[Sabres Fan]

DETROIT -- The Red Wings recently sent young netminder Joey MacDonald to their AHL franchise for a conditioning stint. En route, MacDonald received a text message from Detroit's No. 1 netminder Dominik Hasek, who encouraged him to win a couple of games and told MacDonald that he was looking forward to seeing him on his return to Detroit.

It's the kind of gesture that means the world to a young player, the kind of gesture that seems to run contrary to the generally accepted perception of Hasek as enigmatic, sometimes aloof, sometimes difficult or downright ornery.

But that's the thing with perception. It becomes reality, true enough. But just as often, perception and its attendant reality reflect only the past and have little to do with the here and now.


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[datsyukdangler1]

Nice Hasek:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[imported_shookem]

Wow, I'm really impressed.

For some reason I always got the impression that Hasek was a jerk but it seems like he's a really nice dude.

 

[ragologist]

For some reason I always got the impression that Hasek was a jerk...

Yeah, I've never gotten over the impression of Hasek (and Ruff) as a whiner from the '99 playoffs. Honestly, by the time they got to the finals, I was already sick of listening to his moaning.

So, is this a true sign of maturity, or is this how he acts when there is no real competition? (Really, no one thinks this kid is going to challenge for Hasek's starting spot.)

 

[imported_shookem]

Yeah, I've never gotten over the impression of Hasek (and Ruff) as a whiner from the '99 playoffs. Honestly, by the time they got to the finals, I was already sick of listening to his moaning.

So, is this a true sign of maturity, or is this how he acts when there is no real competition? (Really, no one thinks this kid is going to challenge for Hasek's starting spot.)

Good call. I still remember that playoff run, I think that where his image got tainted in my mind as well.

Is he actually maturing? I dunno, maybe he realizes that a lot of the game is how you act off the ice and even a great on ice performance does make you popular.