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Cujo would fit right in with the Rangers but I hope it doesn't happen because I don't want Nieuwendyk to go.
DETROIT (AP-CP) - Curtis Joseph underwent ankle surgery, adding another potential obstacle to the Detroit Red Wings' attempt to trade their extra goalie.
A bone chip that was bothering Joseph was removed during an operation on Tuesday.
"He did have successful surgery on his ankle, which was not broken," team spokesman John Hahn said Wednesday morning. "This surgery was described by team physicians as minor in nature. He should be able to return to skating in six weeks, just before the regular seasons starts.
Related Info
Cujo Status
"He was experiencing discomfort and irritation, so it was a good time to get it taken care of."
Players report to training camp on Sept. 11 but don't start skating until the following day. If the Wings' estimate of six weeks is correct, Joseph would be skating around Sept. 30. The regular season begins on Oct. 8.
The Red Wings have been trying to trade Joseph since goalie Dominik Hasek rejoined the team this summer after retiring for one season.
The 36-year-old Joseph has $16 million and two years left on his contract, which includes a no-trade clause. Hasek has one year and $8 million remaining on his contract. The Red Wings also have Manny Legace, one of the league's best backups.
Detroit general manager Ken Holland has said he hoped to trade Joseph before training camp starts in September.
"If somebody calls me today and offers what I think is fair for Curtis Joseph, and it's a situation that is good for Curtis Joseph, then I'd make the deal today," Holland said Wednesday. "That hasn't happened yet. There has been a lot of interest in him, but there hasn't been enough there to get a deal done yet."
Joseph's agent Don Meehan said he didn't believe the surgery would hurt the Wings' ability to trade him because Joseph should be back skating before the start of the regular season.
Meehan said the injury was detected by team doctors at the end of last season and they had advised time and rest to heal it. But because the ankle did not respond, surgery was required.
Joseph is an accomplished veteran, but it has been difficult for the Red Wings to trade him because NHL teams do not know what their salary structure will be after the league's collective bargaining agreement expires next year.
Boston Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell said last week he had talked to Detroit about trading for Joseph, but he didn't expect to hear back from the Red Wings "for another couple of weeks."
Red Wings senior vice-president Jim Devellano said the New York Rangers and Atlanta Thrashers also have shown interest in Joseph.
"Obviously, it helps to trade somebody when he's 100 per cent healthy," Devellano said. "But the teams that have talked to us about Joseph, and other teams that are thinking about it, should not lose interest because he'll be out a maximum of six weeks."
Joseph signed with Detroit last summer to improve his chances of winning his first Stanley Cup after playing 13 seasons - and 11 playoffs - with St. Louis, Edmonton and Toronto.
The Red Wings had won three Stanley Cups in six seasons with three goaltenders: Mike Vernon, Chris Osgood and Hasek. They hoped Cujo would be the fourth goalie to lead them to a championship in seven seasons, but it didn't work out.
Joseph had a 2.08 goals-against-average in the first round of the playoffs as the Red Wings were eliminated by Anaheim, which lost to New Jersey in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.
He had an inconsistent regular season. Joseph won 15 of his last 19 regular season games to finish with a 34-19-6 record.
Hasek hasn't played as much as a pickup game as a goaltender since Detroit won the Stanley Cup against Carolina in 2002. In those playoffs, he was 16-7 and gave up fewer than two goals a game in the playoffs. He was 41-15-8 during the 2002-03 regular season.
He is a six-time Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL's best goalie, two-time Hart Trophy winner as the league's most valuable player and a gold medallist from the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
Earlier this month, prosecutors in his native Czech Republic decided not to press charges against Hasek for hurting a player during an inline hockey game.
DETROIT (AP-CP) - Curtis Joseph underwent ankle surgery, adding another potential obstacle to the Detroit Red Wings' attempt to trade their extra goalie.
A bone chip that was bothering Joseph was removed during an operation on Tuesday.
"He did have successful surgery on his ankle, which was not broken," team spokesman John Hahn said Wednesday morning. "This surgery was described by team physicians as minor in nature. He should be able to return to skating in six weeks, just before the regular seasons starts.
Related Info
Cujo Status
"He was experiencing discomfort and irritation, so it was a good time to get it taken care of."
Players report to training camp on Sept. 11 but don't start skating until the following day. If the Wings' estimate of six weeks is correct, Joseph would be skating around Sept. 30. The regular season begins on Oct. 8.
The Red Wings have been trying to trade Joseph since goalie Dominik Hasek rejoined the team this summer after retiring for one season.
The 36-year-old Joseph has $16 million and two years left on his contract, which includes a no-trade clause. Hasek has one year and $8 million remaining on his contract. The Red Wings also have Manny Legace, one of the league's best backups.
Detroit general manager Ken Holland has said he hoped to trade Joseph before training camp starts in September.
"If somebody calls me today and offers what I think is fair for Curtis Joseph, and it's a situation that is good for Curtis Joseph, then I'd make the deal today," Holland said Wednesday. "That hasn't happened yet. There has been a lot of interest in him, but there hasn't been enough there to get a deal done yet."
Joseph's agent Don Meehan said he didn't believe the surgery would hurt the Wings' ability to trade him because Joseph should be back skating before the start of the regular season.
Meehan said the injury was detected by team doctors at the end of last season and they had advised time and rest to heal it. But because the ankle did not respond, surgery was required.
Joseph is an accomplished veteran, but it has been difficult for the Red Wings to trade him because NHL teams do not know what their salary structure will be after the league's collective bargaining agreement expires next year.
Boston Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell said last week he had talked to Detroit about trading for Joseph, but he didn't expect to hear back from the Red Wings "for another couple of weeks."
Red Wings senior vice-president Jim Devellano said the New York Rangers and Atlanta Thrashers also have shown interest in Joseph.
"Obviously, it helps to trade somebody when he's 100 per cent healthy," Devellano said. "But the teams that have talked to us about Joseph, and other teams that are thinking about it, should not lose interest because he'll be out a maximum of six weeks."
Joseph signed with Detroit last summer to improve his chances of winning his first Stanley Cup after playing 13 seasons - and 11 playoffs - with St. Louis, Edmonton and Toronto.
The Red Wings had won three Stanley Cups in six seasons with three goaltenders: Mike Vernon, Chris Osgood and Hasek. They hoped Cujo would be the fourth goalie to lead them to a championship in seven seasons, but it didn't work out.
Joseph had a 2.08 goals-against-average in the first round of the playoffs as the Red Wings were eliminated by Anaheim, which lost to New Jersey in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final.
He had an inconsistent regular season. Joseph won 15 of his last 19 regular season games to finish with a 34-19-6 record.
Hasek hasn't played as much as a pickup game as a goaltender since Detroit won the Stanley Cup against Carolina in 2002. In those playoffs, he was 16-7 and gave up fewer than two goals a game in the playoffs. He was 41-15-8 during the 2002-03 regular season.
He is a six-time Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL's best goalie, two-time Hart Trophy winner as the league's most valuable player and a gold medallist from the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
Earlier this month, prosecutors in his native Czech Republic decided not to press charges against Hasek for hurting a player during an inline hockey game.
