Psst! Take the other guy

Sporting News, The, Sept 8, 2003 by Kara Yorio

Forget Curtis Joseph. Think Manny Legace.

Let the Red Wings carry a $16 million duo of Joseph and Dominik Hasek and a distracting soap opera into the season. The great goaltending pickup of this summer will not be Cu]o or Felix Potvin, who still is waiting for his phone to ring as an unrestricted free agent. No, the best move to get a No. 1 goaltender will be the one that nets Legace.

Look at the numbers--and yes, they came behind a pretty good team, but they are good enough to show he'd have a chance behind a less impressive roster.

Legace, 30, has been a Red Wings backup for three seasons. In 2000-01, he played in 39 games, going 24-5-5 with a 2.05 goals-against average and .920 save percentage. The next season, he played in 20 games but was 10-6-2 with a 2.42 GAA and .911 save percentage.

Last season, he played in 25 games, went 14-5-4 with a 2.18 GAA and .925 save percentage. The Red Wings played him in key games down the stretch, and scouts didn't wonder whether Legace should be playing ahead of Joseph. They instead wondered how a team could afford to sit its $8 million starter for the backup. In the end, the Wings couldn't. Joseph played. Legace sat.

Now is the time for someone to get him off the bench.

Legace cannot be sent to the minors without clearing waivers, which he'd never do, so the Wings should deal if the offer is right. Would it leave them without a backup should they later ship off Joseph? Yes. But that's an easier situation solved than the one they're in now. They can deal with the future when the new collective-bargaining agreement is signed.

Teams won't trade for Joseph until he proves his surgically repaired ankle is OK. Even before Joseph's surgery, his $8 million price tag was too high for most. The Wings could waive Joseph, but who would pick up him and his salary? Nobody. So he remains a Wing. Though he could be sent to the minors, why would the Wings--or anyone who would pick him up off waivers--pay someone that much to dominate the AHL?

No, Joseph will be on the NHL roster--and he must play to prove he's sound. So there's no rush. Interested teams should sit back and let the Red Wings sink under the weight of their embarrassment of riches. Wait until the season drags on a bit, until the drama slows them down, until Hasek and Joseph get tired of answering the same questions and some of Joseph's salary has been paid by the W-rags.

That's when the interested teams should make a deal. Drive the Wings down. But that's for the loser in what should be a battle for Legace.

Attention Bruins, Rangers and Blues: Make Manny Legace your No. 1. Let's see what he's got over 60-65 games. He has shown he deserves the chance, and he should be available for the right price. Call Wings general manager Ken Holland and get a deal done. The Wings say Joseph will be ready for the start of the season, so that means he'll be their backup. Trading for Legace is a low-risk, high-reward opportunity. If he doesn't work out, it was a $1.1 million mistake and you're back where you started. Give the Wings a center or some youth with potential. Give them somebody you may have to jettison when the CBA negotiations set new rules, such as a possible salary cap.

Legace is the man you want. Forget Joseph. Let the Wings have it all--Hasek and Joseph and endless reporters' questions. Legate, not Joseph, is the prize in pads. And the price is right.

SPEED READS

* It would be easier to listen to Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs talk about the economic state of the league if he wasn't the guy who sent away Jason Allison and Kyle McLaren because of money but gave Martin Lapointe $5 million a year. Just stay silent, please,

* Some in the Toronto media already were saying that John Ferguson Jr. would be a failure as the Maple Leafs' new general manager--and that was before he officially had the job. Ferguson had nothing to do with the current Leafs roster, yet he will be under more pressure than anyone in the league to succeed. Not an enviable position.

* Good for Blackhawks general manager Mike Smith and agent Bill Zito for working out a deal that will bring Tuomo Ruutu to Chicago for this season. Putting aside the problems of previous contract negotiations, Zito and Smith made sure Ruutu is where he belongs--playing in the best league In the world. The talented center will be a bright spot for the Blackhawks and a marketable young star for the league.

INSIDE DISH

By KARA YORIO

The Canucks quietly solidified their net situation by acquiring G Johan Hedberg from the Penguins. He's not an elite No. 1, but most scouts consider him just a small step below. Hedberg will be a solid backup to G Dan Cloutier and will produce much better numbers with a much better team in front of him. Also, he has been a No. 1, he has the attitude of a No. 1, and he has taken the Penguins to the conference finals, so the Canucks won't have to worry about him if Cloutier struggles or is injured. Perhaps best of all in these times, Hedberg will make $1.2 million this season.... The Sabres and C Chris Drury both made their own statements by agreeing to a four-year deal. Sure, trades still can happen, but Drury appears willing to hang in with the Sabres until they are back in the playoffs, where he can make the biggest difference. Now Sabres G.M. Darcy Regier must get RW Miroslav Satan, an unsigned restricted free agent, signed and into camp on time.... An NHL spokesman says the U.S. government's investigation into Eugene Melnyk's pharmaceutical company will not affect or delay the transfer of ownership of the Senators to Melnyk. A government agency is looking into the ethics of the promotion of a heart drug, but the hockey purchase was safe.... In other ownership news, the Stanley Cup champion Devils finally completed the transfer of ownership to Puck Holdings, a subsidiary of YankeeNets, but word is the Devils are on the block again. The out-of-date Continental Airlines Arena and a lack of progress on a new building takes away significant profitability from the owners. Talk of a sale means, once again, speculation about a possible move will surround the team. After the Devils won the Stanley Cup in 1995, discussions swirled about the team moving to Nashville. The Nets, who share the arena and have gone to the NBA Finals two straight seasons, are up for sale. The arena, not winning, is what matters here.... The Bruins aren't going to let training camp start without signing LW Sergei Samsonov, right? They're not going to do anything to push their second-best player toward the door, are they? It wouldn't make any sense, business or hockey.... C Adam Oates, who turned 41 on August 27, is getting closer to retirement the longer he goes without a contract offer. During the Labor Day weekend he caddied for Dean Wilson at a PGA tournament in Boston. Expect him to retire when camps open, and he's positive no team is going to give him his desired wage.