Curtis Joseph

Curtis Shayne Joseph (né Munro; born April 29, 1967) is a Canadian ice 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 the Stephen King novel Cujo.

Throughout his National Hockey League (NHL) career, Joseph played for a number of franchises, rising to prominence during the playoffs with the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. He also played for the Detroit Red Wings, Phoenix Coyotes and Calgary Flames. He last played for the Maple Leafs during the 2008–09 NHL season. He was also a member of Canada's gold medal-winning team at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Joseph retired with the most career wins (454) of any goaltender in NHL history who never played on a Stanley Cup-winning team (which has since been surpassed by Roberto Luongo and Henrik Lundqvist, although they reached the Stanley Cup Finals once, in 2011 and 2014 respectively, where Joseph never did), and was also the first goaltender to have 30 or more wins in a regular season for five different teams. He was also the last goaltender to have played in the NHL in the 1980s.

Early life Joseph was born on April 29, 1967 to unmarried teenage parents. 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 being adopted before Curtis Joseph. It was not until he signed with the St. Louis Blues that Joseph legally changed his surname from Munro to Joseph. Although he led the Notre Dame Hounds to the Centennial Cup in 1987–88, and he played for the University of Wisconsin–Madison of the NCAA, he was undrafted by the NHL. He signed as a free agent with the Blues on June 16, 1989. In the 1989–90 season, he played 23 games with the Peoria Rivermen in the IHL.

Playing career Nicknamed "Cujo," Joseph has worn the number 31 for the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Phoenix Coyotes, and the Calgary Flames. Joseph is a three-time NHL All-Star (1994, 1999, 2000), and he was awarded the 1999–2000 King Clancy Memorial Trophy for exemplifying leadership qualities on and off the ice and making noteworthy humanitarian contributions to his community. In the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, he was a member of the Olympic Gold Medal winning Canadian men's hockey team.

University of Wisconsin Joseph began his college play at the University of Wisconsin. While playing for the Badgers, Joseph won 21 games and was voted to the WCHA All Conference Team. Shortly after his freshman season, Joseph, despite not having been drafted, was signed by the St. Louis Blues to a free-agent entry-level contract on June 16, 1989.

NHL career St. Louis Blues (1989–1995) Joseph in net for the St. Louis Blues during his rookie season in 1990

After signing on with the Blues on June 16, 1989, Joseph broke into the NHL in 1990, playing for the St. Louis Blues, and making his first career start against the Edmonton Oilers, on January 2, 1990. In the off-season following the 1990–91 NHL season, the Blues signed Brendan Shanahan from the New Jersey Devils on July 25, 1991. 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 wanted Scott 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 on September 3, 1991.

Joseph remained with the Blues until 1995. The 1992–93 NHL season was his most successful season, as he played a key role in the upset of the Chicago 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 the Toronto 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 the Vezina Trophy that season, finishing third in voting behind winner Ed Belfour and Tom Barrasso. After a disappointing first-round exit in the 1995 playoffs, St. Louis Blues coach and general manager Mike Keenan signed Grant Fuhr as a free agent on July 14, 1995, and he declined to re-sign Joseph and traded his rights along with the rights to Mike Grier, to the Edmonton Oilers, on August 4, 1995, for two first round draft picks (ultimately becoming Marty Reasoner and Matt Zultek).

Edmonton Oilers (1995–1998) The Oilers began their training camp with two starting goaltenders, signed incumbent Bill 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's Las Vegas Thunder and dominated, reminding the NHL that he deserved to be there. The Oilers entertained trading Joseph to the Boston Bruins but would finally sign Joseph to a contract and trade Ranford to Boston on January 11, 1996. 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 the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche in 1997 and 1998, respectively, their first playoff series wins since 1992.

Toronto Maple Leafs (1998–2002) Following the 1997–98 season, Joseph signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 15, 1998. While with the Leafs, he had three consecutive seasons of 30+ wins, he was twice runner-up for the Vezina Trophy in 1999 and 2000, a finalist for the Lester B. Pearson Award in 1999, and won the King 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 the New Jersey Devils, he was considered the deciding factor in the 2–1 win where the Leafs were outshot 33–21.

After Leafs General Manager Pat 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 on July 2, 2002. A few days earlier, the Maple Leafs had traded his rights to the Calgary Flames on June 30, 2002, for a third round draft pick in the 2003 NHL entry draft (which ultimately became Danny Irmen). 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.

Detroit Red Wings (2002–2004) In the 2002 offseason, the Detroit Red Wings, who had won the Stanley Cup that year but saw Dominik Hašek announce his retirement on June 25, elected to pursue an experienced goaltender to try and continue their run. On June 30, the Maple Leafs traded his rights to the Calgary Flames for an eighth-round draft pick when they couldn't reach a deal with him. The Flames had his rights for a few hours before becoming an unrestricted free agent. Soon afterwards, the Red Wings signed Joseph to a $24 million, three-year contract, with Joseph stating, "Detroit offers a very unique opportunity. Everybody who plays there says the future is now. That was enticing. There's no guarantees that I'll go to Detroit and win a Stanley Cup. But I'd like to take that opportunity."

Joseph initially faltered early in the season 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, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in a four-game sweep. Detroit fans and media focused their frustration on Joseph after he was outplayed by the eventual 2003 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jean-Sébastien Giguère, although the Red Wings scored just six goals in the playoffs after averaging three goals a game in the regular season.

During the 2003 off-season, Hašek announced his intentions to come out of retirement. With fears of Hašek signing with a competitor, Detroit general manager Ken Holland picked up the option on his contract ($8 million) on July 1. Joseph was intended to be traded, but his large contract and subsequent surgery in August to remove bone ships from his ankle made any trade untenable. 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 finished first overall in the league and entered the first round of the playoffs with Manny 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 the Nashville 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, the Calgary Flames. Joseph was statistically the top goaltender in the 2004 playoffs.

Phoenix Coyotes (2005–2007) In the summer of 2005, several teams were interested in signing Joseph, including the Pittsburgh Penguins and Phoenix Coyotes. After taking a call from the new Phoenix coach, Wayne Gretzky, Joseph signed a one-year deal with Phoenix on August 17, 2005. 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, passing Tony 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.

Calgary Flames (2008) Joseph had shown interest in re-joining the Toronto Maple Leafs, indicating that he would be fine with a back-up role and a reduced salary. In September 2007 the Ottawa Senators quietly expressed interest in acquiring Joseph if they could unload Martin Gerber and his large contract.

On January 14, 2008, Joseph signed a one-year, US$1.5 million contract with the Calgary Flames. On March 1, 2008, Joseph moved past Terry Sawchuk for fourth place in all-time NHL wins with 448 in a 3–1 win over his former team, the Phoenix Coyotes. On April 13, 2008, Joseph replaced Miikka 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.

Return to Toronto (2008–2009) 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 the Atlanta Thrashers, and on April 8, 2009, he recorded his 352nd NHL loss, tying Gump Worsley for the NHL record for most losses by a goaltender. Martin Brodeur subsequently set a new record and subsequently finished with 397 losses, Joseph's 352 losses were also later surpassed by Roberto Luongo who subsequently finished with 392 losses.

Joseph announced his retirement on January 12, 2010, in Toronto. His ended his career with 454 regular season wins, fifth most all time. His 63 playoff victories are the most by a goaltender without winning the Stanley Cup.

During the 2016–17 season, Joseph was a goaltending consultant in the organization of the Carolina Hurricanes.

International play Joseph was a member of the Canada men's national ice hockey team, having played for the team in several international tournaments, including the 1996 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, the 2002 Winter Olympics, and the 2007 Spengler Cup. Joseph helped lead the team to the Spengler Cup championship on December 31, 2007.

Personal life 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, with whom he had a daughter in 2014, and also has a step daughter.

His autobiography, Cujo: The Untold Story of My Life On and Off the Ice, was released in 2018.

Joseph was inducted into the St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame in January 2025 along with Jim Roberts and Wayne Babych.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs 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

International 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 —

Awards and honours

Award Year College All-WCHA First Team 1988–89 AHCA West Second-Team All-American 1988–89 NHL NHL All-Star Game 1994, 1999, 2000 King Clancy Memorial Trophy 2000 Inducted into St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, 2015 Inducted into St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame, 2025