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06-13-2003, 12:13 AM
ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Blues on Wednesday signed Chris Osgood to a one-year deal, keeping the 10-year NHL veteran with a club looking to shore up its goaltending.
Osgood
Blues general manager Larry Pleau said Osgood, 30, who helped lead the Detroit Red Wings to the Stanley Cup in 1998, agreed to a salary "well below the market rate for a goaltender with his record and experience." Pleau declined to be more specific.
The Blues acquired the three-time All-Star in March as a trade-deadline pickup from the New York Islanders, who got center Justin Papineau and the Blues' second-round selection in this year's draft. St. Louis, whose season was marred by injuries and inconsistencies in goal, got a third-round pick from the Islanders.
Osgood earned $4 million last season and was a restricted free agent until signing with the Blues "at a substantial cut" in salary, given his stated desire to remain with St. Louis, Pleau said.
"He wanted to stay here, and that was a huge part of it," Pleau said. "I think it's important that he wanted to stay here. We expect to get him to playing the way he's able to play. He has had tremendous years, and we're expecting that level of play to come back."
In 37 games last season with the Islanders, Osgood was 17-14-4 with a 2.92 goals-against average and .894 save percentage. He missed 19 games -- nearly seven weeks -- with an ankle injury.
http://espn.go.com/nhl/news/2003/0612/1566887.html
Osgood
Blues general manager Larry Pleau said Osgood, 30, who helped lead the Detroit Red Wings to the Stanley Cup in 1998, agreed to a salary "well below the market rate for a goaltender with his record and experience." Pleau declined to be more specific.
The Blues acquired the three-time All-Star in March as a trade-deadline pickup from the New York Islanders, who got center Justin Papineau and the Blues' second-round selection in this year's draft. St. Louis, whose season was marred by injuries and inconsistencies in goal, got a third-round pick from the Islanders.
Osgood earned $4 million last season and was a restricted free agent until signing with the Blues "at a substantial cut" in salary, given his stated desire to remain with St. Louis, Pleau said.
"He wanted to stay here, and that was a huge part of it," Pleau said. "I think it's important that he wanted to stay here. We expect to get him to playing the way he's able to play. He has had tremendous years, and we're expecting that level of play to come back."
In 37 games last season with the Islanders, Osgood was 17-14-4 with a 2.92 goals-against average and .894 save percentage. He missed 19 games -- nearly seven weeks -- with an ankle injury.
http://espn.go.com/nhl/news/2003/0612/1566887.html