Now this makes more sense. Instead of having 38-year-old Chris Osgood and his wonky groin backing up Jimmy Howard next season, the Detroit Red Wings will instead bid the veteran farewell on Tuesday as he retires from the NHL.
Osgood, 38, has accepted a position with the team and will be working with the organization's young goalies.
The Red Wings are expected to sign Ty Conklin as their backup goaltender this week.
Holland and Osgood met this past weekend in Vernon, British Columbia, where both have summer homes. Holland said last week that he wanted to speak with Osgood face-to-face before deciding on a backup goalie. He said he wanted to determine Osgood's health and motivation.
The Detroit Free Press reported on Monday that Osgood would be back for another season, but has since "learned otherwise."
The Red Wings are a better team with Conklin backing up Howard. And now the Wings won't have to worry about locating a veteran backup if Osgood went down because Joey MacDonald wasn't a solution.
Osgood's time as an effective and stable option in a backup were done; he was never going to be the goalie who all-of-a-sudden catches fire in the postseason and plays like an MVP.
His playoff success, of course, make Chris Osgood a curious case for the Hall of Fame.
He had three Stanley Cups, a 2.09 career playoff GAA and a 74-49 record. He was as steady as they come and one of the best postseason goalies of his generation.
Combine that with 401 wins, putting him No. 10 all-time in the regular season, and it's going to be an interesting call for the Hall.
Consider every goalie ahead of him on that list is in the Hall save for Curtis Joseph.
But as we previously wrote in making the case against Osgood's Hall of Fame credentials, he's the Glenn Anderson of goalies:
What Osgood is, we think, is the Glenn Anderson of goaltenders. Tremendous postseason success, both as a driving force and as a passenger for Cup teams, and playoff stats that are among the best in NHL history. Their regular-season numbers are well above average and Osgood's win total puts him on another level among goaltenders. Both benefitted from playing with elite talent.
Was Glenn Anderson ever the best player in his team? No, and neither was Osgood. Was Glenn Anderson ever one of the five best players in the NHL? No, and neither was Osgood. Did Glenn Anderson ever win a major individual award? No, and neither did Chris Osgood.
They both fail the "eyeball" test, yet both have the numeric and championship-level impact that charms HOF voters.
Which is to say that both players were really, really, really good … just not immortal.
But Osgood leaves the game as one of the most clutch goalies, and better personalities, during his time in the NHL with the Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and New York Islanders. It's not Hall-worthy in our estimation, but it was damn impressive.