0107030106
DETROIT FREE PRESS
010702
Monday, July 02, 2001
METRO FINAL
1A
Photo BILL SIKES/Associated Press
With Buffalo, Dominik Hasek won the Vezina Trophy six times in eight
seasons.
Dominik Hasek is among the NHL's elite goaltenders
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 2001, Detroit Free Press
THE PUCK STOPS HERE
IN A BOLD MOVE, WINGS TRADE FOR THE DOMINATOR
CORRECTION RAN JULY 3, 2001
A front-page Mitch Albom column Monday should have
said that new Red Wings goalie Dominik Hasek would make $8 million
this season.
What's not to like? The Red Wings get Superman, a goalie who can win games by
himself, and they give up a guy who is as known for disappearing from games as
he is for scoring in them.
What's not to like? Dominik Hasek isn't called the Dominator for nothing. He
has had stretches in his career -- and I mean the last couple of years -- in
which he was simply untouchable. Cork-in-the-net. A wall of iron. Players
shaking their heads and swearing nobody can do what he just did.
What's not to like? The Wings have been talking every off-season about a
defenseman, a defenseman, we gotta get a defenseman. Well, what's a better
defenseman than arguably the best netminder in the business, a guy who has six
Vezina trophies as the NHL's top goalie -- including the one for last season?
Hey, if a goalie is the last line of defense, why not take the best -- a man
who almost single-handedly led the Buffalo Sabres to a Stanley Cup two years
ago?
Why not take a guy who was the most valuable player in the league in 1997 and
1998?
Why not take a guy who led the NHL in shutouts last year -- and that's when he
wasn't talking about retiring. Imagine what he can do when he's concentrating?
What's not to like about that?
Please, no tears over Slava Kozlov having to go. That's what trading is. You
get, and you give up. But in one swift move, completed around 1:30 Sunday
morning, the Wings shook up the snow inside their paperweight, and suddenly,
they are looking much more promising than they looked last week.
It's this simple: Dominik Hasek can win you a game, a series, maybe even a
Cup.
Slava Kozlov can't.
The latter leaves, the former arrives.
What's not to like about that?
In the Land of Oz?
Now, I hear the concern. "What about Chris Osgood, the Red Wings' current
goalie, the young man who was supposed to be their future?"
Wake up and smell last season, folks. It is not a pleasant odor. The Red Wings
were booted out of the playoffs in the first round. Osgood couldn't stop that.
Meanwhile, the Stanley Cup was won by the Colorado Avalanche, who, over the
weekend, re-signed Joe Sakic, Rob Blake, and, yes, Mr. Clog-It-Up, goalie
Patrick Roy.
If the Wings are going to enjoy a Lord Stanley party any time soon, they'll
only do it by besting the Colorado franchise, and that means, among other
things, having a goalie who can do what Roy does, namely, in the vernacular of
hockey, stand on his head.
Hasek does that. More important, every player in the league, Red Wings
included, believes that Hasek does that.
They don't feel that way about Osgood.
And though perception is not reality in hockey, it helps. It makes players on
Hasek's teams more fluid, more confident, more risk-taking, and it makes the
opposing team more tentative.
So Hasek is here. Osgood is likely on his way out. The Wings can't afford to
keep both on the payroll. (Hasek will earn $8 for this season, and Osgood is
scheduled to get $3.75 million.) That's too much for Mike Ilitch, who should
be saluted for once again dumping a fortune into his hockey dreams.
And though Osgood may have more upside in terms of longevity, the Wings are
not interested in the years 2006 or 2007 right now. With guys like Steve
Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Chris Chelios and Nicklas Lidstrom all costing a
fortune and not getting any younger, the future is now, right now, this
season.
Scotty Bowman may not coach after this season. Lidstrom may leave after this
season. Hasek may retire to the Czech Republic after this season.
Now. Now. Now.
Farewell to Kozzie
As for Kozlov? The 29-year-old left wing was a good player for the Wings, a
soft-spoken member of the once-famous Russian Five. But his production was
slipping the last few seasons, and he had a tendency to evaporate during the
regular season. True, this was often countered by his goal scoring in the
playoffs. And yes, in the first round loss to Los Angeles, Kozlov had a
team-high four goals.
So what? The Wings lost, remember? And, simply put, if a roster that features
Sergei Fedorov, Yzerman, Shanahan and Lidstrom has to have Slava Kozlov
scoring in order to win, well, that franchise isn't going anywhere, anyhow.
A natural concern about Hasek is his age, 36. He has been relatively injury
free, although two years ago, he was limited by a severe groin injury. Still,
the Wings catch him at an interesting juncture, because Hasek takes great
pride in his Czech heritage and is already named the goalie for the Czech
Olympic effort next February in Salt Lake City.
Hasek was the main reason the Czechs won the gold medal in 1998, and his pride
will surely lead him to peak form again. What the Wings need to watch for is
any post-Olympic drop-off, but that should be countered by the fact that, for
maybe the first time in his career, the team Hasek is playing for has some
stars who are as talented at their positions as he is at his.
Besides, Hasek is only eight months older than Patrick Roy. And age hasn't
hurt him any.
What's not to like? The Wings are surely not done with their tinkering. Osgood
will bring something if they trade him, although the Wings are in a weaker
position now, with other teams knowing their need to unload a goalie.
Still, the clarion call after last season's playoff fizzle was "Shake it up!
Shake it up!"
Considering it shaken. Consider it stirred. People skate away from Hasek
muttering, "Unbelievable.... Incredible.... How the heck did he do that?"
And any time you have a chance to nab a player like that, you do it. Even at
1:30 in the morning.
Contact MITCH ALBOM at 313-223-4581 or albom@freepress.com. Catch "Albom in
the Afternoon" 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760) and simulcast on MSNBC 3-5
p.m.
THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED ARTICLE.
HOCKEY;RED WINGS;TRADE;COLUMN;DOMINIK HASEK;GOALIE;ANALYSIS;BIOGRAPHY