Detroit Red Wings: Chris Osgood to Retire, Will His No. 30 Be Retired as Well?

Say what you will about the man, but today marks the end of an era.

Chris Osgood is perhaps the most polarizing Detroit Red Wings player of all time.

Ask any fan about their opinion of Ozzie and you will get a vehement attack or defense of the man and his goal-tending abilities.

It's true, Osgood has let in some of the stinkiest goals in hockey history, and for that, he is often derided and dismissed as nothing more than a mediocre goalie whose success is simply the result of being in the right place at the right time.

On the other hand, he's a Stanley Cup winner three times over, owns 400 career wins, has played for three teams and has never missed the playoffs. 

Oh, and he's been doubted and underestimated since his first day in the league, nearly 18 years ago, and was never expected to do anything but cost his teams games.

Say what you will about the man, but being mentally weak can't be one of those things.

The time is right for Ozzie to step away from the game, at least as a player.

Some would have thought this time would have come several years ago, during the NHL lockout. Osgood was then the goalie for the St. Louis Blues and after the 2003-04 season his future in the NHL, as well as the very future of the league, was in serious doubt.

In his mind, there was no option but playing, but that wasn't an opinion shared by most of the rest of the league.

When the league finally re-opened its doors, Osgood sat by the phone and waited for it to ring.

He was a free-agent, Stanley Cup winning goalie after all—surely someone would find that valuable.

As it turned out, the only person who did was his former GM, mentor and pseudo-father, Ken Holland.

Holland brought Osgood back to the Red Wings in 2005 four years after he made a trade for Dominik Hasek that effectively showed Ozzie the door.

Say what you will about the man, but holding a grudge isn't a part of Osgood's character.

That signing marked the beginning of the second Osgood-era in Detroit, the pinnacle of which came in 2008 when he was forced to right a listing ship in the first round of the 2007-08 playoffs against Nashville.

The man for which he was originally tossed aside and to whom he was now forced to back-up on the bench was collapsing in net, and with him, the Red Wings hopes of a long playoff run.

It was in the latter stages of Game 4 against the Predators that Osgood was inserted in net, the hockey coach's equivalent of a hail-Mary pass.

Like that desperate football play, going with your No. two goalie midway through the playoffs will often yield only two results—stunning triumph or crushing defeat.

Osgood made sure the former came to pass.

Say what you will about the man, but being a clutch player better be one those things.

Yes, Osgood followed that brilliant and Conn Smythe-worthy playoff performance by utterly falling apart the next season.

But, against all odds, he recovered his game, seemingly at will, just in time to take his team to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second-straight year, and all the way to Game 7.

After 2009, Osgood's age became too obvious to ignore and, honestly, his play has steadily declined since.

As such, we knew this day was coming, we knew this had to happen.

Chris Osgood is ending his career, but his legacy may be too large and important to ignore.

We won't see No. 30 on the ice this year, but, should we see it in the rafters of Joe Louis Arena?

Say what you will about the man, but I think he's more than earned that honor.

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