In what has become an all too common practice in today's sporting world, Dominik Hasek is preparing to retire—for the second time—from the NHL on Monday.
I say good riddance.
Now there's a lot to be said for dominance—hence Hasek's nickname of 'The Dominator'. Just a look at the list of awards he's won over his career will tell you that, and the fact he's won 30 or more games in a season seven times in his NHL is nothing you can dispute. Like Sidney Crosby though, I've never been a fan of Dominik Hasek—nor will I ever be.
First of all, he ruined the career of Curtis Joseph—and I will thoroughly stand by this point just like I believe that Wayne Gretzky is a dirty cheater because of what he did to Doug Gilmour in 1993.
Back in 2002, Joseph was named to the Canadian Olympic team. After a particularily poor showing in the opening game against Sweden, he was benched in favor of Martin Brodeur. Canada then went on to win it's first Olympic medal in men's hockey in just over 50 years.
It was said that, because of the benching, the relationship between Canada's head coach (and head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs—see? They've always been troubled!!) Pat Quinn and Joseph soured.
CuJo was able to carry the Leafs to the Conference Finals after returning from a broken hand, but was forced to watch as the Hasek-led Red Wings exerted their authority over Arturs Irbe (Pausing for laughter...), Kevin Weekes, and the Carolina Hurricanes.
After that title, Hasek had attained what he came to Hockey Town for, and retired. The door for the starting goaltender's position for the defending Stanley Cup champions was open, and Joseph jumped at the opportunity, hoping across the boarder (And opening the door for Ed 'Bad Back' Belfour) and into the waiting arms of the Wings.
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Hasek gave it a year, and a monster upset at the hands of Anaheim in next years' playoffs, and then decided that he wanted to come back to the NHL.
From there on the goalie situation in Detroit was comical to say the least as they tried to balance three net minders—Manny Legace, Joseph, and Hasek.
Joseph drifted off into obscurity (or Phoenix—whatever you want to call it), while Hasek went to Ottawa—eventually finding his way back to Detroit.
The second reason that I can never respect Hasek (Leave it to a Leafs' fan to bring up a first reason like that), is his style.
Don't get me wrong, it's innovative and yes it did change the way that some goalies change their position, but if all you need to do is lay on your back to stop pucks, then why not flip over a turtle and stick it infront of your net? It's not like that's going anywhere either.
Sidenote: Admit it, you thought I was going to make a 'Paris Hilton is on her back soooo much' joke. Well I'm better than that. Besides, she's barely been in the news recently, so that's no fun. Although maybe she could play defense in the NHL because she seems to go to her knees pretty readily...
To all the parents out there, I'll save you some time. Here's the email address: bryanthiel74@hotmail.com. Looking forward to your hate mail.
I can appreciate a goalie who spends a lot of time working to cut down the angles, and working on technique—but to me it seems that Hasek could just skip practice and show up for games and still play the same way and do it successfully.
But to give the man credit where credit is due, he has the best thrown stick to uncalled penalty shot ratio in the history of the NHL.
Despite all of his despicable tactics however—he still stacks up as one of the best statistical goalies to ever play the game.
Along with his two Stanley Cups, Hasek was able to tally 389 career wins in the NHL, ranking him tenth on the all-time list. He's in a tie for sixth in career shutouts with 81 and eleventh in goals against average with a 2.20 mark. He also ranks in the top ten in playoff wins and shutouts.
Hasek is also one of three goalies to ever win the Vezina trophy six times, joining Jacques Plante (who won it seven times) and Bill Durnan (a six time winner), and the only goalie to ever win the Hart trophy in consecutive years.
To prove his unorthodox style wasn't just confounding to NHL players though, Hasek was also named the Czech Republic Extraleague goaltender of the year five times, player of the year twice, and a first team All Star three times from 1985/86 to 1989/90.
Hasek was also placed at number five in Without Fear: Hockey's Fifty Greatest Goaltenders—a book by Bob Duff and Kevin Allen with input from Johnny Bower, and he's got an Olympic Gold Medal.
The more you look at it, I guess he earned his moniker.
As my friend Trevor says "He did what a goalie is supposed to do—stop the puck—and he was one of the best at it. Give the man some credit."
So today, I'll put my feelings aside (mostly because after looking at what he's done over his career, I feel really stupid for not liking him because of his style) and congratulate him on a shining career.
I may not have liked you Mr. Hasek, but damn were you good.
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2 months ago
I say Good riddance as well, even after seeing all the stats. More over, i love the story of Chris Osgood stealing his job and winning the Cup.
2 months ago
ahaha love that ending, bt. great article
2 months ago
As a Sabres fan (you know, the place he won all those individual awards which you didn't mention once in his article), it was always a double edged sword with Dom. Its too bad he played in Buffalo, because if he played in a big market he would hands down be known as the best goalie ever to play hockey.
Like Brodeur, in his prime, teams were built to win around him, but unlike Brodeur, he played in turbulent times in Buffalo and never had enough talent around him to finish the deal (though Brett Hulls foot may have something to say about that).
He was a wizard. He was amazing; to be able to display such athleticism and agility as a netminder was what gave him not just a mental edge, but the game before it even started. He stopped pucks nobody ever thought possible, and his style, or lack thereof, while unteachable, made his uniqueness and consistent brilliance more remarkeable, not less. The fact that he couldn't be figured out and it wasn't a schtick is what made him incredible.
from 2 months ago
"Hasek is also one of three goalies to ever win the Vezina trophy six times, joining Jacques Plante (who won it seven times) and Bill Durnan (a six-time winner), and the only goalie to ever win the Hart trophy in consecutive years.
To prove his unorthodox style wasn't just confounding to NHL players though, Hasek was also named the Czech Republic Extraleague goaltender of the year five times, player of the year twice, and a first-team All Star three times from 1985-1990."
Not sure what other "individual awards" you're referencing there Todd, but just because I didn't mention his times with the Sabres or Hawks doesn't mean I overlooked any portion of his accomplishments in either of those cities.
And I don't doubt that he was one of the most mentally dominating goalies to play the game—you're right in that his lack of style, yet holding on to the ability to stop the pucks is probably one of the most frustrating ideas in the world. It's probably why I never liked him, is because he could never be beaten due to the fact he'd make the puck hit him in some obscure way. I also think it's impressive that he's 166 lbs. Needless to say, that's a twig compared to some other netminders.
To be honest, I don't think that market has much to do with it though. People were acknowledging him even in Buffalo, and that's the sign of a noteworthy player. Martin Brodeur has still cemented himself as one of, if not, the best though. Perhaps Hasek found himself in the middle-ground of the Roberto Luongo and Brodeur scenarios though—not surrounded by the best team, but not always the worst teams either, but even so I still wouldn't call him the best ever.
Best innovator maybe, not best goalie period.
2 months ago
oh man, I just wrote like, 3 pages worth of stuff and it got erased somehow. Basically, you're wrong. : )
2 months ago
Well, I didn't appreciate the time he pulled his groin in Ottawa and didn't even attempt to rehab it to come back. And for a few reasons like that he seems like a bit of an ass. Among the best ever: certainly. The best ever: maybe some would argue that, but not me. Top five definitely. Although I'm a Rangers fan, I gotta go with Broduer as tops. The guy did get the record for wins in a season didn't he? A testament to the great team in front, yes, but a testament to his ability as well. Plus Marty's working on, what, 30 consecutive 100 win seasons? Maybe thats an bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point.
from 2 months ago
I can be persuaded to agree with Top Five. I would get to Plante, Roy, Brodeur, and any of Sawchuck, Hall, Hasek, Ken Dryden (Can't argue Stanley Cup Rings) and possibly Tiny Thompson or George Hainsworth. It gets difficult when you try to account of all of the different eras that have gone by though.
Besides, I never denied he was good in the article...I just said I didn't like him. Either way, he backed himself up over his career.
BT
2 months ago
Not to defend Marty Brodeur, Todd, because I hate him as a big Ranger fan, but you can't tell me that Buffalo is a smaller hockey market than NJ. Not only is Jersey a small hockey market but there is also three other NHL teams in the immediate area (within an hour) to compete with. Like I said, I don't like Marty one bit but I don't think you can play the card of Buffalo being a small hockey market because Marty endured all of his success in a Devil uni.
from 2 months ago
I guess it depends what is considered a market and/or a hockey market. Its pretty easy to state that there are definitely more people for NJ to pull from within whatever their defined market is, it comes down to whether the team has done an effective enough job doing it and factoring in the outside factors. More things to do for people in NJ, but they have higher entertainment budgets as well, we could probably go in circles on this for hours. In a sense, just because the Devil's can't draw fans doesn't mean the per capita market is small.
Buffalo did a terrible job marketing the team for a long time, and Dom was not happy in Buffalo by the time he and the team parted ways. I'd be very interested to see both team's books for the overlapping years of Dom's Buffalo & Marty's tenures - that could give some insight into what the team was spending money on, what team salaries were, etc. It would also be neat to see how the NHL determined a market size over that period. I know the Sabres were claiming full houses during that era, but its been proven from the Adelphia Bankruptcy hearings that the owners were cooking the books and giving away a ton of tickets. Revenue, if any, had to be terrible - and they had to be operating on a shoestring budget.
2 months ago
I was always a fan of Hasek when he was in Buffalo. Like you say, you can't deny he's an amazing goalie, and his unusual style of goaltending and highlight reel playing abilities did surely inspire many new goalies and probably brought a couple of new fans to the sport.
For years, I felt he was one of, if not the most deserving player in the NHL of getting his name etched onto the Stanley Cup... but I certainly didn't want it to happen in a Red Wings uniform. I'm a firm believer that the Red Wings are the Yankees of hockey... they bought their more recent Stanley Cups... they were the sole reason that I was kind of happy to see a salary cap put into the NHL rule book.
I would say that he'll be missed, but he died in my eyes the day he signed with Detroit, so I've already mourned his leaving.
2 months ago
Dom was great and revolutionized the game. BT, you are wrong to hate on the guy for being unorthodox. It was not him that caused CuJo to play poorly in the Olympics, and even if it was that is not a reason to diss the guy.
That said, there is a reason not many goalies of style succeed in hoisting the Cup. It is not as reliable, and you are out of position too often for teams that crash the net and rebound well. There might be a dozen guys I would take first: just off the top of my head, Brodeur, Roy, Plante, Sawchuck, Dryden, Giguere, Kiprusoff, Fuhr, and Belfour, and I only started following hockey in the late 80's (even if a couple of those guys pre-date that).
By the way, what was The Great One's transgression against Doug Gilmour, one of my favourite all-time players?
from 2 months ago
Oh no, I wasn't blaming him haha..merely setting the scene for ruining CuJos career in opening up that spot in Detroit and then deciding to come back! Sorry you took it that way MJ.
And Gretzky high-sticked Gilmour inbehind the net in the '93 playoffs to the point were Dougie was bleeding and Kerry Fraser didn't do jack all. Fraser has since been quoted as saying that's "the penalty he wishes he had called".
Sorry about the confusion on the CuJo thing :)
BT
from 2 months ago
Just givin' ya a hard time. I was a CuJo fan too because of the Badgers. Sorry I didn't make that clear.
If I considered everyone who got away with a high-stick in the playoffs a cheater, there would be no one left to like. I'm not exactly the biggest Gretz fan 'cause I don't prefer Lady Bingers, but that's not gonna make me like him less.
2 months ago
Totally agree with you on the Gretzky thing in 1993.
Hasek is the greatest of all-time.
I can't put Roy at the top of the list because 1) he couldn't beat the Bruins in the playoffs (something that all Habs goalies had done over the years), 2) his 1986 and 1993 Cups came in strange years when all the top teams (ie. 86 Oilers, 86 Flyers, 93 Pens, 93 Bruins, 93 Wings, 93 Hawks) were all eliminated in the first or second rounds. Had Roy faced the '86 Oilers in the Finals, he would have lost. Ditto the '93 Pens in the Wales Finals.
And speaking of 93, why on earth wasn't a penalty shot called in Game 3 vs. the Kings when Guy Carbonneau's glove was on the puck in the crease in the dying seconds of regulation??
Hawks fans should be bitter too in 1996 when Chicago took on Colorado. J.R. should have gotten a penalty shot on Roy in OT but there was no call, and the Hawks lost in triple OT. (J.R. had scored on Roy on a breakaway in the previous game too.) That tied the series 2-2 and Chicago went on to lose.
2 months ago
..And make no mistake, Gretzky's 93 Kings were no '86 Oilers. And Kelly Hrudey was flopping around like a fish the entire Finals... sad that one of the worst starting goalies in the 90s (Hrudey) gets a gig on HNIC and is so well-known, when he practically sucked in his playing career.
2 months ago
Well As a sports writer aren't you supposed to put aside your personal opinions, (which don't even make any sense I mean dislike him for his style???? what does that mean????) and report on the topic at hand objectively? Try that and see what kind of an article you can write.
I believe Hasek is one of the best and THE MOST ENTERTAINING goaltender to ever play the game. No one can really dispute that :))))
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