Chris Osgood

Christopher John Osgood (* November 26, 1972 in Peace River, Alberta ) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, New York Islanders and St. Louis Blues 1993-2011. During this time he won three Stanley Cups with the Detroit Red Wings. Currently, he has been with the Red Wings as coach of the junior goalkeeper.

Career

Chris Osgood began his career in 1989 in the Canadian junior Western Hockey League with the Medicine Hat Tigers. In 1991, he was pulled from the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL Entry Draft in the third round to 54th position. He even played one more season in the WHL Medicine Hat, the Brandon Wheat Kings and the Seattle Thunderbirds.

From the 1992/93 season he played with the farm team of the Red Wings, the Adirondack Red Wings in the American Hockey League ( AHL ) and got in the season on his chance in the National Hockey League and completed the same 41 season games, taking 23 celebrated victories. 1995/96 he had established himself as number 1 in Detroit and managed with a personal record 39 victories. In addition, along with substitute goalkeeper Mike Vernon received the William M. Jennings Trophy for least goals conceded and made ​​it to number 2 about the Vezina Trophy for the best goalkeeper of the season.

1996/97 Osgood played another good season as a goalkeeper, and was appointed to the NHL All-Star Game, where he was missing, however, because of an injury. However, it was decided in the playoffs for the experienced Mike Vernon as number 1 With Vernon won the Red Wings the first Stanley Cup for 42 years, also Vernon was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs.

But at the start of the following season, Osgood was again the undisputed number 1 because Vernon left the team and Osgood worked with Kevin Hodson and Norm Maracle as a substitute goalkeepers. Again, could the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup and this time Osgood graduated all playoff games.

1998/99 it missed the winning Red Wings third Stanley Cup in a row and failed already in the second round. Osgood remained for another two years goalkeeper the Red Wings and worked there together with the goalkeeper Ken Wregget and Manny Legace.

Prior to the 2001/02 season, the Detroit Red Wings superstar goaltender Dominik Hašek participated under contract. Thus for Osgood was no longer a place in the team. He signed a contract with the New York Islanders and was a mainstay, as the Islanders for the first time in eight years, reached the playoffs. Despite good performances, the Islanders middle of the following season decided in the future with talent goalkeeper Rick DiPietro and veteran Garth Snow to play, and Osgood was transferred in March 2003 to the St. Louis Blues.

With Osgood as goalkeeper pulled St. Louis in 2003 and 2004 in the playoffs, but failed both times in the first round. During his time in St. Louis managed Osgood in the select circle of the goalkeeper to go, who could celebrate more than 300 victories in her career. But he was a competitor placed before the nose again. In the summer of 2004, the Blues Patrick Lalime committed as a new # 1 and decided not to renew the contract with Osgood.

After the lockout and the consequent failure of the 2004/05 season, Chris Osgood focused on the conversion of his playing style and worked with the goalie coach of the University of Michigan in order to optimize his style. In autumn 2005, Osgood returned to the Detroit Red Wings, but first played in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins to gain match practice after an injury and completed after his return to the NHL season as a substitute goalie behind the current number one Manny Legace with which he had in his first time worked together in Detroit. At the end of the regular season he was with the Red Wings at No. 1 in the league. In the playoffs, Osgood was due to an injury can not be used as his team had already failed in the first round.

The expired after the season contract was extended for two years. Detroit had decided in the summer of 2006, Dominik Hasek, who was the reason for Osgood's departure from Detroit in 2001 to take another under contract. 2006/ 07 Osgood was with Joey MacDonald, who has been transferred during the season to the Boston Bruins, the back-up goalie behind Dominik Hašek. In November, Osgood injured his hand. It turned out for nearly a month and could make his comeback on 18 December. Overall, he came up with 21 games, he had less inserts only 1994/95.

At the beginning of the 2007/ 08 Osgood took over temporarily the position of the root goalkeeper after Hašek was injured and remained unbeaten in his first eight missions. As Hašek returned from his injury lay-off, the two shared the position of number one, and in January 2008 Osgood Game for the first time in over ten years for the NHL All-Star invited after he took 19 wins from 23 games and the league at times, with the best Gegentordurchschnitt and the best fishing quota led. After the All- Star Game, the Red Wings found themselves in a crisis and Osgood won only six of his next 16 appearances, but the team at just eleven games remaining the title of the Central Division still won in March and thus qualified as a first team the playoffs. Osgood finished the season with 27 wins and the best Gegentordurchschnitt his career. In addition, he received together with the William M. Jennings Trophy Hašek for the fewest goals. In the playoffs, the Red Wings put at the beginning of Hašek, but when he conceded three goals in the fourth game of the first round against the Nashville Predators and had played previously weaker, Osgood got its first use. Because of good performance, he remained the number one and set with nine wins in a row a new franchise record. With the fourth victory in the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Stars and the associated move into Stanley Cup final, he broke also the team record of Terry Sawchuk with the most playoff victories.

In the 2008/ 09 season, Osgood started significantly weaker than in the previous year, while the Red Wings won the majority of their games. Mid-December 2008 Osgood fell out because of an injury to the groin and then paused for two weeks before he recovered from the injury and, according to his own statement, was able to play in the season without any health problems for the first time.

Awards and achievements

Career Stats

( Key to the goalkeeper stats: GP or Sp = Total Games; W or W = Wins, L = Losses, or N, T or D = Draw or shootout defeat, min = minutes; SOG or ZAT = Shots on goal, GA or GT = Goals against; SO = shutouts, GAA or GTS = Gegentorschnitt; Sv % or SVS % = quota, EN = Empty Net Goal; Play-downs/Relegation 1 )

Others

• Chris Osgood was not wearing modern goalie mask in which the grating face protection is integrated, but an old-fashioned goalie helmet, which corresponded to a fielder helmet with special protection grid. He justified this by saying that he had thereby a larger field of view.
• On 6 March 1996 Osgood scored a goal in the NHL game against the Hartford Whalers.
• He was a witness of his teammates Kris Draper.