If the Avs wanted to take him and pay him they woulda grabbed him in October when he was previously on waivers. This is a case like Manny Ramirez in baseball, where teams would probably take the guy if his old team would eat part of the salary, but won't take him straight up because he just isn't worth it.
Frankly, Cujo's performance this year hasn't been anywhere near what it should be to justify that wage. David Aebischer (I can never remember how to spell that name) has played better than Joseph this year and comes much cheaper, so I don't see why the Avs should be rushing out to pay him eight million bucks. In October I was pissed that the Flyers weren't there to snatch Joseph up, but at this point I don't know that I want him anymore. His save % is down to around 88%...that's no good. That sounds more like a guy trading on his reputation. I understand there may be a psychological aspect of playing for a team that doesn't want you, but in that case Joseph should be extra motivated to play well so his trade value goes up. He hasn't done himself any favours, and could find himself in the minors as soon as Hasek comes back.
Cujo hasn't played enough or well enough since coming back from his ankle injury for any team to justify spending $8m a year on him no matter how deep the pockets - though the Rangers could always decide that Dunham's groin problems could justify the expense....
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Count me among those who don't think he is as good as he was.
But I also don't believe he belongs in any conversation about "Great" goaltenders over the ages. He had a couple of good runs with Toronto; but he's never ever been the kind of go-to guy that a Roy or a Dryden or a Sawchuck or a Billy Smith or (as much as I detest saying it) a Hasek is/was.
CuJo can't win a playoff game or series all by himself--he can keep a team close in important games, but he can't win them. Roy won games. So did Hasek. Even Belfour. CuJo is like Tom Barrasso. A good guy to have around for the season, and a reasonable playoff performer. But without a truly great team in front of him, he's average.
And as sad as it is given rosters and payrolls, Toronto still hasn't had a truly great team since before I was born.
/tarnish...
It is what it is. You are what you it. There are no mistakes. --Tom Robbins
Hell, which teams even need goalies now, let alone for $8 million a year???
The Flames and possibly the Avs. The Avs are confident enough with their team to not need to blow that kind of money (and send their payroll crashing over the $60M mark) and the Flames are both too cheap and too smart to blow that much on anybody but Iginla. And heck, Kiprusoff & McLennan are doing fine.
Face it, there's just no room in the league for CuJo anymore.
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he should have never and I mean ever left the leafs that traitor . its like he left us for a better looking girl and now that girl is cheating on him with a better looking Hasek.
A hockey analyst on local sports talk radio here in Detroit is suggesting that CuJo may be willing to accept a hugely-reduced buyout to become a unrestricted free agent. Reasons he cites is that CuJo will be assigned to Grand Rapids (again) if no one claims him off waivers, which he doesn't want. Also, with his age and the looming possibility that there may not be a season next year, CuJo would be willing to take less for one more shot at the Cup.
Originally posted by Planavoyhe should have never and I mean ever left the leafs that traitor . its like he left us for a better looking girl and now that girl is cheating on him with a better looking Hasek.
What a load of BS...if a guy believes he has a shot to win a Cup, he should take it. It's not like he bolted for the money (though even if he did, what's wrong with that?) because TO was offering more than were the Wings. The problem is that no one but Leafs fans think they're gonna win anything any time soon.
With that out of the way, it's unfortunate it had to work out this way for Cujo. I've never been his biggest fan, but all the guy wanted was to win. How do you fault him for that? I don't think either side is to blame here, it's just one of those things that didn't work out.
If he does take a buyout, are there any contending teams out there that would take a shot on him? Or at that point would it be a lock that he'd end up in Colorado?
I dont deny that my hate towards cujo is bias because I am a leaf fan, and i am really happy that Detroit dumped him for hasek, there is nothing wrong with leaving one team to go to another team to win but there is a difference on how a player can do it, if you will look at cujo's career he left St Louis, Edmonton and Toronto on bad term and now Detroit. the leafs are better off with Edie anyways...
Define bad terms. I have some recollection of trouble at the end with the Blues (was he a contract holdout?), but when it came time to leave Edmonton and Toronto it was simply because he was a UFA. He left Edmonton because they couldn't pay him his market value, and he left Toronto because they make poor player personnel decisions and are not about to win anything. He's on "bad terms" with Detroit because they somehow blame him for their inability to score on Giguere in April and he's making too much money to be able to trade him. I think your Toronto bias is clouding your judgment, but then, that's been known to happen with Leafs fans.
To address an earlier point, Don Meehan (Cujo's agent) was shown on the overnight edition of TSN Sportscentre saying that there is no chance of a buyout with a potential work stoppage looming next September. Of course, people in situations like this often speak in absolutes, but it does sound like a bargain-basement buyout isn't as imminent as Shaft's Detroit source is apparently suggesting.
"I think your Toronto bias is clouding your judgment, but then, that's been known to happen with Leafs fans." I dont denY that infact I agree, we leaf fans live in a dream world where the leafs have a great chance taking the cup every year.
I'm a Leaf fan whose skin blanched when I heard that Cujo was leaving for Detroit. The guy was a rock for Toronto for four seasons. I also felt bad for him, though, because he was replacing Hasek on a cup-winning team. Anything less than another cup, and the finger would be squarely pointed at him.
Then Hasek came back after Detroit's early exit in the spring, and how could Joseph's confidence not be shaken? On top of that all, an ankle injury. The guy is still a solid goaltender, with a season or two in him. I hope there's a happy ending somewhere in the near future.
I don't blame Cujo for leaving Toronto at all, and I'm as big a Leafs fan as they come (p.s. EIGHT STRAIGHT, BABY!!!!!!!!) The guy had a chance to play for the team that was coming off a Stanley Cup, and had a very good chance -- or so we all thought -- to repeat.
BigVitoMark made a great point when he said that Cujo was villified in Detroit largely because he was made the scapegoat for the upset loss to the Ducks. Cujo wasn't the one who got stonewalled by Giguere; I think Joseph only gave up what, eight goals or so in those four games?
I'm biased by the fact that I had the pleasure of meeting CuJo once at a charity auction, and thus I'll always root for him because he's a first-rate guy. Ideally, he would've won a Cup with the Leafs, but I hope he's able to catch on with another club and have another shot at a championship. I'm sure some goalie on a contender will get hurt between now and April anyway.
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If you follow hockey, you're certainly aware of his accomplishments - Three Jack Adams awards with three different teams, a Stanley Cup Championship, etc etc.
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