesarchives.com

3. Roger Crozier

Roger Crozier played for the Red Wings from 1963-64 to 1969-70, where he amassed an impressive 131-121-41 record in 313 games played, boasting a 2.93 GAA. Crozier took the Red Wings to the finals during the 1966 Stanley Cup playoffs, becoming the first player in the history of the NHL to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP despite losing, as well as the first goaltender. Crozier battled pancreatic and ulcer problems throughout his career, but still took home the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year in 1965 and had an NHL trophy named after him, dubbed the Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award for the NHL's best save percentage. One could argue that Crozier wasn't able to take advantage of a still strong Detroit lineup and win multiple Stanley Cups, but his individual trophies and legacy in the form of a (retired) trophy is impressive enough.

The man, the myth, the legend. Photo from "Dan4th" via Wikipedia.

2. Chris Osgood

While it is true that this blog is named after Chris Osgood, I did try to remain as objective as possible when it came to this list. That being said, Chris Osgood on this list is inevitable as is the discussion about his career. Winner of three Stanley Cups (1997, 1998, 2008), two William Jennings Memorial

Trophies (1996, 2008), four time NHL All-Star (1996, 1997, 1998, 2008), and holder of most team records for goal-tending in the playoffs, Osgood embodies the mentality of the Detroit Red Wings during their current 23 season playoff streak: just win the game. While Osgood may have a litany of detractors and naysayers who argue he has no place in the Hockey Hall of Fame, few goaltenders have accomplished what he has in his career. Only Terry Sawchuk and Chris Osgood have won Stanley Cups as the starting goaltender a decade apart, and he has top ten all time numbers in wins (10th), goals against average (10th), and winning percentage (4th). As a Red Wing, he boasts 317 career victories in the regular season, and 67 wins in the postseason. Admittedly, there was never a great deal of pressure on Osgood to steal games simply because the Detroit teams he played on were stacked with Hall-of-Fame forwards and defenders. But then the 2008 and 2009 playoffs completely validated his ticket to the Hall-of-Fame, and his status as one of the NHL's best goaltenders of all-time.

No doubt the best Wing ever to tend goal. Photo from goaliesarchives.com via "Cold War by Mike Leonetti"

1. Terry Sawchuk

Terry Sawchuk might be the best goaltender in NHL history. All due respect to Martin Brodeur, who is still increasing his all-time lead in most goal-tending categories, Terry Sawchuk might be his stiffest competition. While his career was cut short with his death in 1970, Sawchuk played in 14 season for Detroit, registering an incredible 351-243-132 record with a 2.44 GAA. The list of accolades is endless for Sawchuk as a Red Wing: three Vezina Trophies (1952, 1953, 1955), three Stanley Cup Championships (1952, 1954, 1955), a Calder Memorial Trophy (1951), Six All-Star games in a row (1950-55), the NHL record for ties (172) and a 39 year streak where his career total in shutouts was unmatched until Brodeur broke it in 2009. Sawchuk, along with Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay, were central to Detroit's success in the 1950s, and a number of his records remained unmatched until Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur shattered his records decades later. Sawchuk battled personal demons his entire career, but his posthumous election to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1970 as well as his awarding of the Lester Patrick Trophy in 1971 were indicative of his impact on the game as well as the shock of losing a tremendous talent.

Do the Red Wings Need Help?

After watching most of Detroit's first game of the season against St. Louis on Saturday night, it occurred to myself (and 99.9% of the fans) that the Red Wings were outmatched by St. Louis' physical style of hockey. David Backes was a force on the ice and that young Russian Vladimir Tarasenko made Jimmy Howard look like a beer league acquisition. It was a brutal game to watch if you're a Red Wings fan, and Blues fans across the world rejoiced with glee over their big home opener win.

I don't blame them. It's a big win, especially against a division rival who has taken them to school almost routinely since the 1990s. That isn't talk of the "glory days", it's just a fact that the Red Wings were kings of their domain in the Central Division for a long time.

And now they are not.

It's time for the storied franchise to knuckle up and accept that they are no longer going to cruise to division titles. If anything, it's been apparent since 2010 that Detroit's time in the sun is in jeopardy of ending. Chicago has been a fine team for a few seasons now, with envious defense corps and hard working forwards like Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews. There will be no haughty retorts about not having the chance to draft high in the first round here. The fact is that Detroit hasn't had a lot of luck in the first round in recent years, when they have drafted.

It's alright, though. We have one of the best general managers in the NHL. And a coach who goes perpetually unnoticed by Jack Adams voters. If anyone near the Red Wings franchise has any right to a chip on their shoulders these days, it's Mike Babcock.

After watching last night's shellacking, it's going to be up to these two men to right the ship. If you ask me, the pieces are there to field a competitive team. For the most part. I won't lie to anyone, this Detroit team is hurting after losing its number one and number three defensemen. No team can delude their fans or the rest of the hockey world into thinking everything is okay with a legend-of-legends type player riding off into the sunset. Especially not Nick Lidstrom, who, were he not robbed of a locked out season, could have easily snagged an eighth Norris Trophy. Brad Stuart is no slouch himself, and his prowess is clearly missed on defense. And believe me, no one forgets that Brian Rafalski retired the year before.

So rather than dwell on the past, what is there for Ken Holland and Mike Babcock to do?

The short answer is virtually nothing. Every single player who touched the ice Saturday is embarrassed at how poorly the team performed. They will not allow something like that to become a regular occurrence on the ice. I can imagine right now just how thirsty Jimmy Howard is to get back on the ice and compete. And win. He's learned a lot from guys like Joey MacDonald, Ty Conklin, and of course, Chris Osgood. if there's anyone from the team in the last fifteen years who knows what it takes to find ways to win, it's Ozzie.

The long answer, which is a whole other blog post, is Detroit needs to pick up a bona fide number one or two defenseman to pair with Nick Kronwall. For the most part, I believe hockey pundits will agree Kronwall is a great (if not elite?) defenseman who has the ability to make game changing hits. That's phenomenal. Given that Lidstrom was the kind of player who didn't hit and had incredible hockey sense that ignited scoring opportunities, I think Kronwall is miscast as the next "Lidstrom", if such a thing exists. Detroit needs an intelligent, scoring, dynamic defenseman who can spark plays, agitate the opposition, and turn a game on its ass when the team needs a goal or needs to keep the puck out of the net.

And that man is sitting in Montreal waiting for a contract.

The Wiz Biz: Czech Out These Red Wing Prospects (Part One)

Right off the bat I feel less credible as a blogger for making the most simplistic pun imaginable. Either way you're already here reading so I might as well move on the to main attraction. As you guessed, this post is about Red Wings' prospects who are Czech Republic born. I'll spare you the geographically finicky argument of "well, they were born in Czechoslovakia, that's not the same thing". The point is that these prospects are in my opinion the two hottest prospects who will absolutely not see a single second of time as a Red Wing for at least the coming season.

Sorry Richard Nedomlel (2010, 6th round, 175th overall), but I am referring to goaltender Petr Mrázek (2011, 5th round, 144th overall) and forward Martin Frk (2012, 2nd round, 49th overall). It isn't often I get excited about prospects who won't see a lick of Red Wings time for a couple seasons, but these two have had a plethora of positive media attention in the past eight months or so, and given that this is the offseason, I may as well indulge my need to share my excitement over these Czech kids. This is a two parter, with Part Two: Frk You coming on Thursday.

Petr Mrázek

The Goods

Petr Mrázek is a 20 year old goaltender who previously belonged to the OHL's Ottawa 67s. During his tenure in Ottawa, Mrázek put up strong numbers, including two consecutive 30 win seasons that also included save percentages above .917. That's pretty good for a league filled with crazy talented kids putting up point per game or better seasons. As the highlight reel suggests, Mrázek THRIVES on competition, emotion, and excitement. If you want an excellent glimpse into Mrázek's personality, The Goalie Guild is all over this one. The Guild gives a pretty outstanding endorsement and please do not hesitate to click on their link and check out the interviews. One thing I found interesting about Justin Goldman's article is the lack of references to a previously dominant Czech goalie who was both explosive and unorthodox in his style.What was his name? Dominik Hašek?

Far be it for me to suggest Mrázek is the next 389 win, six time Vezina and two time Hart winning double Stanley Cup and Olympic gold champion. Reality is that there will never be another Hašek . The comparison is not your average over-the-top-Wings-fandom cheerleading so much as an outlandish attempt at comparing the styles of the goalies. One could argue that the art of tending goal is so varied that it's like comparing Picasso's Guernica to Peter Bruegel's The Triumph of Death. There is a grain of truth in the comparisons, but ultimately it if futile to say one shares much in common with the other. In the case of the paintings, both are pieces of art. Both deal with the tragedy of death in some manner. Both are European painters. I'm sure there's a more postmodern comparison to be dug up but I digress. Mrázek and Hašek can be compared much in the same manner. They're both goalies. They both come from Europe and the same country. They both play a unique style that bucks the trend of their generation.

Most of all, it's that intangible, explosive personality that makes them both entertaining that draws my interest. During Hašek 's years in Detroit, he was still playing at an elite level (for the most part), but his best years were behind him. Despite Father Time beginning his slow but steady shin-whacking of the Dominator,   Hašek  was ever the peppy netminder who bamboozled the NHL's best even on off nights.



For those without sound, that's 40 goal machine, the Slovakian Marián Gáborík getting dumped on his face. Not much else to say there.

Mrázek's big welcome to the spotlight came at the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he won the honour of Best Goaltender of the tournament despite the Czechs finishing 5th and getting dumped in the quarter finals by Russia. When all was said and done, the kid nearly finished off the best team in the tournament in the first round of knockouts by himself. The whole world started asking "who is this guy and why is he dominating" and "how do you say his name" all over the internet. Red Wings fans, atop their ivory towers, snickered at the thought of getting another Hašek from the eleventy-billionth round of a thin draft. Okay, that's the over-the-top-Wing cheerleader in me. I'll dial it back. He's not exactly a reserved kind of guy like Chris Osgood. He might even be the anti-Osgood. Cue the Ryan Lambert material here, if you please. No, Mrázek is not subtle:



Now that I would pay to see every night for 15 years. Eccentric goalies are often very up-and-down in terms of quality (see Bryzgalov, Ilya) and can often put forth some stinky performances (Dominator anyone?) but Mrázek sports something we haven't seen in Detroit in a few seasons. Mrázek plays with a passion for the game on his sleeve and lets that passion erupt in the form of crazy celebrations on the ice. I'm not only cool with that, I cannot wait to see this kid play (and win) in Detroit.

The Wiz Biz: Summer Edition!

Hello all, it's good to be back writing about the NHL again. The recent stir of Chris Osgood's retirement has me burning with the desire to write about hockey before the season begins. I've received some praise from friends and family over my recent mention on the Puck Daddy Blog (Thanks again, Greg, even if my argument is zany!) and I think it's time I jump back into the blogging business, at least on a weekly basis. For now, a few quips and quotes from around the NHL that interested me:

• As reported by Jared Purcell over at MLive, a fantastic place to find all things Michigan related, and according to the distinguished Hockey News website, Pavel Datsyuk is hosting a hockey camp over in Russia. I'll leave the in depth stylings of THN writer Rory Boylen and instead take the time to marvel at the continuous generosity hockey players seem to show. It might not seem as though it takes a lot of effort for a pro to set up a camp and pop in now and then to see the kids in action but to put forth the degree of effort hockey players do for local communities is something that I believe deserves recognition. Not just for the players but the league itself. Everybody wins and everybody feels good about these kinds of stories.
• I've already written a small piece on the prospect of the Winnipeg Jets return (before they were announced to return) but I have to say the wait to see the new uniforms is killing us all in the hockey community. The new Nashville Predators jerseys over at On The Forecheck look pretty slick. Will they stack up to the Preds' new duds? I still think they should go with their retro jerseys, but I can understand wanting to modernize the new team since they are...after all...the former Atlanta Thrashers. RIP.
• Finally for today, from Kukla's Korner, some great quotes from Ozzy and Ken Holland regarding the career of the Red Wings' beloved goaltender. My favorite quote, from Ozzy himself:
  "“If I could sum up my career in Detroit, I was a perfect goalie for the team at the perfect time.”
  
  Couldn't have said it better. Through the tough losses in 1999-2001 to the glory of 1998 and 2008, Ozzy, you were our guy and we're going to miss you. I hope someday that we see #30 in the rafters at the Joe. You've earned it.

Glory Days: Remembering NHL Legends

This is one of many retrospective looks on former NHL players of the modern age of hockey, which I define as the 1979-1980 to present. The purpose of doing this is to remind people that beyond the Gretzkys, Messiers, Lemieuxs, and Yzermans, there were other players who gave franchises outstanding performances over their careers.

Michael "Mike" Vernon (1982-2002)

The best phrase to describe Mike Vernon, at least in 1989, was "hometown hero." When the Calgary Flames won their only Stanley Cup in 1989, it was Vernon who outdueled future NHL legend and eventual fisticuff partner Patrick Roy to hoist the Stanley Cup. It was sweet revenge for the Flames, who had been defeated by the Montreal Canadiens in 1986 for hockey's most coveted prize. Now, the Flames could boast that their team was the best, thanks in large part to a goaltender born and raised in Calgary, Alberta.

You had to know there would be a video of Vernon vs. Roy in this article. History will dictate that Roy has the edge in terms of lifetime accomplishments as a goaltender, but at different point in their careers, Roy and Vernon had an intriguing back and forth rivalry.

After having a lot of regular season success but never repeating the playoff magic of 1989, Vernon was traded by Calgary to the Detroit Red Wings during the 1994 off-season in exchange for Steve Chiasson. His experience and abilities in goal in the playoffs would come in handy for a Red Wings team slowly building momentum towards their first Stanley up in over forty years. But we'll get to that in a moment.

Despite sharing goaltending duties with Chris Osgood, Vernon thrived in Detroit, registering an impressive 12-6 record in the 1994-95 playoffs. The Red Wings were swept by the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals, which was both devastating and a lesson well learned. The following season, Vernon saw less time in the playoffs, drawing a 2-2 record as the Wings fell to the eventual champions the Colorado Avalanche. This is where the rivalry between the two clubs bubbled to a boil. The 1995-96 season was significant for Detroit because they turn in what could be argued as the most dominant single season a team has ever had. The Vernon/Osgood tandem picked up the Jennings Trophy, giving up the least amount of goals en route to a 62-13-7 record.

Vernon lost the starting job to Osgood in 1997, but regained it going into the playoffs after picking up his 300th win during the infamous Fight Night at the Joe. Vernon would backstop Detroit to their first Stanley Cup since 1955. Going 16-4 with a microscopic 1.76 G.A.A., Vernon won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

After an outstanding playoffs, Vernon was traded to the San Jose Sharks during the off-season. Osgood would prove to be a worthy successor to Vernon, backstopping Detroit to a second Stanley Cup. Vernon, on the other hand, led San Jose into the playoffs twice before being traded in 1999-2000 to the Florida Panthers. The Panthers were swept in the first round and promptly sent Vernon back to Calgary where his career began. Vernon played two more seasons with the Flames, posting less than impressive numbers before retiring in 2001-02, when his old team the Red Wings won their third Stanley Cup since 1997.

Despite the decline after his Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup victory, Vernon holds a number of impressive milestones and trophies for his career:

• Two-time Stanley Cup Champion (1989, 1997)
• Conn Smythe Trophy (1997)
• William M. Jennings Trophy (1996, shared with Chris Osgood)
• Five-time NHL All Star Game competitor
• Holds most Calgary Flames goaltending records including games played (526), wins (262, tied with Miikka Kiprusoff), minutes played, playoff games played (81), playoff wins (43)
• 12th all time in wins by a goaltender, regular season
• 7th all time in playoff wins by a goaltender
• Number 30 retired by the Calgary Flames on February 6th, 2007.

Despite the accolades, Vernon is not yet in the NHL Hall of Fame. Perhaps a victim of his generation having numerous forwards holding some of the highest scoring statistics by forwards, Vernon has been eligible since 2005 but remains on the outside looking in.

What is your favorite Mike Vernon memory?

The Wiz Biz 2: A Few More Thoughts

This is an experimental column where I look at issues of the day and comment on them in a sentence or two. It's meant to be funny and somewhat insightful. I hope it lasts...

• HUGE game tonight in Boston as the Bruins face the Canadiens for the first time since the Max Pacioretty Incident. Mark Recchi's recent bout of verbal diarrhea has reopened the discussion about the legality of the hit, the credibility of Montreal's doctors, and of course most importantly, informed us all that Patches has a Twitter account. I'm not very good at predictions but I'm willing to take a shot in the dark here and say there might be a fight or two.
• According to a Brand Keys sports report, the most loyal fans in the NHL are...drumroll...the Detroit Red Wings. The top five are the Wings, the Philadelphia Flyers, the San Jose Sharks, the Vancouver Canucks, and the Boston Bruins. Huh, interesting, they're all Stanley Cup contenders. So who are the bottom five? In reverse order they are the Nashville Predators/Tampa Bay Lightning (how do you tie?), the Phoenix Coyotes, the New York Islanders, the Saint Louis Blues, and in last place, your Atlanta Thrashers. All teams with either financial issues, terrible attendance, or also rans for playoff contention. No surprises on this list. Oddly enough, the site doesn't list and quantifiable data...fishy, isn't it?
• Chris Osgood, the blog's namesake, is back on IR. Most Red Wings fans will admit to a degree of frustration with this story, as Ozzy was supposed to be back in nets almost two weeks ago. Well, it looks like he might not even make it back for playoff hockey, which means more Joey MacDonald. Luckily MacDonald has been playing uncharacteristically well with a 4-4-2 record and and impressive 2.10 GAA. Jimmy Howard is the man in Motown, but if he falters in the playoffs, Detroit is in trouble.
• Corey Perry for Hart? Not in my world, but the Ducks are 8-2 in their last 10 games and have creeped up on the Western conference playoff knuckleduster. Jonas Hiller is back, too. No one is going to want that match up in the first round. Even if Hiller is rusty in nets, journeyman Ray Emery seems to be picking up the slack just fine.
• Zack Parise might be back by the end of the year. Why bother? According to the amazing site Sports Club Stats, the New Jersey Devils have a 0.1 per cent chance of getting into the playoffs, with a maximum possible 90 point season, assuming they go undefeated in their final nine games. I can understand a player wanting to get back, but there's no reason to rush back just to make three or four token appearances.
• Finally, in international news, it's occurred to me that this blog has a small audience in the beautiful country of Hungary. Does Hungary like hockey? You bet they do. As of today Hungary is sitting in 20th place among all international ice hockey teams. They finished 2nd in Division I's Group B tournament in 2010 and are looking to win in Group A in 2011, where they will be co-hosting with Ukraine. A win at this tournament would boost them back up into the big tournament where perennial powerhouses like Canada, Sweden, Russia, and the United States play. Big props to goaltender Zoltán Hetényi of 2010's Hungarian squad for being the top goalie of Group B last tournament, registering two shutouts and giving up just two goals en route to Hungary's 4-1 record. He didn't win Goaltender of the Tournament for some reason...British netminder Stephen Murphy won with significantly worse numbers as Great Britain finished 4th in the group. So our boy Hetényi out duels him in a 2-0 shutout and doesn't get top goalie nod? Quite the rob job. In any event, GO HUNGARY!

How to Defeat the Detroit Red Wings

Oh, to be a Detroit Red Wings fan when the playoffs come.

Over the last several days I have written and tweeted the outstanding gentlemen of Puck Daddy Radio, Greg Wyshinski and Rob Pizzo. On Friday's episode of Puck Daddy Radio, the question the crew asked listeners was what team seems to consistently defeat your team. After writing a long diatribe about how the San Jose Sharks have taken the advantage in the rivalry with last year's 4-1 defeat, I decided there was a more notable rivalry. No, not the Colorado Avalanche. Since the days of Roy and the Statue of Liberty goal of '02, Colorado has struggled to compete the way their powerhouse team did in the late 90's and early millennium team has. The great rivals of the Detroit Red Wings are none other than...the Detroit Red Wings.

Before you roll your eyes and proclaim "Oh, you snobbish Wings fan," hear the argument first. The Red Wings have long proven their status as a model franchise in professional sports, and this article isn't going to rehash all of the years of success and the piles of trophies won. Beyond the accolades there is a glaringly obvious flaw to Detroit's twenty year playoff run.

The early exits. The upsets.

Yes, those years. Red Wings fans know them all very well. Since 1991 there have been five first round exits. 1991 wasn't exactly a year where Detroit was expected to compete with Hull and Oates of St. Louis, but it falls into the jurisdiction of the twenty year run. Realistically, Detroit has been favored to win their first round match ups in 1993, 1994, the Cup Finals in 1995,the first round in 2001 and again in 2003, in the second round of 2004, and the first round of 2006. Each one of these match ups were lost and considered to be big upsets.

So, is there a trend amongst these losses?

The short answer is yes, to an extent. In all of these match ups, Detroit was the higher ranked seed. Each one of these playoffs series featured a team with arguably less talent than Detroit. That's not to take away from the accomplishments of the victorious. Those teams certainly earned their wins by outplaying the Wings, but they all followed a similar strategy that was perfected by New Jersey in 1995: outwork the team, grind them down with defensive effort, and ride the hot goaltender.

1994 is the first example of Detroit, the Western Conference's regular season champion, losing in the first round to the San Jose Sharks. '94 featured a team that led the league in goals scored by a very comfortable 50 goals and featured six 70 point men, including Hart, Pearson, and Selke trophy winner, Sergei Fedorov. Not to be forgotten, this also featured the debut of Wings legend and this blog's namesake, Chris Osgood. The NHL recently make a "History Will Be Made" commercial out of Jamie Baker's game 7 backbreaking goal. Never say never, indeed.

Shaking off the misery of being beaten by the 8th seed in the West, Detroit came back strong in 1995's shortened season, mauling the competition in the first three rounds of the playoffs. The fans chanted "who cares?" when the Devils lineup was announced at Joe Louis Arena, only to be silenced by a rookie Martin Brodeur and a defensive minded Devils team helmed by the legendary Jacques Lemaire. This marked the beginning of the strategy of using defense-first tactics to grind down a more talented Detroit Red Wings team.

The strategy would be repeated in 2003 by J.S Giguere the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, in 2004 by the Calgary Flames (although it should be argued Miikka Kiprusoff bamboozled Detroit's offense with two shutouts in the final two games of the series) and once more by Cup finalists Edmonton Oilers in 2006.

So how does this relate to Detroit being Detroit's worst enemy? Well, to be fully honest, each time Detroit was beaten by a lesser seed and a less talented team, they were outworked. The regular season success proved to give a false sense of security that the team was much better than the others who struggled to get into the playoff tournament. Sometimes the scoring wasn't there, and sometimes the goaltending wasn't there. Either way, their opponents took advantage of the Wings thinking the first couple of playoff rounds would be a breeze.

Part of hockey is keeping your head in the game and not getting ahead of yourself. I would never suggest that any of the Wings players of those losing teams were anything but professionals. However, if there is one lesson to be learned from the Red Wings twenty years of playoff runs, it's never to get ahead of yourself and never to count the lower seeds out. Since he joined the team, Mike Babcock has worked hard to establish a strong, responsible two-way game that appears to have limited the success of a defense-first strategy like Jacques Lemaire's Devils. Still, there is a lot to learn from the David vs. Goliath playoff series of years past.

In a league that has playoff logjams near the final playoff positions, Detroit remains a top seed as of today. Will they be their own worst enemy again this season? Time will tell, but you can bet those losses still stick in the minds of those veterans still around. Hopefully, they won't let it happen again.