| Curtis Joseph | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Joseph in 2013 | |||
| Born | (1967-04-29)April 29, 1967 (age 57) Keswick, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Caught | Left | ||
| Played for | St. Louis Blues Edmonton Oilers Toronto Maple Leafs Detroit Red Wings Phoenix Coyotes Calgary Flames | ||
| National team |  Canada | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1989–2009 | ||
Curtis Shayne Joseph (néMunro; born April 29, 1967) is a Canadianice hockey coach and former professional player. Nicknamed "Cujo", Joseph was immediately recognizable on the ice for his masks featuring a snarling dog, drawing inspiration from theStephen King novelCujo.
Throughout hisNHL career, Joseph played for a number of franchises, rising to prominence during the playoffs with theSt. Louis Blues,Edmonton Oilers, andToronto Maple Leafs. He also played for theDetroit Red Wings,Phoenix Coyotes andCalgary Flames. He last played for the Maple Leafs during the2008–09 NHL season.[1] He was also a member of Canada's gold medal-winning team at the2002 Winter Olympics.
Joseph retired with the most career wins (454) of any goaltender in NHL history who never played on aStanley Cup-winning team (which has since been surpassed byRoberto Luongo andHenrik Lundqvist, although they reached the Stanley Cup Finals once where Joseph never did), and was also the first goaltender to have 30 or more wins in a regular season for five different teams.[2] He was also the last goaltender to have played in the NHL in the 1980s.
Joseph was born on April 29, 1967[3] to unmarried teenage parents.[2] Soon after his birth, his mother, Wendy Munro, gave him up to be fostered by Jeanne and Howard Eakins. She knew Jeanne from the nursing home where they both worked and thought that the Eakinses could provide a better life for him. He was named Curtis after his birth father, Curtis Nickle. Jeanne later divorced Howard and married Harold Joseph, at which point she cut off contact with Wendy Munro and began using Joseph as Curtis's last name.[4] In the Joseph household, Curtis grew up with two older stepbrothers, Grant and Victor. He also has three older stepsisters and a stepbrother from a previous marriage. The family is of mixed race with Harold and Victor being black, and Grant also being an adopted child prior to Curtis Joseph.[5] It was not until he signed with theSt. Louis Blues that Joseph legally changed his surname from Munro to Joseph.[5]
For the majority of his childhood, Curtis was raised in theEast Gwillimbury community of Sharon. He initially attended Whitchurch Highlands Public School and thenHuron Heights Secondary School. Curtis grew up playing hockey for the East Gwillimbury Eagles of the OMHA until moving west to play forNotre Dame College in (Wilcox,Saskatchewan).[6][7] Although he led theNotre Dame Hounds to theCentennial Cup in 1987–88, and he played for theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison of theNCAA, he was undrafted by the NHL.[8] He signed as a free agent with the Blues in 1989. In the 1989–90 season, he played 23 games with thePeoria Rivermen in theIHL.
Nicknamed "Cujo," Joseph has worn the number 31 for theSt. Louis Blues,Edmonton Oilers,Toronto Maple Leafs,Detroit Red Wings,Phoenix Coyotes, and theCalgary Flames.[9] Joseph is a three-time NHL All-Star (1994,1999,2000), and he was awarded the 1999–2000King Clancy Memorial Trophy for exemplifying leadership qualities on and off the ice and making noteworthy humanitarian contributions to his community. In the2002 Winter Olympics held inSalt Lake City, he was a member of theOlympic Gold Medal winning Canadian men's hockey team.
Joseph began his college play at theUniversity of Wisconsin. While playing for the Badgers, Joseph won 21 games and was voted to theWCHA All Conference Team.[10] Shortly after his freshman season, Joseph, despite not having been drafted, was signed by theSt. Louis Blues to a free-agent entry-level contract.
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Joseph broke into theNHL in 1990, playing for theSt. Louis Blues. In the off-season following the1990–91 NHL season, the Blues signedBrendan Shanahan from theNew Jersey Devils. Shanahan was a restricted free agent, and thus the Devils were entitled to compensation. The teams could not agree on what the compensation was; the Blues offered Curtis Joseph,Rod Brind'Amour, and two draft picks, while the Devils wantedScott Stevens. Joseph seemed to be the answer the Devils were looking for in goal, but the case went to arbitration, and a judge ruled that Stevens was to be awarded to the Devils in September 1991.
Joseph remained with the Blues until 1995. The1992–93 NHL season was his most successful season, as he played a key role in the upset of theChicago Blackhawks, the reigning Clarence Campbell Conference regular season champions; the Blues swept them in four games in the first round of the playoffs. The Blues then faced theToronto Maple Leafs in the second round, and though the Leafs prevailed, the series went to seven games thanks to Joseph's play. Because of his efforts, he was nominated as a finalist for theVezina Trophy that season, finishing third in voting behind winnerEd Belfour andTom Barrasso. After a disappointing first-round exit in the 1995 playoffs, St. Louis Blues coach and general managerMike Keenan declined to re-sign Joseph and traded his rights to theEdmonton Oilers.
The Oilers began their training camp with two starting goaltenders, signed incumbentBill Ranford and the unsigned Joseph. Edmonton failed to work out a contract or trade Joseph's rights, leaving Joseph without a team to start the 1995–96 season. He signed a contract with the IHL'sLas Vegas Thunder and dominated, reminding the NHL that he deserved to be there. The Oilers entertained trading Joseph to theBoston Bruins but would finally sign Joseph to a contract and trade Ranford to Boston. With Edmonton, Joseph won two Zane Feldman Trophies (team MVP) and one Most Popular Player award. He backstopped the Oilers to first round playoff upsets of theDallas Stars andColorado Avalanche in 1997 and 1998, respectively, their first playoff series wins since 1992.
Following the 1997–98 season, Joseph signed as a free agent with theToronto Maple Leafs. While with the Leafs, he had three consecutive seasons of 30+ wins, he was twice runner-up for theVezina Trophy in 1999 and 2000, a finalist for theLester B. Pearson Award in 1999, and won theKing Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2000. Joseph played a key role in the Leafs' run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1999 and 2002. In 2000, during Game One of the series against theNew Jersey Devils, he was considered the deciding factor in the 2–1 win where the Leafs were outshot 33–21.[11]
After Leafs General ManagerPat Quinn was unwilling to give Joseph a four-year contract (he offered three years), he left after the 2001–02 season to sign with the Detroit Red Wings. Some also speculated that the relationship between Quinn and Joseph was frosty because Quinn had benched Joseph in the Salt Lake City Olympics after the first game, although Joseph himself denied the rumours, saying that he played a bad first game against Sweden (losing 5–2) and that Martin Brodeur played very well for the rest of the tournament, earning his spot as the starter. Joseph's move to Detroit was highly publicized and unpopular in Toronto.
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The Detroit Red Wings won theStanley Cup in 2002 (withDominik Hašek) and entered the 2002–03 season with the newly acquired Curtis Joseph but otherwise mostly unchanged. Detroit brought in coachDave Lewis to replace the retiringScotty Bowman, and signed Joseph to a 3-year, $24 million contract to replace the newly retiredDominik Hašek. Joseph initially faltered, but eventually found his form in the latter half of the 2002–03 season to backstop his team to the division title. With an anemic offense, Detroit was upset in the first round of the playoffs in 2003 by the eventual conference champions, theMighty Ducks of Anaheim in a four-game sweep. Detroit fans and media focused their frustration on Joseph after he was outplayed by the eventual 2003Conn Smythe Trophy winnerJean-Sébastien Giguère.
During the 2003 off-season, Dominik Hašek announced his intentions to come out of retirement. With fears of Hašek signing with a competitor, Detroit general managerKen Holland signed him to a contract with the intention of trading Joseph, but Joseph's large contract and off-season surgery made him unmovable. Detroit was forced to enter the 2003–04 season with two starting goaltenders earning US$8 million per year. After a stint in the minors, Joseph returned to the Red Wings lineup while Hašek was nursing a groin injury. The Red Wings' plan was to keep playing Joseph to showcase him to the rest of the league until Hašek returned to the lineup. In February, Hašek decided to call it quits for the season, which once again solidified Joseph's position on the Red Wings roster.
Detroit finishedfirst overall in the league, and entered the first round of the playoffs withManny Legace as their starting goalie. After great play in the first two games, Legace struggled in games 3 and 4. Joseph took the reins in game 5 and delivered, winning two straight and helping Detroit defeat theNashville Predators in six games. The Red Wings were defeated in the second round of the playoffs in six games by the eventual Western Conference champions, theCalgary Flames. Joseph was statistically the top goaltender in the 2004 playoffs.
In the summer of 2005, several teams were interested in signing Joseph, including thePittsburgh Penguins andPhoenix Coyotes. After taking a call from the new Phoenix coach,Wayne Gretzky, Joseph signed a one-year deal with Phoenix. On October 28, 2005, he won his 400th NHL game. On March 28, 2006, he posted his 424th career win, thereby moving into sixth place on the NHL's all-time list, passingTony Esposito. In the summer of 2006, Joseph returned to Phoenix for another season on a one-year contract. While he was with the Coyotes, Joseph became the first goaltender to have 30 or more regular season wins for five different teams (St. Louis, Edmonton, Toronto, Detroit, and Phoenix); Joseph eventually recorded at least 50 regular season wins with each of those five teams.[12]
Joseph had shown interest in re-joining theToronto Maple Leafs, indicating that he would be fine with a back-up role and a reduced salary. In September 2007 theOttawa Senators quietly expressed interest in acquiring Joseph if they could unloadMartin Gerber and his large contract.
On January 14, 2008, Joseph signed a one-year, US$1.5 million contract with theCalgary Flames.[13] On March 1, 2008, Joseph moved pastTerry Sawchuk for fourth place in all-time NHL wins with 448 in a 3–1 win over his former team, thePhoenix Coyotes. On April 13, 2008, Joseph replacedMiikka Kiprusoff less than four minutes into the first period of Game #3 of the Flames' first round series of the 2008 playoffs with the San Jose Sharks. Joseph backstopped the Flames to a come-from-behind 4–3 win after initially falling behind 3–0. This win made him the first goaltender to win a post-season game as a member of five different teams: St. Louis, Edmonton, Toronto, Detroit and Calgary.
On July 1, 2008, Joseph rejoined the Toronto Maple Leafs by signing a 1-year, $700,000 contract. Joseph served primarily as a back-up for most of the season, only playing 21 games. On December 30, 2008, he recorded his 450th career win in a 4–3 overtime victory against theAtlanta Thrashers, and on April 8, 2009, he recorded his 352nd NHL loss, tyingGump Worsley for the NHL record for most losses by a goaltender.Martin Brodeur subsequently set a new record and subsequently finished with 397 losses,[14] Joseph's 352 losses were also later surpassed byRoberto Luongo who subsequently finished with 392 losses.
Joseph announced his retirement on January 12, 2010, in Toronto.[15] His career would end with 454 regular season wins, 5th most all time. His 63 playoff victories are the most by a goaltender without winning the Stanley Cup.
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During the 2016–17 season, Joseph was a goaltending consultant in the organization of theCarolina Hurricanes of theNHL.[16]
Joseph was a member of theCanada men's national ice hockey team, having played for the team in several international tournaments, including the1996 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, the1996 World Cup of Hockey, the2002 Winter Olympics, and the2007 Spengler Cup. Joseph helped lead the team to the Spengler Cup championship on December 31, 2007.[17]
Joseph has been married twice and has seven children, including a nephew he is raising with his second wife. Joseph was previously married to Nancy. The couple had four children together before divorcing in 2009. Joseph married Stephanie Glasson in 2012. In 2014 the couple gave birth to their daughter. Curtis Joseph also has a step daughter by way of his second wife.[18]
His autobiography,Cujo: The Untold Story of My Life On and Off the Ice, was released in 2018.
Joseph is slated to be inducted into the St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame in January, 2025 along with Jim Roberts andWayne Babych.[19]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | OTL | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1984–85 | King City Dukes | MetJHL | 18 | — | — | — | — | 947 | 76 | — | 4.82 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Newmarket Flyers | OJHL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 120 | 16 | — | 8.00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Richmond Hill Dynes | OJHL | 33 | 12 | 18 | 0 | — | 1716 | 156 | 1 | 5.45 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Richmond Hill Dynes | OJHL | 30 | 14 | 7 | 6 | — | 1764 | 128 | 1 | 4.35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Notre Dame Hounds | SJHL | 36 | 25 | 4 | 7 | — | 2174 | 94 | 1 | 2.59 | .916 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Notre Dame Hounds | CC | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 4 | 1 | 321 | 17 | — | 3.17 | — | ||
| 1988–89 | University of Wisconsin | WCHA | 38 | 21 | 11 | 5 | — | 2267 | 94 | 1 | 2.49 | .919 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Peoria Rivermen | IHL | 23 | 10 | 8 | 2 | — | 1241 | 80 | 0 | 3.87 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 15 | 9 | 5 | 1 | — | 852 | 48 | 0 | 3.38 | .890 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 327 | 18 | 0 | 3.30 | .892 | ||
| 1990–91 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 30 | 16 | 10 | 2 | — | 1710 | 89 | 0 | 3.12 | .898 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 60 | 27 | 20 | 10 | — | 3494 | 175 | 2 | 3.01 | .910 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 379 | 23 | 0 | 3.64 | .894 | ||
| 1992–93 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 68 | 29 | 28 | 9 | — | 3890 | 196 | 1 | 3.02 | .911 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 715 | 27 | 2 | 2.27 | .938 | ||
| 1993–94 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 71 | 36 | 23 | 11 | — | 4127 | 213 | 1 | 3.10 | .911 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 246 | 15 | 0 | 3.66 | .905 | ||
| 1994–95 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 36 | 20 | 10 | 1 | — | 1914 | 89 | 1 | 2.79 | .902 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 392 | 24 | 0 | 3.67 | .865 | ||
| 1995–96 | Las Vegas Thunder | IHL | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | — | 873 | 29 | 1 | 1.99 | .929 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 34 | 15 | 16 | 2 | — | 1935 | 111 | 0 | 3.44 | .886 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 72 | 32 | 29 | 9 | — | 4089 | 200 | 6 | 2.93 | .907 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 767 | 36 | 2 | 2.82 | .911 | ||
| 1997–98 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 71 | 29 | 31 | 9 | — | 4132 | 181 | 8 | 2.63 | .905 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 715 | 23 | 3 | 1.93 | .928 | ||
| 1998–99 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 67 | 35 | 24 | 7 | — | 4001 | 171 | 3 | 2.56 | .910 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 1011 | 41 | 1 | 2.43 | .907 | ||
| 1999–00 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 63 | 36 | 20 | 7 | — | 3801 | 158 | 4 | 2.49 | .915 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 729 | 25 | 1 | 2.06 | .932 | ||
| 2000–01 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 68 | 33 | 27 | 8 | — | 4100 | 163 | 6 | 2.39 | .915 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 685 | 24 | 3 | 2.10 | .927 | ||
| 2001–02 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 51 | 29 | 17 | 5 | — | 3065 | 114 | 4 | 2.23 | .906 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 1253 | 48 | 3 | 2.30 | .934 | ||
| 2002–03 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 61 | 34 | 19 | 6 | — | 3566 | 148 | 5 | 2.49 | .912 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 289 | 10 | 0 | 2.08 | .917 | ||
| 2003–04 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 60 | 1 | 0 | 1.00 | .952 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 31 | 16 | 10 | 3 | — | 1708 | 68 | 2 | 2.39 | .909 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 518 | 12 | 1 | 1.39 | .939 | ||
| 2005–06 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 60 | 32 | 21 | — | 3 | 3424 | 166 | 4 | 2.91 | .902 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 55 | 18 | 31 | — | 2 | 2993 | 159 | 4 | 3.19 | .893 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 9 | 3 | 2 | — | 0 | 399 | 17 | 0 | 2.55 | .906 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 79 | 1 | 0 | 0.76 | .970 | ||
| 2008–09 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 21 | 5 | 9 | — | 1 | 383 | 50 | 0 | 3.57 | .869 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 943 | 454 | 352 | 90 | 6 | 54,055 | 2,516 | 51 | 2.79 | .906 | 132 | 63 | 66 | 8,106 | 327 | 16 | 2.45 | .917 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Canada | WC | 8 | — | — | — | 409 | 12 | 2 | 1.94 | .916 | |
| 1996 | Canada | WCH | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 468 | 18 | 1 | 2.31 | .908 | |
| 2002 | Canada | OLY | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 60 | 5 | 0 | 5.00 | .800 | |
| Senior totals | 16 | — | — | — | 937 | 35 | 3 | 2.24 | — | |||
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| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| All-WCHAFirst Team | 1988–89 | [20] |
| AHCAWest Second-Team All-American | 1988–89 | [21] |
| NHL | ||
| NHL All-Star Game | 1994,1999,2000 | |
| King Clancy Memorial Trophy | 2000 | |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | WCHA Freshman of the Year 1988–89 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | WCHA Most Valuable Player 1988–89 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of theKing Clancy Memorial Trophy 2000 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
