Hasek- will he stay or will he go?

Question

Do you think Hasek will play next season, or retire?
He is my favorite player, so I hope he will play. He did not get hurt at all (seriously) this season so that may be an incentive to play one more season. I can understand if he retires though. He is an amazing player who has earned the right to do so.

Answer 1

I dont know if he will come back, but I hope he does. Howard had a sketchy year in Grand Rapids and I think he needs another year down in the minors to develope more. Ozzy has another year on his contract so Im sure he will be here. I really wouldnt feel comfortable going into the playoffs next year with Howard backing up Ozzy. I like Ozzy, but the West has too many great goalies, and Osgood just simply cant be compared to Luongo, Kiprusoff, Turco, Nabokov, etc..

I dont know what everyone else is talking about when they say there are a lot of goalies hitting free agency this summer. Giguere is really the only one, and Im betting he stays with Anahiem. He said he didnt want to make his son change doctors after he had those problems a couple months back. Im betting the only other team that has a chance to get him is LA. Emery is going to be a restricted free agent, but Ottawa is more likely to try and get rid of Gerber than let Emery get away. Other than that, Bryzgolav (sp) and Fernandez will likely get traded, but neither of them are great and we would not only have them counting against the cap, but we would have to get rid of players and picks for them too. Someone also said something about Joe Thornton, but he has another year on his contract with San Jose so thats not even an option.

Bottom line, Detroits not looking for some young, free agent goalie to build around. They are looking for a goalie to hold them over for a year or two until Howard or Liv are ready to make the transition. Hasek is perfect for that. He wont demand much money and he will keep the Wings competitive. If he gets injured, well then Howard can get a little NHL experience, but bringing Hasek back is the best way to keep the Wings as one of the top contenders next year. Hasek said he will announce his decision next week. The fact that he really only took about a month to make his decision makes me think that he will be back in the winged wheel next year.

Answer 2

I cant see him returning. I think he realized he was fortunate to stay healthy and money will also play a role. last season he was happy to get a shot at returning to a team that could contend (or any team for that matter after his stay in Ottawa) so he signed a team freindly deal. Now that he played well is he willing to play for a similar deal? It isnt likely...I think Hasek and the Wings management are all saying the right things but each likely knows it is time to move on. There are a couple of good goalies that will be available and the Wings will be players for a couple of them and if one signs Osgood also likely doesnt return so they can bring up one of the young guys. I personally think Stefan Liv will get the first shot since he is older and has more big game experience (tons of international games) so Jimmy Howard can get in max games at the IHL level (they split time this year...Howard needs to prove he can handle a 65 game load). The biggest wildcard in how they handle the goalie situation may be none other than Joe Thornton, he becomes a free agent and has expressed a desire to maybe wear the Winged Wheel. Make no mistake, the Wings recognize the importance of adding a big strong center and will make every effort to bring him here if he is serious about playing here.That would change the goaltending situation greatly with Osgood returning to the number 1 spot but splitting equal time with either Liv or Howard with the hope that one of the two kids makes a strong enough statement to be a playoff goalie. I loved what Hasek brought to the team and appreciate his hard working style but it really is time to move the team in a new direction and get the younger guys prepared to keep the Wings near the top for the long haul.

Answer 3

I agree with Zam and bourgoise_10o; it was fortunate that he didn't sustain an injury this season. The difference between playing another season or retiring will be his health. I think he already did the one-more-go thing to see if he could pick up another Stanley Cup...and he didn't succeed so he might just call it quits there.

I also agree with Zam about considering young, talented FA goaltenders as soon as possible, to secure Detroit's future. Also, it's kind of nice to see new faces and new talent... I'm just a little tired of The Domin-naaay-tor. Lol.

...Besides, my friend had an awesome NHL 2K7 franchise that went to the Stanley Cup finals with Detroit and beat them---Hasek probably announced his retirement the DAY AFTER they lost. (Rightly so, she was the Flyers...) >:P

Answer 4

You know, with Hasek you never know. Maybe he'll be back, maybe not. I know Kenny Holland will re-sign him if he doesn't retire though. Personally, whether he stays or goes, I really think its time to start getting Jimmy Howard ready for the NHL. He has the potential to be a great goalie, and is our future; play him. Hasek, FA goalie, or who knows, maybe even Ozzy (which, as much as I love the guy; I don't trust him in net...), they should all be prepared to mentor Howard.

But, this is a question about Hasek, and something tells me he'll come back one more year...

Answer 5

Well I can't believe he didnt get injured this year, he had a great run.

I think if he feels detroit can actually win the cup next year he will return, but if he feels they just are not quite there he probably doesnt have the extra motivation to put in the work that he needs to as he gets older.

I think he falls into the same boat with Selanne. If they can be a cup contender (you never know what will actually happen in the playoffs but at least be a final caliber team) then I think they will be back.

Answer 6

True, he did not get injured this season, that's because the Wings management babied him all season.

They carried three goalies for most of the season.

Hasek didn't play if they had a long flight.

He didn't play on back to back games.

When he had the night off he did not sit on the bench as a back up because they did not want him to go into a game with a cold groin.

And where did it get them?

Did they lift the Cup??? NO!!

He wasn't worth it.

I hope he retires.

Answer 7

For a "sports animal" (FROM DETROIT), you sure don't know puck about hockey. Hasek won the cup with DETROIT in 2002. Wow....should have read Wikapedia a little closer bud.

Answer 8

i think he will stay 1 more year and the red wings will win the cup for him so he can retire with a cup

Answer 9

I think he's one of the most over-rated players in the game who's a good five years past his prime. He was good, now he sucks. I think he should retire while he still has some of his dignity.

Answer 10

as a detroit sports fan(from detroit) i think he will stay. as in all the buzz around the area, if he's confident enough to stay, he'll stay if not, bye -bye. he is 42, 6 vezina trophys, which is great! he did come within a controversial call in the last seconds in 99's cup final sudden death.he will be at it until he gets it. who retires without their name on the 36 inch, 35 pound ancient cup???? they've gotta be a nut job to retire.