Curtis Joseph—Cujo

Although Curtis Joseph enjoyed a distinguished career in Edmonton, only Petr Klima—who scored the famous triple overtime winner in the 1990 Stanley Cup finals at the old Boston Garden—will be more remembered for one single feat as an Oiler.

For Joseph, the magical moment came in the Game 7 of the team’s first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars. During the 1997 playoffs, the underdog Oilers had forced a winner-take-all game at Dallas’ Reunion Arena based on two thrilling overtime wins in the series.  Expectations pointed to a game 7 overtime as well.

The final looked lost when Joe Nieuwendyk, one of Dallas’ top snipers, found the puck out of a goalmouth scramble. Nieuwendyk had three-quarters of the net to deposit the winner, and Dallas fans rose in anticipation of a sure goal.

As Nieuwendyk shot the puck, Joseph dove across the crease, miraculously catching the puck in mid-air.  The scene was electric, as Hockey Night in Canada voice Bob Cole bellowed, "Oh, my good-nessssss!" and  Nieuwendyk had the expression of a man robbed at gunpoint. Joseph kept the puck out; a split-second reaction forever remembered by Edmonton fans as "The Save".

"It was totally a reactionary thing," said Joseph. "The puck just came into the crease and I knew I had to get to it. I tried to get myself as much in the way as possible, and just see what happens."

Soon afterward, Todd Marchant scored one of the most fondly remembered overtime winners in Edmonton hockey history. 

For Joseph, it was the crowning moment in a solid Oilers’ career. Born on April 29, 1967, in Keswick, Ontario, Joseph was pretty well an unknown commodity in the hockey world until 1988-89, when he enjoyed a standout season with the University of Wisconsin Badgers, and was named a conference All-Star that season. The performance did not impress NHL scouts, and he went undrafted. Later, the St. Louis Blues decided to tryout Joseph and, based on his strong play, signed him as a free agent. Joseph split his rookie year between the American Hockey League’s Peoria Rivermen and the Blues, but when he was called up, he played well enough to win the number-one job.

From 1989 to 1995, Joseph won 137 games for the Blues. At the end of the 1995 season, Joseph and Blues management could not reach a new contract, and Joseph started the next season with Las Vegas of the International Hockey League instead of reporting to the Blues. Although the Oilers already had number-one goaltender Bill Ranford, general manager and president Glen Sather believed Joseph would be a good fit and brought the goaltender to Edmonton.

Nicknamed "Cujo" as a shortened version of his name and for the famous wild dog from the Stephen King novel of the same name, Joseph quickly became a fan favourite in Edmonton. He won 76 games in three seasons, set a new franchise record with 14 shutouts (later broken by Tommy Salo) and lived up to his reputation of making big saves in key games. Including the Stars series in 1997, Joseph led the Oilers to a playoff victory against the Colorado Avalanche in 1998.  Down three games to one, Joseph played spectacularly for the rest of the series, and the Oilers rallied for a 4-3 series victory against the Avalanche. Joseph won the Molson Cup in 1997 and 1998 for having the most three-stars selections.

Soon, Joseph’s reputation grew to the point where the Oilers could no longer afford him, and in 1998, he signed a deal worth approximately $6-million per season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Over four seasons with the Maple Leafs, Joseph won 133 games and led the team to two appearances in the Eastern Conference finals.  Joseph left the Leafs in 2002 for the Detroit Red Wings.

While Cujo has played for a series of franchises, those Oiler memories still offer him plenty of comfort.

"If I said what the greatest moments I had in an Oilers uniform were, I’d have to say it was my first-ever game as an Oiler against Buffalo, and winning the series against Dallas and the next year against Colorado," Joseph said. "There was just such unbelievable excitement surrounding the team and it was such an accomplishment to beat teams who were favoured to beat us. That was bigger than any one play."

But that one play was sweet indeed—ask any Oiler fan about "The Save" and they’ll be able to describe it in great detail. Funny, considering most of them had looked away in horror when Nieuwendyk found the puck in the slot.

[back] [top]