A Day of Dastardly Dichotomy
On this the opening day of '08-09 NHL free agency Washington Capitals' fans confronted the opposing twins of personnel movement outcome: morning elation with Mike Green's signing and afternoon agony in the club's failure to come to terms with season-salvaging, starting netminder Cristobal Huet. The Capitals this afternoon, having reached an impasse with Huet and his agent, signed Colorado's Jose Theodore to a two-year deal.
An absolute bulwark of the Caps' stunning late-season surge to a Southeast division crown, Huet's heroics won't be returning, the fallout of which is this sobering question: have the Caps' Cup contention plans necessarily taken a step back? It's a demoralizing outcome, most particularly in light of widespread reports, from reliable organization sources, that Huet's return was largely a fait accompli.
It would be difficult to imagine a netminder better auditioning for the role of go-to guy, of in-his-prime, no. 1 stud, than Huet's with the Caps this past spring. He went 11-2 in his 13 regular season starts with the Caps, posting two shutouts, a stunning .936 save percentage, and a microscopic 1.63 goals against. Those numbers weren't as impressive in the playoffs against Philadelphia, but after the Caps fell behind three games to one in the series, Huet was rock solid and at times spectacular in net in nearly leading the Caps to a dramatic series comeback.
As for Theodore, this from the Caps' press release:
Theodore, who will turn 32 on Sept. 13, won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player in 2001-02. The 5’11”, 182-pound native of Laval, Quebec, is a 12-year professional who spent the last two seasons with the Colorado Avalanche. He was 28-21-3 with three shutouts, a 2.44 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage in 2007-08, including a 21-13-2 record, a 2.24 GAA and a .919 save percentage in his last 37 starts.
2007-08 was indeed a rebound year for Theodore, but that's also cause for concern for Caps' fans. His has not been a career of model consistency, to put it charitably (he was run out of Montreal). In his previous two seasons, with Montreal and Colorado, Theodore put up sub-.900 save percentages and above 3.00 goals-against numbers. Perhaps more troubling is this: Avalanche Head Coach Joel Quenneville collapsed a trap around him this past season, almost certainly boosting his numbers.
Disappointment over Huet's departure should not necessarily draw savage criticism of General Manager George McPhee, who was poised today with a viable Plan B. According to the Washington Post's Tarik El Bashir, the Caps met Huet's demands of three years and $5 million per only to learn of his wish to test the proverbial waters, apparently with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Tonight a stunned HockeyWashington, still in mid-summer swoon over so spectacular a 2007-08 season, has seen the sport's best momentum here in 30-plus years come to a screeching halt.
Today in D.C. there's palpable disappointment surrounding the personnel outcome for the most important position on the ice. A beautiful bride has run off; left behind is her ok-looking bridesmaid.
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