Mini BTJ: No. 39
The Dominator.
No. 39.
I like to call him “The Skeletor.”
Goaltender Dominik Hasek was key to the Wings’ success during the regular season and into the playoffs. While I do make fun of him for his flopping, diving, throwing sticks, and wandering out of the net (and so do others), he really is a great goaltender with a strong desire to compete. It sounds like GM Ken Holland and the Red Wings’ players want to see Dom back for one more year and another shot at Lord’s Stanley.
Do I think Hasek will come back? Yes. From what I hear, Hasek still has a desire to play and he’s definitely still mentally tough (and maybe a little crazy) for the job. The players want him back. His son still has one more year of high school and hopes to go to a US college. It makes sense for Hasek to stay one more year before retiring and returning home. It would also give prospect Jimmy Howard another year to develop as goalie for the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Hasek has said that he needs to talk it over with his family before making a decision and probably won’t know for a few weeks as it appears he does not want to make any rash decisions.
“Me and my family have to make the decision,” said the 42-year-old goaltender, who signed a one-year incentive-laden contract with Detroit last summer.
It turned out to be a good move for both sides as Hasek backstopped the Red Wings to the Western Conference finals, where Detroit was eliminated in six games by the Anaheim Ducks.
“Physically, I felt great this season,” Hasek said.
And the numbers back him up. Hasek went 38-11-6 with a 2.05 goals-against average, .913 save percentage, and eight shutouts during the regular season, his 15th in the NHL and third with Detroit in two stints.
Hasek was 10-8 with a 1.79 GAA, .923 save percentage, and two shutouts in the playoffs.
“We’ve talked to him and said we want to see him back,” Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. “But he’s got to take some time and talk to his family.”
Immediately after being eliminated from the playoffs in Game #6 of the Western Conference Finals, Hasek said he could’ve played his last game in the NHL.
Hasek said afterward that he would take the next two or three weeks to decide whether he’d retire.
“It’s very possible it was my last game,” said Hasek. “Two, three weeks … I’ll make the decision. It’s my future. It’s me and my family. I love this game. I love to compete. I hate to have a long summer. But I have to think about what I want in the future.”
Let’s say Hasek does decide to return for one more year. How much do you pay him? He was a bargain this year with only a $750,000 base salary. His incentives came as the team advanced into the playoffs and he ended up making $1.65 million. That was a steal for the Wings. I’m guessing he’ll sign a contract for a base salary between $1.5-2 million with some smaller incentives on top of that based on how far the team makes it into the playoffs. Once again, any bonuses can count toward the following year’s salary caps for players over 35 (I believe) with one year contracts.
“If he gets us to the conference finals, even at $1.65 million, he’s way underpaid,” Holland said a month before the playoffs.
I’m guessing Ritch Winter, Hasek’s agent, will remind the Wings of that in the coming weeks.
Still, there’s other business to tend to, and Hasek, whose entrepreneurial side goes largely unnoticed, is a hands-on owner of his Dominator Clothing enterprise, with a storefront in Birmingham and an expanding market on two continents. And while it’s not a reason to stay, it’s probably another excuse not to go.
“I’m here to play hockey,” he said this spring, sipping coffee at a Starbucks a block from his store. “But I can’t just come here to play hockey and make money. I need to feel a part of the community. The community gets something from you, and you get something from them. And then you feel like part of the town, you feel more comfortable where you are.
“That’s actually one of the reasons why I told my agent, ‘I’m not going anywhere else,’ and why I came back to Detroit.”
Scott Burnside @ ESPN wrote about the seemingly unlikely reunion between the Red Wings and the Dominator. Before signing Hasek for the third try, GM Ken Holland talked to former coach and team consultant Scotty Bowman, Steve Yzerman, Asst. GM Jim Nill, players Kris Draper and Robert Lang, and senior VP Jimmy Devellano.
As the summer progressed, however, events unfolded that would ultimately lead to one of the most curious (if not greatest) comeback stories in recent pro sports — the return of Hasek to the Red Wings and the return of the Red Wings to Stanley Cup contention.
Having been knocked out of last season’s playoffs in the first round by the eighth-seed Edmonton Oilers, the Detroit Red Wings were in desperate need of an upgrade in goal.
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“We went around and around and around and around and around,” Devellano acknowledged. “And at the end of the day, we were doubtful about both Hasek and Belfour.”
“Why were we doubtful? You know why we were doubtful,” Devellano said, citing the age and potential for physical breakdown plus the other more personal issues that dogged both men. At the end of the day, we were of no help to Kenny simply because we did not have an answer. And when he did sign Hasek, we all kind of looked at him like he had three heads.”
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Recalled Draper: “Basically, after Dom signed, he called me just kind of asking about the guys here, because obviously there was a pretty big turnover from 2002, and just asking about the guys in the locker room and the mood of the dressing room and all that. And the one thing he said is how excited he was to be back and playing for the Detroit Red Wings. I thought that was pretty classy of him to call.”
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Not that everyone involved hasn’t had to work at it. Detroit coach Mike Babcock has kept Hasek from working back-to-back days. Hasek has been diligent about keeping up treatment on his body, especially stretching exercises to keep his groin limber. He hasn’t missed a day with the trainers in seven months, goaltending consultant Jim Bedard said.
“It’s not rocket science. He’s 42 years old. He has to take care of himself,” Bedard said.
“What amazes me is how mentally strong he is,” Bedard added. “After Day 1 it just didn’t’ matter. I never even thought about all that stuff, how he left, what terms he left under. It doesn’t matter. Like Chelly [Chris Chelios] says, he knows how to close.”
Despite his crazy ways of playing goaltender, Hasek is at his best when he’s yapping away at teammates according to Wings’ captain Nicklas Lidstrom.
The 42-year-old Detroit Red Wings goaltender jabbers at teammates to get out of his sightlines, to chase a puck into a corner, or to move an opponent away from his crease.
“‘Must see’ — I hear that a lot,” says Nick Lidstrom.
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The skinny Czech goalie gets angry and scolds himself when he screws up.
“You have to find whatever motivates you so, if you let in a bad goal and get angry and you feel that gets you into the game more, then you do it,” Hasek said after practice Wednesday. “I try to do whatever motivates me the best.”
He even throws the odd profanity at himself but, usually, he works on maintaining full focus on the task at hand while watching the play.
“Sometimes I talk to myself,” he said. “I just say a few words.
“I might say to myself, ‘Get ready.’ ‘Watch the puck.’ ‘Be ready all the time, that’s what you’re here for.’ Sometimes I look at the fans and smile.”
Lidstrom wants him to keep talking.
“When he’s talking a lot, he’s on top of his game, and he’s been doing that throughout these playoffs,” says the Red Wings captain.
My favorite line in that article was “Sometimes I look at the fans and smile.” I literally laughed out loud when I read that. Only Dom.
When GM Holland talked with Hasek at the season’s exit interview, Hasek gave him the same answer to the question about if he’ll return. The Wings hope he will let them know by the NHL Draft (June 22-23).
Just in case Dominik Hasek didn’t know, the Red Wings told him one more time how much they’d like him back.
“Dom told me the same thing he’s been telling everyone else,” general manager Ken Holland said Tuesday after an exit meeting with the goaltender, 42.
“He said he wants to discuss it with his family, give it some thought and he’d come to a final decision in the next few weeks.”
It’s not just Holland or coach Mike Babcock who wants Hasek to return.
“I told Dom that many players have expressed that they want Dom to return, they enjoy playing with him, and have a lot of confidence in Dom,” Holland said.
Hasek worked hard all year to stay in great shape and to be as careful with his fragile groin as possible. I must say I’m very pleasantly shocked that he did not injure his groin at all this past season. Very impressed.
“Those two guys are ageless, it seems,” Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. “They are still working hard in the offseason and they are great competitors, they hate to lose. I think you saw that tonight.
“Dom has been playing like this for a lot of years. When the pressure is on, he seems to play even better. It’s great, really, to have both of them back there.”
Hasek, for his part, isn’t concerned about the number on his birth certificate. All that concerns him is winning and he’s having fun in a Detroit uniform.
“I’m feeling great; I don’t have any physical problems,” Hasek said. “I have good practices, I feel good in the practices and great in the games. I don’t know if play better than I did 10 years ago, but I enjoy my game.
“If I am better or worse, I don’t care. My goal is to win the game and that’s what we did tonight.”
After the Wings lost to the Ducks in the Western Conference Finals, Hasek told reporters that he felt perfectly healthy, which is great to hear that he wasn’t playing in some pain but that he actually felt good out there. Head coach Mike Babcock said he might try to convince Hasek to stay over some alcohol.
“I’m feeling great physically and I felt great this season,” Hasek said. “The desire and passion for the game is there. I enjoy every NHL game and enjoy the playoffs and enjoy the competition.
“I love this game and I like the competition and I like this team because this team is good, and can be as good or even better next season and compete for the Stanley Cup.
“If I make the decision to come back, I want to be on top and I believe I can be.”
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Coach Mike Babcock said he’ll do his part to ensure Hasek’s return.
“I’m going to take over a bottle of wine to his house,” Babcock said. “I know he lives somewhere in my neighborhood. I’ll take over my wife, too, and we’ll sit out on his deck and talk it out.
“I really like Dom. He’s a quality, quality guy who brought a lot to this team. We’d like to have him back but we need to let him make his decision and be comfortable with it.”
In a different Detroit News’ article, other players chimed in with their compliments about Hasek’s play and work ethic.
“In the playoffs, when we were struggling a little bit, he was the guy who really saved us,” said Henrik Zetterberg, who was among those quietly lobbying for Hasek’s return after the Game 6 loss.
“Of course it’s his decision, and he has to think it over, but I think everyone here welcomes him back. He looks good to me, health-wise, and he’s still the best guy every day in practice. I don’t see why he can’t come back.”
Honestly, I don’t think Hasek can, either, which is why I think he will. In fact, if you listened closely, he might have let his intentions slip Tuesday. As if the game itself weren’t tiring enough, Hasek — with his pads cast aside and a towel draped over his shoulders — kept fending off queries about his future from various angles.
“I love this team, I love this city,” Hasek said. “Give me a few weeks. I just need to know what my future is about, what I want to do, what is best for me and my family. I love Detroit, I want to be back.”
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“He intimidates the other team — he gets in their head,” said Chris Chelios, whose inevitable return ensures Hasek won’t be the oldest guy on the team next season.
And the competitiveness? Well, that’s never been a question.
“He’s unbelievable,” coach Mike Babcock said. “I mean, he never gets out of the net. It’s ridiculous. It’s an optional skate, and he’s 42 years old, and he’s still out there taking breakaways.”
An example of his work ethic? After the Wings won Game #1 of the WCF on Friday evening, Babcock only held an optional practice on Saturday. Instead of resting his 42 year old body, Hasek shows up and practices with ten other players.
Hasek, coming off a 31-save performance on Friday, said he felt more energized after stopping some shots and getting his blood flowing.
“When you get older a little bit, you need consistency, so I like practice,” Hasek said. “I don’t have to stay long on the ice, but I like to go on the ice a little bit every day and get a good sweat, and I’m feeling much better.”
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