Former Detroit Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood is part of an era that younger fans may not quite remember. Osgood was a remnant of an era in which goalies wore a helmet and a cage instead of the traditional masks we know today.
His play backstopped the Red Wings for 14 seasons. He won multiple Stanley Cups with the club and became one of the team’s most recognizable names during his time.
Yet, Osgood is not in the Hall of Fame. But he should be. That’s the argument made in a piece published by Daily Faceoff on Nov. 7. In the piece, Tyler Kuehl made an ironclad case for Osgood’s enshrinement in the Hall.
The extensive, but highly informative, piece delves into Osgood’s numbers, pedigree, and long list of achievements with the Red Wings. While Osgood had stints with the New York Islanders and the St. Louis Blues, his overall body of work is sufficient to warrant induction.
One number stands out as the most significant of all: 401 wins. Just about every goalie who’s reached 400 wins has gotten their respective Hall Call. Only Osgood and Curtis Joseph have 400 wins, but have not been inducted.
Perhaps the only knock on Osgood’s impressive career is that he never won a Vezina Trophy. But then again, three Stanley Cups and two Jennings Trophies are not a bad start. He was a two-time All-Star and finished his career with a 2.49 GAA and a .905 save percentage to go with 50 career shutouts.
That’s not a bad set of numbers for a third-round pick.
Osgood was even better in the playoffs with Red Wings and others
If Osgood’s numbers weren’t impressive enough, his playoff stats were even better. The crux of Kuehl’s argument centers on Osgood being a clutch playoff performer. While Osgood played in tandem with Mike Vernon and then Dominik Hasek, he racked up some impressive postseason numbers of his own.
Osgood played 129 postseason games, winning 74. He racked up a 2.09 GAA and a .916 save percentage, and 15 shutouts. Those are numbers worthy of a Hall of Fame-caliber goalie. Despite failing to win a Conn Smythe, Osgood was a crucial part of the three Cup runs he was a member of.
Kuehl makes an interesting point regarding how Osgood was overshadowed by the superstar goalies of his era. Goalies like Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy, and Ed Belfour grabbed much of the attention in the 90s and early 2000s. Following the 2004-25 lockout, Osgood’s performance was drowned out by a new era of star netminders like Ryan Miller, Roberto Luongo. Marc-Andre Fleury, and Henrik Lundqvist.
Still, Kuehl’s case for Osgood’s induction into the Hall of Fame is solid. There are few holes to poke in the argument. Perhaps the emphasis placed on the Red Wings during the Centennial season will help shed new light on Osgood’s Hall of Fame candidacy.