So Far, Cujo Is No Dominator

It was one play among hundreds in a forgettable loss to Minnesota last week, but it summed up the rocky aspects of Curtis Joseph’s adjustment to the Detroit Red Wings and their adjustment to the goalie they anointed to fill the metaphorically large skates of Dominik Hasek.

The Wild had dumped the puck into the Detroit end within Joseph’s reach, no doubt aware he likes to leave his net to play it. Defenseman Chris Chelios was a few feet away, perhaps expecting Joseph to shovel it into the corner -- as Hasek liked to -- or make a pass that would let Chelios move the puck out of the zone. Instead, Joseph banked it off the boards. And when it hit a seam in the glass and bounced into the slot, he and Chelios were caught out of position for an easy Minnesota goal.

Joseph hunched his shoulders and stared down at the ice as if the answers lay somewhere beneath him. They don’t.

“In the locker room, it was a really simple transition,” Detroit Coach Dave Lewis said. “You go through phases of the season where we play a different style of game than most teams. He wanted us to play certain plays different than what we played with Dominik, and that’s just a little, subtle adjustment.

“I think it’s still in the learning process. Look at the schedule. We’ve played [30] games. I think familiarity comes later. You’d like to think it would come rapidly.”

It’s still evolving for Joseph, whose 2.60 goals-against average and .905 save percentage are well behind the NHL leaders and those of his replacement in Toronto, Ed Belfour (1.99, .929).

The Red Wings’ depth, grit and smarts have fueled them during Joseph’s acclimatization, and they’re 5-1-1 in their last seven, even missing Steve Yzerman, Jiri Fischer and Pavel Datsyuk. But at some point, they might need Joseph to steal some wins for them, and he hasn’t done that. Although he played in the Toronto media fishbowl, he has never experienced a situation like the one in Detroit, where anything less than a second straight Stanley Cup will be considered failure -- and he’s likely to be vilified if they don’t win again.

“But as an athlete, that’s a good situation to be in,” he said last week in Detroit. “Sure, there’s pressure, but coming from Toronto, I felt pressure every night to perform. You have to be good every night or you’re going to be criticized. I would say I’m used to it.”

Joseph, 35, said he never considered a move until Hasek retired and the Red Wings offered him a three-year, $24-million deal with an option for a fourth season. The Maple Leafs “didn’t really negotiate. They just let me play it out,” he said. “Leaving Toronto was very emotional, being from that area and having friends and family watching the games. It was quite a four years.”

Getting used to his new teammates’ tendencies, he acknowledged, hasn’t been a breeze. Nor are they always sure how he will read a two-on-one or react to various plays. Those are minor points, certainly, but bumps that must be smoothed.

“You learn as you go along,” he said. “Sometimes, there are mistakes made, whether you made a bad read or whatever. But you actually learn from that....

“You can tell when we lose, it doesn’t sit well. That’s the way you want it to be.”

Brendan Shanahan, who once played with Joseph in St. Louis, believes Joseph can handle the pressures of playing in Hockeytown.

“Everybody who plays in this city knows what the expectations are,” Shanahan said. “And he’s not in it alone. We had a great season last year and we won, but it wasn’t about Dominik last year and it’s not about Cujo this year. It’s about the team. There’s pressure on us and there was pressure on Dom, but this is not a team that’s built around its goaltender. We’re not asking him to save our butts every night. We’re trying to share it equally.”

Said forward Kris Draper: “Maybe early on he might have been a little nervous and felt the pressure. But one thing about this team is that there’s a lot of quality-character people here. Right off the bat, we welcomed him. The bottom line is to make him feel comfortable and go out and win hockey games. The better he plays when he’s comfortable, the better chance we have to win.”

And the Red Wings might very well win it all with Joseph, although the Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, Blues and the persistent Wild are making the Western Conference race a formidable test.

“It’s pressure he wants,” Lewis said, “because the pressure is worth the reward. The risk is worth the reward.”

Net Gains

When the NHL ordered teams to install nets behind each goal, it insisted it was not acting solely in response to the death of Brittanie Cecil, the 13-year-old who died two days after being hit in the head by a puck at a Columbus Blue Jacket game in March. But Columbus General Manager Doug MacLean said he’s reminded of her every time he enters an NHL rink.

“When I see it, I think that’s how this little girl has been honored,” said MacLean, whose son was the same age as Cecil was when she died. “You still get sick to your stomach thinking of it, but I hope at least some good can come out of it.”

The girl’s family hasn’t sued the Blue Jackets. MacLean said the club’s legal counsel has had conversations with her family that have “gone to the next level,” but said he couldn’t elaborate. Sources said it’s likely a settlement has been worked out or will be arranged between her family and the Blue Jackets or the NHL.

“Our plan is, when things are sorted out, we’re going to do something special” in remembrance, MacLean said.

Words of Warning

San Jose winger Teemu Selanne is pessimistic about avoiding a work stoppage after the collective bargaining agreement expires Sept. 15, 2004.

“I think it is going to be war,” he said. “I think the league is trying to change so many things that we feel are important for us. Everyone is expecting that there is no season. I think it’s good for the guys to get well-prepared right now. Whatever happens, we have to fight for our rights and expect the worst. The worst is, there is no season.

“The last lockout [in 1994-95] was nasty, and it’s going to be nasty again. I think the players have prepared really well. They know what this is all about. I know players who have started putting money on the side.”

Dreaded Vote of Confidence

Wayne Gretzky, the Phoenix Coyotes’ managing partner, backed Coach Bobby Francis when asked whether a change behind the bench might transform the struggling team.

“He’s the coach of the year,” Gretzky said. “To replace a guy of that caliber would be just silly. That’s the least of our problems and the least of our worries.”

Maybe, but with two games left on a nine-game home stand, the Coyotes are 2-4-1 and six points out of the final playoff spot in the West. Factor in that Francis is among the few employees who haven’t been replaced since Gretzky became a major investor last year, and his prospects don’t look rosy.

Slap Shots

A roster freeze will begin at midnight Thursday and run through midnight Dec. 27. The freeze is in respect to waivers, trades and other player assignments. However, players can be recalled during that time.

Scotty Bowman rebuffed overtures to become the Calgary Flames’ coach. He has a good deal as a scout-advisor for the Red Wings and doesn’t need the day-to-day headaches of coaching. Ted Nolan interviewed for the Flames’ job last week and fans chanted his name during Saturday’s game, but management doesn’t appear to be in a hurry to hire someone and might keep interim Coach Al MacNeil indefinitely.

Bombastic Canadian TV commentator Don Cherry recently made a good point during his “Coach’s Corner” segment of “Hockey Night in Canada.” If the Philadelphia Flyers could find white protective netting that meets NHL safety standards and is less obtrusive than the black nets behind the goal, why haven’t other teams followed suit? “Let’s go over this again,” Cherry said. “The ice is white. The net is black.” Once in a while, there’s substance behind his bluster.

The New York Rangers made the best of a bad situation by acquiring Mike Dunham from the Nashville Predators. The Rangers were about to ruin young goalie Dan Blackburn, who started 19 games after Mike Richter was driven out of the lineup by concussion symptoms, and Dunham is a fine alternative.

Richter’s career, diminished by injuries the last few seasons, might be over because of this latest head injury, suffered more than a month ago.

Yzerman, still recovering from knee surgery, is skating with the Red Wings but isn’t ready for contact drills. There’s no target date for his return. “We weren’t going to rush him, anyway, even if there was a need to rush him,” Lewis said. Yzerman’s absence gives Swedish rookie Henrik Zetterberg the chance to play center instead of the wing, and he has been impressive.