Ozzy - that is the affectionate name of the Detroit fans of their goalkeeper Chris Osgood. He was the last goalkeeper in the NHL who used a traditional helmet of the old model. Osgood ended his playing career when he was almost 39, although fans begged him to stay ...
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The future hockey player Chris Osgood was born in 1972 in the small town of Peace River in the northern Canadian province of Alberta, and signed his first semi-professional contract at the age of sixteen with the Medical Hat Tigers club, which played in the Junior Western Hockey League. Here, he was spotted by the Scouts of Detroit, and in the 1991 draft, he was selected by the Red Wings under the 54th number and immediately leased. After playing for three years at the youth level, the young goalkeeper moved to the Adirondack Red Wings. This team played in the second most important North American hockey league after the NHL and was the Detroit Farm Club.
There was only one way from here for the stubborn Chris - upstairs, to the main team. And he did it incredibly fast: already in the 1993/94 season, he made his debut as part of the “Detroit”.
Detroit Red Wings -1
It turned out that the young Chris Osgood became the team's main goalkeeper in the Stanley Cup playoffs. And it was necessary for this to happen that in the decisive, seventh, game of the quarter-finals of the conference against San Jose Sharks, he equally made a gross mistake, which became decisive. The match, and with it the series were lost. As a result, Osgood actually spent the next two seasons in reserve.
But his finest hour was just around the corner. The famous coach Scotty Bowman in the 1995/96 season created the five in the club, which consisted of only Russian hockey players. Vyacheslav Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Sergey Fedorov, Vladimir Konstantinov and Vyacheslav Kozlov together transformed the game of “Red Wings”, which had not achieved serious success for a long time. And Chris Osgood for the first and only time in his career was nominated for the Vezina Trophy - a prize awarded to the best NHL goalkeeper at the end of the season, and for the first time played in the Match of the Stars.
In addition, another curious episode happened this season: in the match against Hartford Whalers, Osgood became the second goalkeeper in NHL history to score a goal with a direct shot. Interestingly, the same “trick” was previously successful for him in one of the games at the junior level.
And then there were two consecutive seasons in which the team led by the “Russian five” did not notice the rivals. Both Stanley Cup finals, in 1997 and 1998, were won by “Detroit” with the same margin in the series - 4: 0. And if in the first case Chris Osgood was still considered the second goalkeeper after Mike Vernon, then in the second winning season he was, of course, the main guard of the goal.
He remained with them for the next three seasons, until the summer of 2001, when he was sold to the New York Islanders. Maybe he would have spent his entire career in one club, but the “Red Wings” acquired the great Dominic Hasek in his position.
New York Islanders
So, in the biography of Chris Osgood there was a sharp turn. “Islanders”, by this time managed to miss seven consecutive seasons of the Stanley Cup playoffs, were looking for gain on the goalkeeper position. And the titled goalkeeper came in handy for them.
Despite the fact that he helped the club solve the task of reaching the playoffs, Chris had to share his playing time with other goalkeepers in the team. This situation did not suit him, and already in the middle of the 2002/03 season he said goodbye to Islanders.
St. Louis Blues
But here, Chris did not stay long, although at Blues for a season and a half he was the main goalkeeper, but then they did not renew the contract with him. There was still a lockout in the NHL, and before the start of the 2005/06 season, he actually remained out of work. The celebrated goalkeeper even had to spend several games in one of the AHL clubs.
Therefore, when his native “Detroit” offered him a contract, albeit substantially smaller than all the previous ones, Osgood agreed almost without hesitation. Probably, fate itself this time favored this, albeit not the most gifted, but incredibly hardworking hockey player, because, contrary to the well-known proverb, he managed to enter the same river twice. And enter more than successfully.
Detroit Red Wings -2
Here he played six more seasons, which became the final in his sports career. Osgood had to withstand competition with other goalkeepers, including Hasek himself, and he passed this test with flying colors.
Triumphant for both “Red Wings” and for the goalkeeper himself the 2007/08 season turned out to be: “Detroit” again took the Stanley Cup, and Osgood played almost all the playoff matches. That year, by his own admission, became for him the best in sports biography. Below in the photo, Chris Osgood is captured with the coveted trophy.
At the end of 2010, he entered the symbolic elite goalkeeper club, scoring 400 victories in the NHL (becoming at that time only the tenth such goalkeeper in history). A few months later, an experienced hockey player put an end to his career.
Later in an interview, he noticed that in Detroit he was at the right time in the right place. It happens, and not only in hockey, that for an athlete there is only one club where he can truly open up.
After sports
Now Chris Osgood is a hockey analyst at one of the Detroit sports channels. In his free time, he takes part in veteran matches with pleasure. Remembering his long playing career, he notes that he achieved all successes because he worked hard and hard. And Ken Holland, the general manager of Red Wings over the years, says he most appreciated Chris's fighting spirit and incredible psychological stability.
And Osgood has one cherished dream. He really wants that someday his name was included in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Well, we sincerely wish this to him.