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According To Agent, Chris Osgood Is '100 Percent Healthy'

Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood is 100 percent healthy, per his agent. Osgood had surgery during last season and now is debating whether or not to play another season.

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Chris Osgood Is '100 Percent Healthy'

Detroit Red Wings goalie Chris Osgood had a rough 2010-11 season that was hampered by injuries. He had surgery in the middle of the season and was unable to return after the procedure was done. A couple times it looked like Osgood would be back before the end of the regular season, but he suffered setbacks and wasn't healthy until the playoffs rolled around.

Joey MacDonald served as Jimmy Howard's backup during the playoffs, but Osgood was ready to go if he would have been called upon, according to his agent.

"He’s 100 percent healthy. He’s never felt better. He was ready to go at the end of the season," Thompson told Sporting News. 

Osgood is expected to meet with his agent early next week to talk about the possibility of playing next season. Osgood is healthy enough to continue, but like many Red Wings, retirement is on his mind. Red Wings GM Ken Holland expects a decision from Osgood in the next couple weeks.

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Chris Osgood Placed On Long-Term Injured Reserve; Joey MacDonald Back From Grand Rapids

Every time Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood gets close to returning from his groin injury he suffers a setback. Last week, for example, he was set to start against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but instead he didn't even dress due to some scar tissue breaking. The setback was not major, so this week he took quite a few shots in practice and appeared ready to be Jimmy Howard's backup tonight against Vancouver. That will not be happening after Osgood's latest setback, though.

Detroit Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood has suffered another setback in his attempt to return from sports hernia surgery on Jan. 11, as the club today placed him on long-term injured reserve, retroactive to last week.

Osgood won't be eligible to be taken off the long-term injured reserve until the last two games of the regular season (both against Chicago, on April 8 and 10). As a result, Joey MacDonald has yet again been recalled from Grand Rapids to rejoin the Red Wings as Howard's backup. The Wings don't play on back-to-back nights until April 2 and 3, so it's possible we won't see MacDonald until the 3rd of next month. Then again, if Howard plays like he did against Pittsburgh and gets run, MacDonald could be in action sooner than later.

As far as when Osgood may be in action, it's not clear. Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said that the situation is back to square one.

"We're back to square one with him,'' Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "Everybody's frustrated. When we took him off LTI 10 days ago, the player, the doctor and the trainers all signed off on it. He felt good.

"The first day he had a full practice he felt sore but though he was going to push through it. I think he felt the pressure to come back with the playoffs looming. It's obvious he's not anywhere close to playing.''

With Osgood being out until at least the end of the regular season, one has to wonder if we'll see him suit up for a game again this year. Unless he is able to play in one of those final two regular season games, I don't see an opportunity for him to play. Howard will obviously start every game in the playoffs if healthy, and even if an injury were to happen, wouldn't you have to play MacDonald at this point? Osgood may be more experienced, but right now I'd trust MacDonald, who has actually been healthy and been playing, over a rusty Osgood. I guess we shall see how this ever-changing story evolves over the next few weeks.

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Joey MacDonald Sent To AHL, Chris Osgood Will Backup Jimmy Howard Wednesday

Ready or not, Chris Osgood is going to at least be watching Jimmy Howard from the bench against Vancouver on Wednesday.

Goaltender Joey MacDonald was sent back to AHL-Grand Rapids on Tuesday to make room for Osgood, who has been sidelined since January. Barring a disastrous outing from Howard, Osgood will not play on Wednesday and will serve as the backup.

In addition, Jan Mursak was called up from Grand Rapids to replace Todd Bertuzzi in the lineup. Bertuzzi was listed as unavailable by head coach Mike Babcock against the Canucks, leaving Detroit with just 10 healthy forwards.

Because they have little salary cap space, the Red Wings’ only options were either to play with 10 forwards and seven defenseman with MacDonald backing up Howard, or send MacDonald down and allow Osgood to assume the backup role. After taking the bulk of the shots in practice today, the team decided that Osgood’s surgically repaired sports hernia was well enough to return to the lineup.

For MacDonald, a surprisingly effective run in Detroit ended with the demotion. MacDonald proved to be a worthy compliment to Howard, picking up four wins while serving as Howard’s backup. In compiling a 4-4-2 record, he also picked up a pair of losses that shouldn’t have been tabbed on him. MacDonald was hit with losses against Colorado on Jan. 10 and Monday against Pittsburgh (both by 5-4 scores), but only after Howard had been pulled after giving up the first four goals in each contest.

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Chris Osgood Takes Bulk Of Shots In Practice, May Dress Wednesday Against Vancouver

The Red Wings might not be able to wait any longer for Chris Osgood’s recovery from sports hernia surgery after the Red Wings lost another forward on Tuesday.

Todd Bertuzzi looks like he will miss his first game since re-signing with Detroit before last season. Head coach Mike Babcock said Bertuzzi has had aches and pains for awhile and simply “can’t go.”

“I don’t think we’ll have Franzen, Datsyuk, Hudler or Bertuzzi available for tomorrow,‘’ coach Mike Babcock said after today’s practice

Bertuzzi joins the aforementioned Johan Franzen, Pavel Datsyuk and Jiri Hudler on the sidelines, leaving Detroit with just 10 healthy forwards. The Red Wings only dressed 11 forwards on Monday against Pittsburgh and used seven defenseman instead of the usual six.

What does all this have to do with Osgood? Since Osgood was reactivated from long-term injured reserve last week, his contract has been busy eating up the rest of the Red Wings’ cap room, making it impossible to recall a forward from AHL-Grand Rapids. Osgood took the bulk of the shots in practice today however, signifying he might be able to dress on Wednesday against Vancouver.

If he can dress, Detroit can send Joey MacDonald back to Grand Rapids and recall Jan Mursak to replace Bertuzzi in the lineup. If not, Detroit will be forced to play 10 forwards, essentially eliminating the fourth line.

Babcock said that none of the injuries to the four forwards are serious and that they’d be playing if it was the playoffs. But, with the Western Conference race tightening by the second, Detroit can’t afford to surrender too many points in the last two weeks of the season.

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Chris Osgood Misses Start Against Columbus Due To Scar Tissue

Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood appeared ready to make his first start in over two months tonight after the Red Wings activated him, but now it’s been pushed back until at least next week.

Osgood is dealing with scar tissue problems from sports hernia surgery on Jan. 11, but he expects to be back on the ice on Friday after a couple days off.

“Break-through scar tissue, that’s all it is,” said Osgood, who recalls a similar situation about a month after the surgery. “It just happens and you work through it. When I take a day off, or two, it feels a lot better.”

In the meantime, Joey MacDonald started and played superb against Columbus, completing a crazy couple of days for him. After Osgood was activated, MacDonald was sent to Grand Rapids on Wednesday, where he took the Griffins’ morning skate and promptly rejoined the Wings.

The result? Only 37-save shutout against Columbus, just the second of his career.

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