Curtis Joseph will suit up for Grand Rapids Friday.
MONTREAL (CP) -- Curtis Joseph is of two minds about the Detroit Red Wings' plan to send him on a conditioning stint to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League.
One is that the 15-year NHL veteran feels his pride already took enough of a hit when the Red Wings brought Dominik Hasek out of retirement to be their No. 1 goaltender this season.
The other is that going to the minors may be his only chance to get enough practice and playing time to prove he is ready to return -- to Detroit or wherever else he ends up.
"There's two schools of thought," Joseph said before the Red Wings' game against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night.
"Derek Jeter (of the New York Yankees) went down to take some hits after his shoulder injury and he's a pretty good player. I want to do whatever is best for me to play my best."
Rogers Sportsnet reported Monday evening that Joseph had decided to go to Grand Rapids on Friday.
The frustration was evident on the 36-year-old goaltender as he spoke to a throng of reporters in the Detroit dressing room at the Bell Centre on Monday morning.
Joseph jumped at the chance to sign with the Wings on July 2, 2002, when they offered a three-year contract worth $8 million US per season to replace Hasek, who retired following Detroit's 2002 Stanley Cup victory.
But after being knocked out of the first round of playoffs by Anaheim with Joseph in goal last spring, Hasek made a surprising return from a one-year retirement and the Wings immediately gave him the No. 1 job. Joseph, meanwhile, went on the trading block.
Further complicating the situation is that Joseph had surgery in the off-season to remove a bone chip from his right ankle and is just lately getting back into form.
The Keswick, Ont., native said a stint in the minors was mentioned by Red Wings management two weeks ago, but nothing has been said since.
"We'll talk to him today about some sort of plan we'd like in place as far as getting him back to a position where he can play some games," Wings coach Dave Lewis said Monday.
"Every day, it looks like he's getting closer but you don't really know until you get into a game."
Sending Joseph to Grand Rapids would also end the distraction of having three goaltenders with the team.
In practices, Hasek takes one net while Joseph and backup goalie Manny Legace share the other, so that only Hasek gets a full workout.
"It's tough for everybody," said Joseph. "We all want to get in the net.
"We all want to work. You've got to make the best of a bad situation, no question."
But as it is, he can't give the ankle a proper test to see if he's ready to return.
He said the ankle feels fine, but "it's hard to say because I can't get a full practice in, so who knows? I try to do as much as I can early or late (in practice), but it's not the same as doing the flow drills."
There are probably teams that want Joseph, one of the NHL's top goaltenders for the past decade but one who has yet to win a championship, although they may have been put off by his salary and the injury. St. Louis and the New York Rangers are often mentioned.
The Wings are willing to absorb part of Joseph's salary to trade him. Joseph has a no-trade clause in his contract, but would probably waive it for the right opportunity to play.
When asked where he stands, Joseph said: "I'm not the right person to ask.
"I guess I have a say in the end, but I have no idea."
His teammates are also torn between Joseph and Hasek, the two-time NHL MVP who has looked a little rusty early in his comeback.
"It's a tough situation for everybody involved," said defenceman Mathieu Schneider. "Obviously (Joseph) wants to play.
"Dominik is a great guy and he feels bad about the situation. We all want it to work out well for everyone. The whole team is very supportive of him."
Joseph was on the opposite side a similar situation when he signed as a free agent with Toronto in 1998, bumping Felix Potvin from the starting job. Potvin was relegated to backup while veteran Glenn Healy had to spend time in St. John's of the AHL until Potvin was finally traded to the New York Islanders in mid-season.
"It would be easier if I was a single guy," Joseph said of his predicament. "But I have a family back in Toronto.
Well this might actually be a good move, Cujo needs some practice and its pretty clear that hes not going to be playing much at this season. And the team needs a way to get rid of some of the tension that this is no doubt causing, in the end I think its a good move for both the team Cujo. He'll get a chance to play, maybe get some of his confidence back, and the team might be able to function more normally.
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"You see things and you say "Why?"; but I dream things that never were and I say "Why not?""- George Bernard Shaw
"Education is the power to think clearly, the power to act well in the world's work, and the power to appreciate life." - Brigham Young
i know that there is a lot of hostility towards cujo from people in this forum, regardless of the fact cujo has just had knee surgery and he needs the playing practice this guy is a former all star team member, who is a world renouned goaltender. His salary may be too high but that doesnt take away from his talent. The wings have got themselves into a problem and they arent paying him 8 million dollars a season for him to play in the minors. This may give him practice and he can work out his knee however this is not the solution and not only disrespects cujo and his family but the red wings orginization. I know the wings have tried to work out a few trades that have fell through but the wings cant shove a player into the wings when he does not play up to his abilty.
Putting playoff records aside cujos and dominks records were comparble for their last seasons:
GP G A PIM Min GA EN SO GAA W L T Svs Pct
Hasek 65 0 1 8 3872 140 2 5 2.17 41 15 8 1654 0.915
Joseph 61 0 0 4 3566 148 3 5 2.49 34 19 6 1528 0.912
I was watching some TV clip about him today and they were going on about how bad they felt for Cujo and the situation he has been put in. I seem to recall Cujo not feeling to bad about going to Toronto when Potvin was their number 1 goalie a few years back. What goes around comes around!!!
Yes, Cujo does need a reconditioning stint at the farm but the Red Wings are hoping this move will break Cujo's spirit. Hoping some time riding the bus, staying in cheap motels, and playing with kids will bring Cujo to his knees and come begging to Wings' management. The Wings know that they can't trade Cujo unless he takes a pay cut and he won't do that unless they break him.
It will be interesting to see who blinks first.
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I was watching hockeycenteral on Sportsnet, and they suspect that Detroit wants him to quit. So they sent him down to teh monors, hoping that he'd say no and disagree, so he would leave his 8 million dollar contract on the table.
Cujo books ticket to minors
Cujo books ticket to minors
ock: That's the last thing I thought would happen to Cujo.
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