From hero to unwanted to hero again, it's been an unusual but successful career path for Chris Osgood. As goaltender for the Detroit Red Wings, he accomplished the unusual feat of backstopping two teams to the Stanley Cup a decade apart.
Osgood began his career for the Red Wings in the 1993-94 season. Though he played well, Detroit traded for veteran goalie Mike Vernon the next summer, forcing Osgood to split time in net - something that would become a recurring theme during his career.
Despite leading the NHL in wins and goals against average in 1995-96 (and even scoring a goal against the Hartford Whalers), Osgood spent most of his time watching as Vernon led the Red Wings to a championship the next year. His breakthrough would come in 1997-98, when he finally became the number one guy and Detroit won the Stanley Cup again.
Osgood remained in Hockeytown until 2001, when he fell out of favor and ended up bouncing around with the New York Islanders and St. Louis Blues. He returned to Detroit as a free agent before the 2005-06 season, but ended up spending much of the next two seasons injured.
That made what happened in the 2007-08 season all the more amazing. Osgood played well during the regular season, winning 27 games and recording a career best 2.09 GAA. He still found himself on the bench when the playoffs began, but was inserted into the lineup in Game 5 of the first round for struggling Dominik Hasek and never looked back. Osgood gave up only 1.55 goals per game the rest of the way and earned serious consideration for the Conn Smythe trophy as the Red Wings took the Stanley Cup for the 11th time.
Despite his accomplishments, Osgood has kept a fairly low hobby profile for most of his career, but his most recent triumph may finally get him some love. Like most rookie cards from the mid-1990's, his 1993-94 first-year issues are extremely affordable and shouldn't be difficult to find.
Chris Osgood 1993-94 Rookie Cards
- Donruss # 424
- Parkhurst # 329
- Pinnacle # 431
- Score # 609
- Stadium Club # 350
- Ultra # 308
- Upper Deck # 519