Don't draw up those retirement papers up for Curtis Joseph just yet.
A few teams seem to think that Cujo has a little bite left in him.
Just a few weeks after I took part in a tit-for-tat on whether or not Curtis Joseph was washed up, word surfaced this weekend that the 40-year-old has narrowed down his comeback choices to two teams - the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames.
As I mentioned last week, I figured it was just a matter of time before someone rolled the dice with Cujo. He is as reliable a safety net available today, a fact that the Flames and Sharks, two teams with a bona-fide number one, seem to realize.
The rumor wire Saturday night suggested that the Rangers and Leafs had entered the fray, which leaves me puzzled for a couple of reasons.
In New York, Stephen Valiquette has put up somewhat respectable numbers for a team that is going to lean heavily on starter Henrik Lundqvist. Any contract Curtis Joseph signs in Manhattan may as well come with a pair of tweezers for the number of splinters he'll be pulling out of his ass.
In Toronto, it's nothing but a mess. No goalie is going to rescue the Leafs from anything. The last thing Toronto should be thinking about is an upgrade of any sort, which is exactly what Joseph will be.
The Leafs need to be unloading contracts, not picking them up. It's addition by subtraction.
This brings us to the Lightning and Penguins, two teams I figured would have plenty of interest in Joseph. They still might.
Given the horror show developing with goaltenders in Tampa Bay -where not one has broken the .900 barrier in save percentage - Cujo would have to be seen as a welcome addition for John Tortorella's troops.
Then again, the Bolts, battling with the Leafs as the most inept team in the east as the trade deadline approaches, may be getting close to waving the white flag on the season.
The Penguins, on the other hand, are rotating between Ty Conklin, Marc-Andre Fleury and Dany Sabourin and may be content to see who emerges from the pack.
For the 15 or 20 people paying attention at the Spengler Cup, Joseph's performance, if nothing else, warrants one final shot at the big time.
A chance it looks like he will get.