[Jlg-28]

Source: ESPN - NHL

The Detroit Red Wings were counting on Dominik Hasek to take care of their goaltending logjam with dominating play.

Instead, he did it with an injury.

Hasek announced Tuesday his season was over because of a nagging groin injury that limited him to just 14 games.

"Once I got on the ice last week, it was almost every day my groin got worse and I knew it's impossible," he said.

Detroit is now left with the same goalies -- Curtis Joseph and Manny Legace -- it had last year.

"They're ready to go, the team's ready to go, there will be no more talk of what-ifs," Red Wings coach Dave Lewis said. "I think the feeling is that it's over, the controversy is over."

But the team could be talking about this again next season. Hasek plans to come back and play at the age of 40.

"I will get in better shape this summer, and I can do it," he said.

One of the NHL's greatest goalies, Hasek won two MVP awards and six Vezina Trophies, given to the league's top goalie, during a nine-year stint in Buffalo. He also led the Czech Republic to a gold medal in the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

Hasek joined the Red Wings before the 2001-02 season, winning his first Stanley Cup that season. He retired in 2002, but came back to Detroit before this season.

Last season, with Joseph and Legace, the Red Wings had one of the best records in the league last season. But they also lost to Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs.

When Hasek retired, Detroit lured Joseph away from Toronto with a $24 million, three-year deal to replace Hasek. When Hasek returned and agreed to make $6 million this season, the Red Wings desperately tried to trade Joseph.

But no one wanted to take "Cujo" because of the two years and $16 million left on his contract.

And for that, the Red Wings are thankful.

"It's very strange the way things worked out," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said from the NHL GMs meeting in

Henderson, Nev. "It's been very, very difficult on Curtis and on his family."

Joseph has kept his family in the Toronto area because he didn't know where he would end up playing this year.

When Hasek was healthy, Detroit put Joseph on waivers twice and sent him to its AHL team in Grand Rapids two times.

"We're very, very lucky that he's been a real pro through this," Holland said. "And luckily for us that nobody claimed him."

Joseph, 13-9-2 with a 2.48 goals-against average for Detroit this season, did not make himself available to reporters after practice Tuesday.

With the goalie controversy finally settled, the Red Wings are prepared to rally around Joseph and Legace.

"Now the uncertainty isn't there anymore, you know what our goalie situation is," forward Kris Draper said. "The picture's a little clearer now."

Legace said Hasek's announcement provided "closure" for an awkward situation.

"Cuj is going to carry us through the playoffs," Legace said. "He's still one of the top five goalies in the world, it's not a big drop at all."

Hasek was 8-3-2 for the Central Division-leading Red Wings this season.

"I played half of the games sort of injured in the beginning of the year," Hasek said. "I wasn't in the best shape, and my record wasn't so bad. I didn't play great, but I wasn't bad."

Hasek said he doesn't regret coming back after his one-year retirement.

"No, I never made a mistake," he said. "Unfortunately, my groin wasn't strong enough."

Rich Winter, Hasek's agent, is confident the goalie's desire to win another championship will have him back on the ice next season.

"He came back to Detroit to win a Stanley Cup and I think he wants to come back again to be a part of another run for the Cup," Winter said. "This was not the storybook ending we were all hoping for Dom, in the final chapter of his career."

[Andy]

Sucks for Detroit.