 |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Report: Hasek considering return to NHL Posted: Tuesday June 24, 2003 1:17 AMUpdated: Tuesday June 24, 2003 2:06 AM
TORONTO (AP) -- Dominik Hasek might be considering a return to the NHL, according to a broadcast report. Hasek, 38, retired after winning the Stanley Cup in 2002 with Detroit. "Dominik has been in contact with the Red Wings several times over the past several weeks, and they've had serious discussions about the possibility of him coming back," Hasek's agent Rich Winter told Toronto-based TSN. "I think he's leaning towards coming back, but he hasn't made a final decision." Detroit holds an option on Hasek for next season worth $8 million. If the Red Wings don't exercise the option, he would become an unrestricted free agent. Detroit signed unrestricted free agent goalie Curtis Joseph last summer to a three-year, $24-million contract. The deal included a no-trade clause. "It's Kenny's worst nightmare," said one NHL general manager, referring to Detroit GM Ken Holland. "What do you do with Hasek when you've got Curtis Joseph under contract for the next two years? You can't have $17 million worth of goaltending. Plus, Hasek hasn't played in a year and a half." Red Wings officials declined to comment on the TSN report. But an NHL GM said the issue was very much on Detroit's mind during the entry draft in Nashville.
"It's a real problem," said the executive, who asked not to be named. "It will stir up a huge hornet's nest in Detroit, because when people there think of Hasek, they think of him winning the Stanley Cup. When they think of Joseph, they think of him losing to Anaheim in the first round. It's not fair, but that's the way fans think."
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
