SB Nation - Curtis Joseph

Cancel My Away Game Season Ticket Plan: Blues Win At Home.

gallagher — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 04:58:43 -0000

First things first: teams are starting to look past the Blues. Calgary started Curtis McIlhinney tonight, he of four games played this season (Miikka Kiprusoff has played in 29). But let's give the Blues this: they took advantage of not having to play Kiprusoff and did what they needed to get one of those heretofore elusive home wins.

Generally speaking, that team reminded me of the Blues of the early part of the Edmonton game. As we were talking about that game tonight at the rink I made the comment that at first we were all so excited because they were playing like the team we thought we had. Then, in the third period, they played like the team we unfortunately knew we had. That second team never showed up tonight.

Yes, there were mistakes; teams don't play perfect for all 60 minutes. barret Jackman lost track of Jarome Iginla a couple times and it nearly cost them. Yes, Brad Boyes missed the net wide again in key situations, but at least he made some smart plays with the puck and wound up with three assists tonight. Chris Mason made his standard unbelievable save and his standard "how'd that go in?" faux pas.

Overall, however, the type of effort we expect to see from this team every night. If it takes Barret Jackman and Keith Tkachuk mistreating each other in practice like they did this weekend, then so be it. Professional athletes are weird, giant man-child finely tuned coordinated machines. Head games and superstitions come with the territory.

Finally, a few other notes from tonight:

I didn't see the Hull ceremony, but I'm hoping to catch the replay. I was in the building early enough to catch the whole game and when they showed Hullie up on the jumbotron and he flashed that smile-smirk of his and gave the thumbs-up, it made me smile. I miss that guy. He made me a hockey fan. I love that guy.
In case you missed it, the fan that yelled something out that gave Hull pause and made the whole rink laugh was someone who yelled out, "Keenan sucks!" People said it looked like Hull wanted to say something about it. Personally, I don't know how he refrained.
Another great recurring joke of the night was the interviews of Hull's Team. Angelllla asked Tony Twist, Curtis Joseph, Geoff Courtnall and others to tell a 'family friendly Brett Hull story. Not one of them could do it. CuJo even said, "There are no family-friendly Brett Hull stories." Did I mention that I love that guy?
As for the game, a big sign that things went the right way is that I don't have to gush about the play of Silent Jay McClement tonight. When McClement's solid defensive play is noticable, things aren't going well for the team. Silent Jay was solid as always, but it's a good thing that he was overshadowed.
Apparently Brett Hull said in an interview today that T.J. Oshie reminds him a lot of himself when he was that age. All I can say about that is that we should all go into avoid the jinx mode and never speak of this again. That said, how fitting was it for the Teej to win the game with a Hullian shot late in the game? Sinking into a hole in the defense and then snapping on in? Quite fitting, actually.
On the power play tonight, Brad lee said, "Why is Alex Steen out there?" I replied with, "He's a great puck handler." A second later he fired a shot that scored. Call both of us crazy.
David Perron may not have scored and I may be starting to come over to the Answer Man's theory that his teammates don't like him based on their lack of obvious love for him on-ice, but there are few players in the NHL that have that want for the puck that Frenchie has. Even when he's stickhandling through the defense and they're hooking and holding him, he stays focused, keeps moving his feet and trying to get the puck back. You can't teach that quality. wanting the puck is what makes players better than like-skilled equals.

In Chicago tomorrow, which will be a huge test. It'll be a good chance to see how much confidence this team got from tonight as they try to beat a fierce rival in the first game they play against them this year.

You want something else? Here it is, your Hullian end to the Brett Hull Night:

Top ten games in Ottawa Senators history

PeterR — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:00:13 -0000

Droves of Ottawa Senators fans get ready for Game Three of the 2007 Stanley Cup Final between the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks. The game would be the Senators' lone victory in the series, and one of the most memorable games in team history. (Peter Raaymakers, Silver Seven)

View full size photo »

Over the course of their 17-season history, the Ottawa Senators have put up some pretty exciting games. It remains to be seen if we'll get to see any top-ten worthy matchups this season, but we've certainly witnessed some great efforts from the teams Ottawa has iced over that time. Looking back, I've put together a list of the top ten games in the history of the franchise (at least this version; I didn't include games from the last-century Senators because, well, I didn't see any). The criteria are simple: Big games. Whether strong efforts, meaningful situations, or just all-around exciting, there were no pre-qualifiers to disqualify any games.

So, without further ado, here goes the list (with video, where available), starting from the bottom:

10. Nov. 2, 2005: Havlat and Alfredsson each score four as Ottawa romps Buffalo 10-4

Really the only meaningless regular-season game on the list, it was still a damn exciting game. Four goals for Daniel Alfredsson, four for Martin Havlat (who had just returned from a five-game suspension for kicking Hal Gill) and two for Dany Heatley (who, at this point, was still enjoying a honeymoon period in Ottawa). And Alfredsson waited until both Heatley and Havlat were done scoring, netting all four of his goals in the last 13 minutes of the game. It was also against the hated Buffalo Sabres, and it was in Buffalo, although it would be little solace when Buffalo ousted the Senators in the 2006 Eastern Conference Final later that season.

(Read the rest of the list after the jump... )

9. April 11, 2007: Senators soundly beat Penguins 6-3 in season playoff debut

This was, to me, a statement game. Sure, the Senators were technically favourites over the Pittsburgh Penguins, but there were plenty of doubters who'd picked the Pens to beat Ottawa in the series, especially after Ottawa went 5-8-1 in the last 14 games of the season. The Sens came out like gangbusters in an exciting Game One, though, with Andrej Meszaros scoring less than two minutes into the game and going up 3-0 before Pittsburgh even got a sniff on the scoresheet. Ottawa set the tone for the series, and went on to win in just five games.

8. May 2, 2002: Senators rout Maple Leafs 5-0 to go up 1-0 in Eastern Conference semi-final

It is with great scepticism that I include a playoff victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on this list (let alone two of them), since there's no doubt about what the series result was after this victory. But on this occasion, thanks in large part to 12 powerplay opportunities, the Senators took the play to Toronto in the series-opener, notching three goals before the end of the first and trying to suggest that, if the Leafs play physically punishing hockey, the Sens will just put up the PP points and make Toronto pay. An overtime loss the following game, though, and some very strong play from Curtis Joseph meant the Senators would eventually fall in the seven-game series.

7. June 2, 2007: Senators beat Anaheim Ducks in game three of the Stanley Cup Finals

Again, a bittersweet victory considering our knowledge of the series outcome, but the Senators' game three victory over the Ducks in the 2007 Stanley Cup Final was a huge one at the time. After dropping the first two games on the road, Ottawa bounced back with a strong win at home, coming back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits during the course of the game to take the game by a final score of 5-3. Dean McAmmond scored the eventual game-winner before leaving with a concussion after getting an elbow to the chops from Chris Pronger, but the Senators couldn't take advantage of the fact that Pronger was supended for game four, and lost the series in five.

6. April 18, 2004: Fisher scores OT winner against Toronto to force seventh game in quarter-finals

Mike Fisher's legend as a clutch performer took a big step forward with this overtime game-winning goal, and the Senators made a huge statement in the come-from-behind victory. With the Senators down 3-2 in the series, Toronto Maple Leafs defender Bryan McCabe gave Toronto a 1-0 lead on an early powerplay, but Patrick Lalime, who made 45 saves on the night, kept the Senators in the game until Zdeno Chara, who had been having a monster of a game, could finally solve Ed Belfour to force overtime. Both teams traded chances in the first overtime, although neither could solve the opposing goaltender, until Fisher fired a wrister past Belfour only 1:47 into the second overtime period to force a seventh and decisive game in the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals. Unfortunately, for all the good Lalime did in game six, he bombed in a game seven that gives Senators fans nightmares to this day, and Ottawa would lose the series.

5. May 21, 2003: Ottawa wins 2-1 in overtime to force decisive game seven in ECF versus New Jersey

Speaking of clutch performers, Chris Phillips has built himself a strong reputation as one, too, and that got a lot of help on this night back in 2003. With the Senators just having fought off elimination but still down 3-2 against the New Jersey Devils, the teams traded powerplay goals in regulation to send the game to overtime. Lalime and Martin Brodeur went save-for-save for much of the game, until late in the first overtime, Chris Phillips was able to put the puck past Brodeur to set the Senators up for a game seven, all-or-nothing grudge match two days later. Unfortunately, again, the Senators weren't able to follow up with another victory, and Jeff Friesen (among the most hated names in Ottawa Senators history) scored late to move New Jersey on to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they defeated the Might Ducks and won the big prize.

4. May 2, 1998: Senators defeat New Jersey 3-1 to clinch their first playoff-series victory

No one could have predicted this one. The Senators barely made it into the playoffs, finishing in the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference, while the Devils finished far-and-away in first place in the East, nine points up on the second-place Penguins. The Devils had Martin Brodeur in net, while the Senators countered with Damian Rhodes. Thanks to Rhodes' goaltending, though, and some strong play from Alexei Yashin, the Senators upset the Devils in six games to move on to the second round.

3. Oct. 8, 1992: Senators defeat Montreal Canadiens 5-2 in franchise's first-ever game

Mostly here for sentimental reasons, the Senators had little going for them during their inaugural season. They finished with a 10-70-4 record, last place in the league with only 24 points. At the start of the season, though, the Senators must have been running on fumes, as they beat the Canadiens--who would be the eventual Stanley Cup champions--in the team's first-ever game. Neil Brady scored the first goal in Ottawa Senators history (one of nine goals he would score in his NHL career), and Sylvain Turgeon scored the eventual game winner. The win gave some hope that the team might do alright on the year, but that hope ended fairly quickly afterwards.

2. April 12, 1997: Senators defeat Sabres 1-0 to secure first playoff berth

The 1996-97 season was a turning point for the Ottawa Senators franchise, in which the Senators significantly improved their on-ice play under the tutelage of head coach Jacques Martin. They had a 36-point improvement over the previous year, and set themselves up for a win-and-your-in final game of the season against the Buffalo Sabres. With just minutes left in the game, Alexei Yashin broke into the Sabres' zone to set up Steve Duchesne, whose wrist shot got past Dominik Hasek to give Ottawa all they would need for a 1-0 victory (not to take anything away from Ron Tugnutt's impressive shutout victory). With the win, Ottawa notched seven victories in their final nine games, good enough to get them into the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference and into the playoffs.

1. May 19, 2007: Ottawa defeats Buffalo 3-2 in overtime to win first-ever Eastern Conference Championship

There is little that has to be said about this game, because it's so fresh in the minds of all Ottawa Senators fans. Just a year after being eliminated by the Sabres, the Senators were back facing off against them once again, but this year was to be different. Defeating the Sabres in offensive showdowns or defensive shutdowns, the Senators were up 3-1 in the series and looking to get to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time ever. The Sabres tied the game mid-way through the third to send it to overtime, but Daniel Alfredsson scored his fourth game-winning goal and second series-clinching goal of the 2007 playoffs in the first overtime frame to send the Senators on to face the Anaheim Ducks. It was, without a doubt, the greatest game in Ottawa Senators history. So far...

Have you got your own picks for the list? Feel free to post them in the comments section, for some lively debate.

Today in Colorado Avalanche History

David Driscoll-Carignan — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 13:21:59 -0000

October 18th, 2000 - In OT, Peter Forsberg tips a Ray Bourque pass past Olaf Kolzig to give the Avalanche a 4-3 win over Washington. Patrick Roy got the win - the 448th of his career passing Terry Sawchuk to become the NHL's career wins leader. Sawchuk's mark had stood since 1970 but has since been eclipsed by Curtis Joseph, Ed Belfour and Martin Brodeur (who last year passed Roy to take over the career record). The next guy to do it could be Chris Osgood, who is 56 wins behind Sawchuk (especially since he only has to face Cody McLeod four times a year).

Rangers Pregame: Scouting the Leafs

Jim Schmiedeberg — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:00:28 -0000

Let's take a look at tonight's opponent, the Toronto Maple Leafs:

Toronto Maple Leafs

Head Coach: Ron Wilson

2008-09 Record: 34-35-13 (did not make playoffs)

Last Season vs. Rangers: 3-1

Stars:

Vesa Toskala

#35 / Goalie / Toronto Maple Leafs

Height: 5-10

Weight: 195

Born: May 20, 1977

More after the jump......

Luke Schenn

#2 / Defenseman / Toronto Maple Leafs

Height: 6-2

Weight: 216

Born: Nov 02, 1989

Who's In:

Francois Beauchemin, Tyler Bozak, Garnet Exelby, Jonas Gustavsson, Christian Hanson, Phil Kessel, Mike Komisarek, Colton Orr, Wayne Primeau, Rickard Wallin, Viktor Stalberg

Who's Out:

Boyd Devereaux, Martin Gerber, Ryan Hollweg, Curtis Joseph, Olaf Kolzig, Pavel Kubina, Brad May, Jaime Sifers, Anton Stralman

Toronto Maple Leafs 2009-10 Season Preview from Pension Plan Puppets, the SBNation Community for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Maple Leafs Notes:

Daily Notes on the Leafs from Pension Plan Puppets

Peter Pocklington says Oilers-Leafs almost swapped cities (Globe and Mail)

Bold moves could avert Leafs disaster (Toronto Star)

2009-10 NHL Season Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs

James Mirtle — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:00:14 -0000

More photos » by Darren Calabrese - AP

Browse more photos »

Who's in: Francois Beauchemin, Tyler Bozak, Garnet Exelby, Jonas Gustavsson, Christian Hanson, Phil Kessel, Mike Komisarek, Colton Orr, Wayne Primeau, Rickard Wallin
Who's out: Boyd Devereaux, Martin Gerber, Ryan Hollweg, Curtis Joseph, Olaf Kolzig, Pavel Kubina, Brad May, Jaime Sifers, Anton Stralman

Outlook: Brian Burke's aim was to get bigger, meaner and better in goal, and its hard to argue he didn't accomplish all three over the off-season. And he even found a way to add a 36-goal scorer (albeit an injured one).

Coming in are three big blueliners in Francois Beauchemin, Mike Komisarek and Garnet Exelby, enforcer Colton Orr and netminder Jonas Gustavsson. Another key signing could be that of University of Denver standout Tyler Bozak, who has looked good in preseason and could make an impact up front as a rookie this fall.

Toronto may appear lean up front and they will have to make do without Nik Antropov and Dominic Moore but the Leafs biggest woes last season came in goal and on the blueline, and if either Vesa Toskala can have a rebound campaign or Gustavsson can surprise in his first season, that'll make a world of difference in their record this season.

Komisarek and Beauchemin, meanwhile, should also help improve what was a league worst penalty kill in 2008-09, something thats sure to be a target for coach Ron Wilson and Co. in the early going.

As for where the offence will come from, expect the likes of Mikhail Grabovski, Matt Stajan and Niklas Hagman to play plenty of minutes until Phil Kessel's ready for action. It's not out of the question that Toronto has eight players pot 20 goals this season, as while there's not a ton of high-end offence, there's quietly some depth emerging. (Viktor Stalberg, anyone?)

All the changes probably don't add up to a playoff appearance quite yet, but the bottom end of the Eastern Conference is fairly wide open and a climb up the standings isn't impossible. If nothing else, the Leafs should be far better in the goals against department, and that alone will keep them in the race longer than they were last season.

X-factor: Jonas Gustavsson

For a more in-depth Leafs preview, visit Pension Plan Puppets
For more NHL analysis, check out the McKeen's Hockey Yearbook

Poll

Where will the Leafs finish in the Eastern Conference this season?

1

17 votes

2

3 votes

3

5 votes

4

6 votes

5

18 votes

6

40 votes

7

85 votes

8

90 votes

9

48 votes

10

57 votes

11

20 votes

12

25 votes

13

12 votes

14

8 votes

15

35 votes

469 votes | Poll has closed

Thursday links: Getting out of the doghouse like David Perron edition

averagejoe — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:15:28 -0000

Will this week ever end?

Blues news

Blues vs. Wilds tonight. [Blues]
Gillespie, Ill. natives Mike and Austin Cook are the 10,000th season ticket holders. They got to meet Andy Murray, Erik Johnson, Carlo Colaiacovo and Alex Pietrangelo. I'm assuming they did this for the other 9,999 people who gave a damn to get tickets before September. [Blues]
Couple of things to look for in this blog post about the team's new pregame video. One, Jay McClement, Andy McDonald, Paul Kariya, Keith Tkachuk, David Backes AND Barret Jackman are all wearing the alternate 'A.' No. 2, Darryl Sydor is on the team. He's in the shot (No. 44 behind Jackman), in sight and not an out-of-focus background character like Ben Bishop. [Morning Skate]
Cam Janssen dominates the shootout and more in this blog from Norm Sanders. [Belleville News-Democrat]
David Perron is maturing, so much so that even old men like Andy Murray and Tkachuk like him. [Stltoday.com]
Sydor is trying to win a spot many (including me) believe he has sewn up. [Belleville News-Democrat]
Barry Tallackson is out of camp. [OurSports Central]

Hockey news

Wednesday's action. [Yahoo!]
Thursday's games. [Yahoo!]
ESPN tackles realignment. What I learned? John Buccigross is insane, Pierre LeBrun doesn't understand travel costs, Barry Melrose thinks divisions complicate things and Scott Burnside wants a vagabond team. Really, the NHL needs ESPN back? With insight like this? [ESPN]
Peter Forsberg can't quit hockey. [ESPN]
Not a lot of news here, I'm just a huge Curtis Joseph fan. [Pension Plan Puppets]
Manny Malholtra knows the way San Jose ... and Fear the Fin seems to like the move. [Fear the Fin]
Olaf Kolzig is calling it a career, and a fine one at that. [TSN]
Jim Balsillie says he would keep the Coyotes in Phoenix for this season. Gee, how nice. [ESPN]

Other links

I'm not a Northwestern fan, nor a shill for SB Nation (they don't pay me enough), but I have to share with you all the blog with best name ever. Kudos, Sippin' on Purple, for having an awesome name. [Sippin' On Purple]
A place for stoners to put their ideas they get when they are high. My buddy in college would record his thoughts into a tape recorder -- his "best" idea was to replace outfield warning tracks with trampolines. [highIdeas]
A look at all the McDonalds in the United States. [The Daily What]
The combover is not a good look. [Yep, Yep]

Video

This is, without a doubt, the weirdest thing you will see all day: A man dressed up to look like a deer. Posing. You've been warned.

Ok that was creepy. Non-creepy video after the jump.

Language NSFW.

That's it for today. Gametimelinks(at)gmail.com

Leaf of the Day - Sept 23, 2009 - Curtis Joseph

1967ers — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:00:35 -0000

Continuing the trend of recently-departed Leafs, today it is Curtis Joseph. Cujo reached a milestone last season with his 450th career win and his total of 454 stands fourth-best of all-time. Of course, he also managed to tie Gump Worsley for first overall with 352 losses, proving that in order to be allowed to lose that many games, you have to be pretty d@mned good. For the record, the rest of the top 10 in losses includes such luminaries as Terry Sawchuk, Harry Lumley, Glenn Hall, Ed Belfour and Patrick Roy.)

It's Joseph's first go-round that I'm more interested in, though.

After last night's win, Ron Wilson was careful not to read too much into the fact that this team has won four in a row and has shown the ability to a) score goals, though apparently nobody has scored them because nobody knows how and b) fight back from deficits and find ways to win. Even though the media is being cautioned to cool it, I can't help but imagine that this kind of streak is being noticed by the players. I'd hope they can feed off it.

In 1998, when the Leafs had a brand new coach in Pat Quinn and a brand new goaltender in Curtis Joseph, Quinn wanted to set the tone for the team by winning as much as he could in pre-season. The Leafs had been lousy for a few years running, and he wanted a new culture of winning to start as soon as possible.

The Leafs won a lot that year, 7-2 or something, and were able to carry that all the way to the third round of the playoffs. They never really looked back after that.

Joseph would carry this team to the third round twice in four seasons, winning 32 playoff games, 8 by shutout. He set the tone of the Leaf playoff dominance over Ottawa, for which we can ever be grateful.

Cujo's stats:

1984-85	King City Dukes	OHA-B	18				0	4.82
1984-85	Newmarket Flyers	OPJHL	2	1	1	0	0	8.00
1985-86	Richmond Hill Dynes	OPJHL	33	12	18	0	1	5.45
1986-87	Richmond Hill Dynes	OPJHL	30	14	7	6	1	4.35
1987-88	Notre Dame Hounds	SJHL	36	25	4	7	1	2.59
1987-88	Notre Dame Hounds	Cen-Cup							5	4	1	0	0	3.17
1988-89	University of Wisconsin	WCHA	38	21	11	5	1	2.49
1989-90	St. Louis Blues	NHL	15	9	5	1	0	3.38	6	4	1		0	3.30
1989-90	Peoria Rivermen	IHL	23	10	8	2	0	3.87
1990-91	St. Louis Blues	NHL	30	16	10	2	0	3.12
1991-92	St. Louis Blues	NHL	60	27	20	10	2	3.01	6	2	4		0	3.64
1992-93	St. Louis Blues	NHL	68	29	28	9	1	3.02	11	7	4		2	2.27
1993-94	St. Louis Blues	NHL	71	36	23	11	1	3.10	4	0	4		0	3.66
1994-95	St. Louis Blues	NHL	36	20	10	1	1	2.79	7	3	3		0	3.67
1995-96	Las Vegas Thunder	IHL	15	12	2	1	1	1.99
1995-96	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	34	15	16	2	0	3.44
1995-96	Canada	WC-A	8				2	1.76
1996-97	Canada	W-Cup	7	5	2	0	1	2.31
1996-97	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	72	32	29	9	6	2.93	12	5	7		2	2.82
1997-98	Edmonton Oilers	NHL	71	29	31	9	8	2.63	12	5	7		3	1.93
1997-98	Canada	Olympics
1998-99	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	67	35	24	7	3	2.56	17	9	8		1	2.43
1999-00	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	63	36	20	7	4	2.49	12	6	6		1	2.06
2000-01	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	68	33	27	8	6	2.39	11	7	4		3	2.10
2001-02	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	51	29	17	5	4	2.23	20	10	10		3	2.30
2001-02	Canada	Olympics	1	0	1	0	0	5.00
2002-03	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	61	34	19	6	5	2.49	4	0	4		0	2.08
2003-04	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	31	16	10	3	2	2.39	9	4	4		1	1.39
2003-04	Grand Rapids Griffins	AHL	1	1	0	0	0	1.00
2004-05	(none)
2005-06	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL	60	32	21	3	4	2.91
2006-07	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL	55	18	31	2	4	3.19
2007-08	Calgary Flames	NHL	9	3	2	0	0	2.55	2	1	0		0	0.76
2008-09	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	21	5	9	1	0	3.57
	Leaf Totals		270	138	97	28	17	2.49	60	32	24		8	2.25
	NHL Totals		943	454	352	96	51	2.79	133	63	66		16	2.42

- Signed as a free agent by St. Louis, June 16, 1989.
- Traded to Edmonton by St. Louis with the rights to Mike Grier for St. Louis' 1st round choices (previously acquired) in 1996 (Marty Reasoner) and 1997 (later traded to Los Angeles - Los Angeles selected Matt Zultek) Entry Drafts, August 4, 1995.
- Signed as a free agent by Toronto, July 15, 1998.
- Traded to Calgary by Toronto for Calgary's 3rd round choice (later traded to Minnesota - Minnesota selected Danny Irmen) in 2003 Entry Draft and future considerations, June 30, 2002.
- Signed as a free agent by Detroit, July 2, 2002.
- Signed as a free agent by Phoenix, August 17, 2005.
- Signed as a free agent by Calgary, January 17, 2008.
- Signed as a free agent by Toronto, July 1, 2008.

The HHOF take on Cujo:

"One of the true "money" goalies of the 1990s, Curtis Joseph developed into an NHL star while guarding the net of the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs. Although he was usually excellent in the regular season, "Cujo" became of the most feared playoffs foes due to his penchant for elevating his game in the NHL's second season. His cat-like reflexes and indomitable competitive spirit made Joseph one of the toughest goalies for shooters to face in recent years.
A native of Keswick, Ontario, less than an hour north of Toronto, the shy Joseph initially struggled to make an impression as a hockey goalie at the amateur level. He almost gave up altogether before venturing to Wilcox, Saskatchewan to play for the Notre Dame Hounds. At this point Joseph was trying to earn a college scholarship through hockey as a means of gaining access to an education. He impressed a few scouts and eventually was offered a scholarship to the University of Wisconsin, which was trying to replace the departed Mike Richter.

Joseph excelled for the Badgers during his one season of college hockey in 1988-89. He won 21 games and was voted on to the WCHA Conference First All-Star team. A few weeks after the season "Cujo" was signed by the St. Louis Blues and left college for a pro career. He began the 1989-90 season with the Peoria Rivermen of the IHL but was eventually called up to the Blues to solidify their goaltending picture after Greg Millen was traded to the Quebec Nordiques. Joseph played in 15 regular season and six playoff games while solidifying the goaltending picture with Vincent Riendeau.

Joseph became the Blues' first string goalie in 1991-92 when he won 27 games in 60 appearances. The following season he won 29 games but earned league-wide attention with his brilliant effort in the playoffs. Even though the club lost to Toronto in the Norris division final, Joseph emerged as a hero after stopping 119 of 122 shots in consecutive double overtime games.

Prior to the 1995-96 season the cost-cutting Blues shipped the popular Joseph to Edmonton. He played well but the Oilers were in the early stages of a rebuilding process. In April 1996 he excelled for Canada at the World Championships and later that year represented his country in the inaugural World Cup of hockey.

In 1996-97 and 1997-98, Joseph helped the young Oilers reach the playoffs where his brilliance guided the team into the second round both years. Joseph shocked the hockey world in July 1998 when he left the Oilers to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Although he never dominated the NHL's goaltending statistics, "Cujo" was looked upon as one of the league's top netminders whose play only improved during the post-season.

His impact on his new club was immediate as his excellent goaltending helped the Leafs register 99 points and reach the Stanley Cup semifinals. His coolness under fire impressed back up netminder Glenn Healy. Joseph won 35 games in the regular season and nine in the playoffs and was runner-up to Dominik Hasek in the voting for the Vezina trophy.

As Toronto closed out the twentieth century, Joseph's netminding was a key reason behind the club's challenge for the most points in the Eastern conference. The Leafs finished at the top of the Northeast division to win their first regular season title since 1962-63 and were a legitimate contender for the Stanley Cup. Joseph's popularity reached epic proportions in hockey-mad "Hogtown."

Joseph went on to play two more seasons with the Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's Gold Medal Olympic Team in Salt Lake City before leaving the team in the the summer of 2002 to sign as a free agent with the 2002 Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. Looking to fill the void left by Dominik Hasek who retired following the Wings Stanley Cup win, the team felt that Joseph would be the ideal replacement and early on has shown that the team made the right choice. However, following a one year hiatus, Hasek returned to the Motor City in 2003-04, which created a log jam in the Red Wing goal with Joseph, Hasek and Many Legace.

Injuries would limit Joseph to a mere 31 games in 2003-04 and following a cancelled 2004-05 NHL season, he was acquired by the Phoenix Coyotes. With the Coyotes Joseph would split both his seasons and record his 424th career win, thereby moving into sixth place on the NHL's all-time list, passing Tony Esposito. After a pair of seasons in Phoenix, Joseph would not be resigned by the club and remain an unrestricted free agent up until the Calgary Flames signed the veteran goaltender on January 14, 2008.

In Calgary, Joseph notched his 448th career NHL win which moved him past Terry Sawchuk for fourth place in all-time wins. In the post-season, Joseph replaced Kiprusoff to backstop the Flames to an exciting come from behind win after the club initially fell behind 3-0. However, the Flames were eliminated that round and Joseph would sign in the off-season with the Toronto Maple Leafs."

via img23.imageshack.us

Edmonton's Goaltenders and Why They Suck

Benjamin Massey — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:36:56 -0000

More photos » by John Ulan - AP

8 months ago: The Edmonton Oilers' Dwayne Roloson deflects a shot from the San Jose Sharks during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Edmonton, Aberta on Thursday, April 2, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, John Ulan)

Browse more photos »

Goaltenders are like pitchers in baseball: they're complete mysteries.

You can say with a fair degree of confidence that Roberto Luongo will have a great year and Jeff Deslauriers won't, but beyond that if you ever think you have goalies figured out, they will break you in half like a dry twig. Organizations like the former Montreal Canadiens that once sent goalies to the Hall of Fame now send them in a first-class carriage to obscurity. On the other end of the spectrum, the Pittsburgh Penguins' goaltending history consisted of a few beer league guys and Tom Barrasso before they snared Marc-André Fleury, whose own career bobbed up and down in his first few years, and then capped off the act by inexplicably rejuvenating Ty Conklin.

But this preamble is just meant to give context to the fact that the Edmonton Oilers have not developed a decent goaltender in two decades, and they don't seem like they're going to start now.

There are have been solid goaltenders in Edmonton since 1990, of course. Curtis Joseph was the best goaltender in the NHL for two seasons in copper and blue. Tommy Salo had a couple superb seasons, and men like Bob Essensa and Dwayne Roloson were admirable journeymen. But none of them were developed in Edmonton: Joseph came up through St. Louis, Salo got his start with the New York Islanders, we remember Roloson's chequered history and Essensa, of course, played for every team on the planet at some point.

The last goaltender of any note the Oilers can be said to have developed was Bill Ranford back in the 1980s, and his career was more forgettable than most Oiler fans realize.

Right now, the Oilers have an armada of goaltending prospects in their system. Devan Dubnyk went in the first round, Jeff Deslauriers was a very early second-rounder, and Olivier Roy probably should have gone in the first thirty. Dubnyk and Deslauriers were both highly-touted juniors and Roy is following that route so far. The Oilers have also brought in Bryan Pitton and Andrew Perugini, two kids both still in the organization.

For Deslauriers and Dubnyk, it's all gone pear-shaped. Both received World Junior consideration for Canada and Dubnyk actually made a team. Deslauriers was acclaimed as one of the three best goaltenders in the QMJHL and earned a following in Chicoutimi to this day for his playoff heroics for the constantly overmatched Saguenéens. Dubnyk played for a Kamloops team that was consistently bad but he was always drawing rave reviews. Pitton and Perugini have also been disappointments: though Pitton was never any damned good, Perugini had the junior pedigree to get observers (including yours truly) excited. But neither has proven anything in the ECHL, to say nothing of a higher level.

It's become fashionable to blame the Oilers' now-departed goaltender coach, Pete Peeters. A former NHL journeyman himself, Peeters was given the rap for everything from Dwayne Roloson's knee to swine flu. It will be interesting to see what Peeters's departure means for the youngsters, particularly Dubnyk and Roy. But, as Joaquin Gage and Peter Ing could tell you at length, the problem extends long before Peeters's reign.

The truth is, figuring out a goaltending prospect below the level of a Luongo or a Fleury amounts to reading tea leaves. Deslauriers was hurt during his junior career, and though his injuries haven't had any long-term impact the games he missed may have hurt his development. Dubnyk played too many games in junior, which also may have hurt his development. Perugini languished on a mediocre junior team without a professional chance for too long. Pitton... well, Pitton stank from day one.

But nobody's ever been able to deny that the kids coming through here are fundamentally talented. Deslauriers proved in flashes last year that he can stop pucks. And that's another part of the reason goaltenders are such mysteries. Nine times out of ten, when a goalie stinks he stinks. One time out of ten, he's Ty Conklin.

2009 NHL Free Agency / Teams by Cap Space / Unsigned UFA's and RFA's

Robert L — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:19:41 -0000

This is a listing of NHL teams by order of remaining cap space as of July 4. The Islanders top the list with approximately $23M left to spend. The Sharks have just under $2M remaining. The list is helpful in determining which team are closest to filling out their 2009-10 lineup. As one can see, there is much work to be done at both ends of the spectrum. The numbers figures are based on totals given by NHL Numbers.com.

1 - New York Islanders: $23.265 (18)

UFA: Andy Hilbert C 28, Dean McAmmond C 36, Mike Sillinger C 38, Thomas Pock D 27, Yann Danis G 28, Joey MacDonald G 29.

RFA: Nate Thompson C 24, Jeremy Colliton C 24, Jamie Fraser D 23, Jack Hillen D 23.

2 - Phoenix Coyotes: $21.972 (18)

UFA: Brian McGrattan R 27, Dmitri Kalinin D 29, Ken Klee D 38.

RFA: Nigel Dawes L 24, Joakim Lindstrom C 25, Enver Lisin R 23, Scottie Upshall R 25, Daniel Winnik C 24, Keith Yandle D 22.

3 - Atlanta Thrashers: $19.599 (15)

RFA: Eric Perrin C 33.

UFA: Kari Lehtonen G 25, Colby Armstrong R 26, Jim Slater C 26, Boris Valabik D 23.

4 - Nashville Predators: $17.913 (16)

UFA: Radek Bonk C 33, Scott Nichol C 34, Greg de Vries D 36.

RFA: Ryan Jones R 25, Antti Pihlstrom L 24,.

5 - New York Rangers: $16.436 (13)

UFA: Blair Betts C 29, Mark Bell L 28, Patrick Rissmiller C 30, Paul Mara D 29, Derek Morris D 30.

RFA: Christopher Higgins R 26, Ryan Callahan R 24, Brandon Dubinsky C 23, Lauri Korpikoski L 22, Nikolai Zherdev L 24, Corey Potter D 25.

6 - Anaheim Ducks: $14.295 (17)

UFA: Rob Niedermayer F 34, Todd Marchant C 33, Francois Beauchemin D 29, Bret Hedican D 38.

RFA: James Wisniewski D 25.

7 - Tampa Bay Lightning: $14.295 (17)

UFA: Matt Pettinger L 28, Wade Brookbank L 31, Jason Ward R 30, Marek Malik D 34, Josef Melichar D 30, Cory Murphy D 31, Noah Welch D 26.

RFA: Martins Karsums R 23, Radek Smolenak L 22, Matt Lashoff D 22, Matt Smaby D 24, Mike Lundin D 24, Karri Ramo G 22, Mike McKenna G 26.

8 - Columbus Blue Jackets: $13.313 (20)

UFA: Chris Gratton C 33, Manny Malhotra C 29, Michael Peca C 35, Jason Williams C 28, Christian Backman D 29.

RFA: Jiri Novotny C 25, Marc Methot D 24, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen D 25.

9 - Dallas Stars: $13.193 (19)

UFA: Sergei Zubov D 38, Brendan Morrison C 33, Joel Lundqvist C 27, Mark Parrish R 32, Landon Wilson R 34, Tobias Stephan G 25, Darryl Sydor D 37.

RFA: Mark Fistric D 23.

10 - St. Louis Blues: $12.295 (22)

UFA: Trent Whitfield C 32, Dan Hinote R 32, Jay McKee D 31, Manny Legace G 36.

RFA: Brandon Crombeen R 23, Chris Porter C 25, Steve Regier L 24, Roman Polak D 23, Jeff Woywitka D 25, Marek Schwarz G 23.

11 - New Jersey Devils: $12.129

UFA: Brendan Shanahan L 40, Kevin Weekes G 34, Niclas Havelid D NJ.

RFA: Travis Zajac C 24.

12 - Toronto Maple Leafs: $12.022 (20)

UFA: Brad May L 37, Bates Battaglia L 33, Andre Deveaux C 25, Boyd Devereaux C 31, Jeff Hamilton C 31, Kris Newbury C 27, Ben Ondrus R 27, Jay Harrison D 26, Jamie Heward D 38, Martin Gerber G 34, Olaf Kolzig G 39, Curtis Joseph G 42.

RFA: Jeremy Williams R 25, Justin Pogge G 23, Jaime Sifers D 26, Ryan Hollweg C 26.

13 - Chicago Blackhawks: $11.797

UFA: Aaron Johnson D 26.

RFA: Cam Barker D 23, Troy Brouwer R 23, Ben Eager L 25, Colin Fraser C 24, Kris Versteeg R 23.

14 - Colorado Avalanche: $11.654 (15)

UFA: Joe Sakic F 39, Ben Guite R 30, Brian Willsie R 31, Andrew Raycroft G 29.

RFA: Kyle Cumiskey D 22, David Jones R 24, Cody McCormick C 26.

15 - Montreal Canadiens: $10.454 (16)

UFA: Alexei Kovalev F 36, Saku Koivu C 34, Alex Tanguay L 29, Robert Lang C 38, Mathieu Schneider D 40, Tom Kostopoulos R 30, Mathieu Dandenault D 33, Patrice Brisebois D 38, Francis Bouillon D 33, Marc Denis G 31.

RFA: Tomas Plekanec C 26, Matt D'Agostini R 22, Guillaume Latendresse R 22, Kyle Chipchura C 23, Gregory Stewart L 23.

16 - Los Angeles Kings: $10.285 (21)

UFA: Derek Armstrong F 36, Denis Gauthier D 32, Kyle Calder L 30.

RFA: Jack Johnson D 22, Teddy Purcell R 23.

17 - Washington Capitals: $9.720 (15)

UFA: Viktor Kozlov C 34, Alexandre Giroux C 28, Bryan Helmer D 26, Brent Johnson G 32.

RFA: Jeff Schultz D 23, Shaone Morrisonn D 26, Milan Jurcina D 26, Eric Fehr R 23, Boyd Gordon R 25.

18 - Buffalo Sabres: $8.976 (16)

UFA: Matt Ellis L 24, Dominic Moore C 28, Andrew Peters L 29, Teppo Numminen D 40, Maxim Afinogeno F 29,

RFA: Andrej Sekera D 23, Drew Stafford R 23, Clarke MacArthur L 24, Patrick Kaleta R 23.

19 - Florida Panthers: $8.405 (18)

UFA: Ville Peltonen L 36, Richard Zednik L 33, Jassen Cullimore D 36, Nick Boynton D 30.

RFA: Anthony Stewart C 24, Steve Eminger D 25, Tanner Glass L 25.

20 - Carolina Hurricanes: $8.083 (18)

UFA: Ryan Bayda L 28, Dennis Seidenberg D 27.

RFA: Tuomo Ruutu C 26, Anton Babchuk D 25.

21 - Vancouver Canucks: $7.282 (18)

UFA: Mats Sundin C 38, Jason Krog C 33, Rob Davison D 29, Ossi Vaananen D 28, Curtis Sanford G 29, Michel Ouellet R 27.

RFA: Shane O' Brien D 25. Kyle Wellwood C 26, Jannik Hansen R 23.

22 - Minnesota Wild: $6.296 (20)

UFA: Stephane Veilleux L 27, Krys Kolanos C 27, Marc-Andre Bergeron D 28, Kurtis Foster D 27, Martin Skoula D 29.

RFA: Dan Fritsche C 23, Benoit Pouliot L 22, Kyle Brodziak C 25, Josh Harding G 25.

23 - Edmonton Oilers: $6.404 (20)

UFA: Ales Kotalik R 30, Dany Sabourin G 28.

RFA: Liam Reddox L 23, Gilbert Brule C 22, Ryan Potulny C 24, Rob Schremp C 22, Denis Grebeshkov D 25, Ladislav Smid D 23.

24 - Detroit Red Wings: $5.554 (16)

UFA: Darren McCarty R 37, Aaron Downey R 34, Chris Chelios D 47.

RFA: Jiri Hudler C 25, Ville Leino L 25.

25 - Boston Bruins: $5.340 (18)

UFA: Stephane Yelle F 35, P.J. Axelsson L 34, Manny Fernandez G 34.

RFA: Phil Kessel F 21, Matt Hunwick D 24.

26 - Ottawa Senators: $4.649 (22)

UFA: Mike Comrie C 28.

RFA: Brendan Bell D 26, Brian Elliott G 24.

27 - Pittsburgh Penguins: $3.137 (19)

UFA: Mike Zigomanis C 28, James Connor L 26, Miroslav Satan L 34, Petr Sykora R 32, Janne Pesonen L 27, Philippe Boucher D 36.

RFA: Paul Bissonnette R 24, Tim Wallace R 24, Ben Lovejoy D 25, John Curry G 25.

28 - Calgary Flames: $3.053 (19)

UFA: Todd Bertuzzi R 34, Andre Roy R 34, Rhett Warrener D 33.

RFA: Dustin Boyd C 22.

29 - Philadelphia Flyers: $2.125 (20)

UFA: Josh Gratton L 26, Boyd Kane L 31, Andrew Alberts D 28, Lasse Kukkonen D 27, Martin Biron G 31, Antero Niittymaki G 29.

RFA: Jared Ross C 26, Danny Syvret D 24.

30 - San Jose Sharks: $1.774 (16)

UFA: Claude Lemieux R 43, Jeremy Roenick C 39, Tom Cavanagh R 27, Alexei Semenov D 28, Mike Grier R 34, Marcel Goc C 25, Tomas Plihal L 26, Lukas Kaspar L 23.

RFA: Torrey Mitchell C 24, Thomas Greiss G 23, Brad Staubitz R 24.

2009 NHL Free Agency Primer For The St. Louis Blues

Brad Lee — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:57:16 -0000

The NHL realizes there is a ton of summer left before training camp starts, right? So there's really no good reason for free agency to open less than a week before the draft. But alas, it's already upon us with signings beginning Wednesday. It will be interesting to see how quickly players start agreeing to contracts after the period opens. Because teams and agents would never start talking early.

So the Blues with the buying out of Fragile Jay McKee's contract now have a little more cap room. They've got one glaring opening. Let's take a little closer look.

Pending Unrestricted Free Agents: Manny Legace, Trent Whitfield and Dan Hinote.

Pending Restricted Free Agents: B.J. Crombeen, Chris Porter, Steve Regier, Roman Polak, Jeff Woywitka, Steve Wagner.

Salary Cap Space: About $10 million. We think. The rookie contracts with potential bonuses built in makes it a little more difficult to get it right.

Blues' budget for payroll: Good question.

Key needs: Backup goaltender. Backup goaltender. Backup goaltender. And we think they're going cheap. There's been talk about Josh Harding, the restricted free agent in Minnesota. Judging by the Blues' response last summer when the Canucks went after David Backes and the number of young players who could hit RFA status in the next couple years, I don't think they want to go that route for fear of having the tables turned on them in short order. So they need a guy to spell the bearded yet shaved Chris Mason. And I think they learned their lesson last year signing an expensive goaltender that gives the incumbent goalie night sweats and fear of losing his job.

Oh, and they better sign Roman Polak or there's going to be some nasty shit on this blog in short order if another team comes in and snatches him up.

I guess they could use a puck-moving defenseman with the added adjective of affordable. And Paul Kariya and his $6 million contract will come off the books next year, so it's concievable they could go after a forward in that salary neighborhood, but I don't expect them to do that.

Potential targets: Ty Conklin was good enough to play backup to Chris Osgood. I'd think he's good enough to play backup for Mason. Craig Anderson is young and cheap. But he could be looking for a better chance to compete for the starting job. Antero Niitymaki would keep Gallagher up at night making sure his name was spelled right on every page of the paper. Curtis Joseph is available, right? That would be "fun."

Who would you like to see the Blues pursue? And if you say Marian "Non Smyth Trophy Winner" Hossa, be prepared to face some ridicule. Tell us down below in the comments.