Well, I suppose it’s worse to be in Cleveland, where their star hoopster apparently is making love-eyes at the Big Apple. We know for sure where Alex Ovechkin will be in 2012. And 2018. Then again, one more goalie to play in front of like Jose Theodore, and the Gr8 may rethink the merits of that new pro hockey league in Russia. Could you blame him? When you’re a hockey town in training and you’re looking down on Cleveland, things ain’t so swell.
It’s almost criminally cruel to have seen vanquished what we did yesterday in mere hours’ time. Namely: the Capitals’ Stanley Cup aspirations for the next two years. Or perhaps — and here I’ll channel my inner Puck Daddy — you think a journeyman netminder is somehow guiding the Caps to glory between now and 2010? Please, pass me a little of the crystal meth you’re consuming. Or perhaps you believe Capitals’ GM George McPhee, who’d have you believe there’s precious little difference between Cristobal Huet and Jose Theodore, despite the fact that the Caps offered their new no. 1 netminder — in the 31-year-old prime of his career — the lavish term of two years. And if not sub.-no.1 money, mediocre no. 1 dough. That term is code for: Simeon, get your game on, fast, in Hershey.
The point isn’t that Theodore and Huet are about the same age and have won the same number of Stanley Cups (zero). Or that their respective numbers aren’t all that different. It’s that Theodore has been in the league a lot longer, has been booted out of cities for his play, has broken a lot of hearts, and requires an oppressive trap to try and hide his inconsistency. Which the Caps won’t be playing.
It’s that one has been an All Star lately. It’s that one would have made a real run at the Vezina had he arrived in D.C. earlier this past season. Huet got UFA-to-be dealt out of town by the Eastern conference’s no.1 team, donned a strange sweater and played behind stranger defenders in a crisis-every-night environment, for a rookie coach recently promoted from the ‘A,’ and . . . dominated the league.
Forgive me for wanting to sign up for a few more years of that. And while the Caps made a spirited attempt to do it, the cold hard reality is that there was no safety net for failure. More on that in a moment.
In Gabby’s get-up-and-go system, netminders get tested all right. It’s wise to have a talented and consistent netminder facing the necessary barrage¬†when it arrives. Of Theodore, it can be said that he possesses talent.
Theodore’s claim to fame was winning the Vezina and the Hart in the same season, a while ago, in 2001-02. The next season his goals-against average ballooned up by almost a goal a game. Almost a goal a game. He was allowed to wear pads that season. Then in 2003-04 his¬†goals-against plunged back down into elite status. Then, post lockout,¬†it skyrocketed back up — well¬†over a goal-a-game up, this time — to the point where a second Montreal Riot was fomenting before he was shipped out. The sigh-inducing numbers litany can be found here.
Let’s put it this way: news of the signing was about 45 minutes old yesterday when an MSM reporter who shall not be named emailed me and said, “We’ll take in an Ovechkin 5-goal game next season — in a 6-5 loss.”
I have a rule for playing the Because-he’s-now-wearing-our-sweater-unprecedented-consistency-and-elite-performance-will-miraculously-emerge game: with your wager go instead with the 10 years’ performance pattern¬†you know,¬†hedging on its hard lessons.
It is positively true that Cristobal Huet treated the Capitals’ organization shabbily during the prelude to and opening of summer free agency. It is also likely that the Capitals were in no position to match or beat the term and largesse Huet agreed to in Chicago. Be all that as it may, it’s nonetheless hard to deny the profound sense of something great and magical irrevocably being lost in yesterday’s stunning reversal of¬†city-enveloping puck¬†fortune — really the first such in the Bruce Boudreau Era.
It’s also hard to avoid recognizing this increasingly disturbing trendline: the planet’s greatest hockey talent really has yet to be accorded a netminding talent, in durable fashion, commensurate with his status. Gretzky had Fuhr. The Flower had Dryden. Lemieux had Barrasso. Bourque at the end had Roy. Ovie gets a geezing Olie, a smattering of backup BJ, a cup of coffee with Huet, and now JT the Propecia spokesman in pads. The hope inside the organization is that perhaps in two years’ time — after Ovie’s labored some five NHL seasons — one of Michael Neuvirth or Simeon Varlamov is ready.
Yesterday was the culmination of years of failure by the Capitals’ organization to adequately address an heir for an aging Kolzig. You cannot blame management for not trying — they obtained, for¬†aging Adam Oates, what they reasonably thought would be a worthy successor (first-round prospect Maxime Ouellet). By 2006 and Ouellet’s clear failure, they went into desperation mode, selecting two goalies among the first 34 players drafted in 2006. It appears as if those were strong selections. It also appears as if they occurred about four or five years too late. The rebuild, in front of the net, is over.
Late yesterday afternoon George McPhee attempted to equate the replacement of Huet with Theodore akin to that of Dainius Zubrus with Viktor Kozlov. But second- and third-line wingers are absolutely replaceable, every summer, every week of the calendar year. No. 1 netminders, not so much. Get it wrong in goal and every other move you make is academic.
Something truly magical happened to the Capitals late this past February when Cristobal Huet arrived here. In their negotiations with him, the Capitals clearly believed that. But in those they weren’t ready for business failure.
At least, not Rock the Red ready.
Get ready for firewagon — and abbreviated postseason — hockey.
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49 Comments
Wow. I love you guys, but I must say that I’m shocked by the negativity being expressed here between this post and the “dichotomy” post from yesterday.
One name highlights what could have been – Bryzgalov
CP2 — ouch!
Scott — admittedly the criticism is harsh, but if it’s credibility we seek, we have to call it as we see it, no? And understand that in this instance I’m an OFBer speaking only for me. My colleagues are comporting themselves with sunnier dispositions this morning.
Yeah, I don’t really dig the negativity, either. It’s not the end of the world. If all of the Caps’ Stanley Cup hopes were riding on Huet re-signing, well, then they were pretty tenuous hopes in the first place. The guy was a UFA who chose to chase top-dollar, and unfortunately for us, there were no as-good or better goalies available. That’s how it goes sometimes.
I definitely agree that the Caps are in a bed of their own making for not developing (or acquiring) an heir to Kolzig’s throne. It’s interesting that this is the first time the starting goalie situation has been unsettled in the offseason since way back in ‘94. But even then, having traded Beaupre, they still had Kolzig, Carey, and Dafoe all almost ready to become full-time NHL goalies. This year, not so much.
Holy hyperbolic over-reaction, Batman.
yea this is pretty negative man. Remember in JAN=FEB when we were winning a lot? Kolzig didn’t have the best numbers either. And Detroit got to the cup with Hasek/Osgood.
I’m sorry, but you’re flat-out overrating Huet. Your comparison between Ovie and LeBron is stretched to the breaking point. And while Theodore is hardly a great goalie, your argument that playoff runs with him between the pipes are impossible is, well, wrong.
You should post a note to self, to look back at this post in two years’ time. I think you will find that Huet has not been a god in Chicago, that Theodore has been tolerable for the Caps, and that our cap situation, and consequently the overall supporting cast for Ovie, is looking pretty healthy.
Why are you guys only picking and choosing stats? (I mean I know why, but be a lil more forthright) JT and Huet played the same hockey the second half of the season. JT is inconsistent @ best, and Huet is a 1/2 season goalie and has been all his career. Would this be the same post in 2 years when Lil Nicky and Sasha Semin are RFA’s and we can’t afford to resign both because of 36 y/o Huet’s $5.6M? Didn’t we learn our lesson with that kinda dough to that age keeper?
The guy only needs to be average and the Caps will be fine.
The Caps did screw the pooch when it comes to having a youngin’ ready though. Bad.
Grunthos: it would be interesting this summer to poll Habs’ fans and ask them who’d they’d rather have had in their postseason net this past spring, Price or Huet.
Sorry, P&B, but I think you’ve been spending too much time on the message boards. I don’t know where the Theodore hates eminates, but when you’ve reduced yourself to taking shots at him for using a hair growth product, I have to wonder. For starters, JT hasn’t been kicked out of cities (plural) for his play. Montreal got rid of him, but Colorado tried to resign him. On the other hand, Huet was kicked out of multiple cities (LA & Montreal) and the Canadiens let him go and replaced him with a raw rookie. And if Colorado’s trap is “oppressive” how come they allowed the same number of shots per game as the Caps last season? I could go on and ask why Huet’s last season is always pointed to as the reason for keeping him but Theodore’s season two years ago is the reason why he shouldn’t be signed, or that JT’s last 40-odd starts are statistically better than Huet’s (source: Japers), or that JT is 31 compared to Huet’s 33, or that Huet and his agent lied to the Caps and JT is thrilled to be here. Yeah, I could bring up all those points and a lot more, but really, why bother? For two days, you’ve been telling us that losing a guy who never played more than 52 games in a season has doomed the team’s progress. I’m not going to lie, I wanted the Caps to sign Huet but I think Theodore is a more than adequate replacement. And as we’ve seen with Detroit, you don’t have to have a great goalie to win a Cup. Let’s just say we agree to disagree and actually give Theodore a chance to perform before we throw in the towel on next season?
Wow, boo hoo. I mean yea it sucks we didnt get Huet. But it doesnt sound like he wanted to be here, if we are to believe GMGM, the Caps matched what Huet wanted.
I hardly think management will sit around if Theo cant get the job done.
You have already concluded that next season is a failure, that’s pretty sad. I think I just lost a little respect for this blog. You have no idea how Theo will fit in with this team, and you have no idea about his play. I dont come to this site to hear about sour grapes, I expect post with a little more perspective, seems like your just looking down a tunnel of despair.
Colorado sure did bend over backwards to retain JT, didn’t they, and the Colorado Sound of Silence accompanying his departure must be a fanbase’s wake, I suppose.
How short some memories. When this summer’s list of “coveted” UFA goalies was widely discussed we saw across the league Huet’s and (to a lesser extent) Dan Ellis’ names. Theodore’s, not so much.
The goalie deal on Tuesday definitely was a curve-ball but it will not be the last one foisted upon the Caps in the new season. Injuries, current and future, worry me more than the difference between Huet and Theodore.
As for OFB’s new-found negativity, go for it! As long as you are prepared to eat your words in January 09.
I am surprised by the ho-hum response to Olie’s new gig in Tampa. My how far the mighty have fallen from beloved lynch-pin of the franchise to ‘don’t let the door hit you on the way out’.
I’m on both sides of this. I’m hopeful that Theodore works out and that Huet was on a ride, as was the entire team.
However, to BS with 3.9, 4.2, et. al. when you knew, KNEW, his market was at least 5. The Caps should have been thrilled, THRILLED, that he was asking for only 3 years. So two months later on the day of free agency you agree to his price. Of course he is going to test the market at that point. Huge, HUGE, gaffe by McPhee/Leonsis. They could have had 3 years for $15m two months ago but their cheap, CHEAP instincts took over.
At least they made Theodore an offer and didn’t trade him for a scond-rounder and replace him with a rookie. (Sorry, couldn’t resist)
@JR-Cheap? You do realize Ted has authorized McPhee to spend to the cap, don’t you? What George did was Bargaining 101. If he had said OK, we’ll pay you $5 million per year back in April I have no doubt they would have said they actually wanted $5.5. Huet and his agent are snakes, plain and simple.
There’s no way that Huet was going to go all Nigel Tufnel in every baker’s dozen this upcoming season. The March Magic,wonderful though it was, was a one time thing. How exactly is Huet, winner of as many playoff series as me, head and shoulders above JT?
The Caps’ youthful D ought to improve this year through experience alone, if nothing else. If that happens and JT can control his rebounds better than Olie, the Caps will be fine.
When you factor in the additional dough which will hopefully fetch Feds in the fold, the difference between Huet and JT is marginal. The Caps may not win the Cup in the next two years, but it won’t be because Huet isn’t there.
Obviously, Huet was the first choice. However, behind the lip service, he didn’t want to be here (I would love to know why).
I don’t think we are orders of magnitude worse than we would have been with Huet.
We’re going to be fine.
… of course, that’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.
I come to this blog for level-headed commentary, and 99% of the time I get it and love it, but the hyperbolic gloom and doom in this post is really turning me off. I said it in the last goalie post and I’ll say it again – the reason the Avs switched to a trap was due to the fact that half their blue line was injured, not as a result of Theodore’s play in net.
Also, to whoever brought up Bryzgalov – the only season he’s had not playing in front of Anaheim’s defense was not overly impressive. The numbers were comparable to Huet and Theodore’s, and the Coyotes failed to make the playoffs.
I highly doubt they would have renged back in April or May. You could have even tried to say, how about 4.5 and if they said no then done the 5. And even if your suspicions were correct, you find out in April that this agent is a jerk, not on July 1.
Yes, the Caps will be spending a lot of money this year. But when you try to lowball a goalie, a UFA in a lean year for goalies, mind you, it comes across as cheap.
Wow, don’t know where to start with this post.
I don’t know that our hopes for a Cup where in good hands with either Huet or Theodore. I think people are waxing poetic about Huet due to the end of the season. To say you expect a Cup with a goalie who has never won a playoff series, is a stretch, IMO. When a team meets your terms and you leave anyways, that speaks volumes.
McPhee made a nice save with the Theodore signing, not sure what else they could have done except way overpay for Huet’s services for the next 4 seasons or go with a 1A/1B tandom of a Johnson/Auld type goalie.
JR – I sort of suspect that Huet’s agent would have found a way to string negotiations along until June 30, regardless. It wouldn’t be in his client’s interest to have the Caps shopping around for other goalies through trades or whatever. Their money is as good as anyone else’s.
And even if the Caps had decided early on that it wasn’t happening with Huet, what were their options? Theodore was probably always the second-best choice, unpalatable though it may be to some.
We have reached a proverbial ‘fork in the road’. We can all either get behind JT, welcome him to this magical ride we are all about to embark on; or we can all give GMGM a magical ride right out of town!! This is by far the best hockey blog for pure content, but P&B? are you serious?…should we be paying attention to the Avs fanbase reactions? There thoughts and feelings seem completely irrelevant from where I sit. To quote Gene Kranz (NASA Apollo Moon Program Mission Mgr—when confronted with the possible total loss of the crew of Apollo 13) “I think this will be our finest hour”. My only issue with this whole ordeal is I think we overpaid for JT…me wishes we had him for 3.5M so we can really make a run at that stud defenseman (yes you Orpik).
-a frustrated optimist i am
I don’t mean to pile on here, but this is ridiculous. Abbreviated postseason? Theodore won a postseason series last season, Huet didn’t. Theodore has won 4, Huet 0. I don’t necessarily think Theodore is better than Huet, but I’m not sure how you can definitively say he’s worse.
Unlike Huet, Theodore has won a Vezina and a Hart trophy. He was pretty good down the stretch last year (just like Huet). He collapsed in the playoffs with the flu, to the eventual champions, after winning a playoff series in sterling fashion (unlike Huet). His team tried to keep him but he left for a better offer, and they ended up signing their contingency plan (sound familiar?).
Huet is now being paid more than Brodeur for the next 4 years and he has never had a fully healthy season. It sucks that he wouldn’t stay here and keep the magic going, but Huet decided he didn’t want that. Instead we have a former MVP who thinks he’s regained his form and is excited to be here. It’s a better situation that bending over the barrel to keep Huet, who clearly had no real desire to stay.
The point is folks, we’ll never really know because this negotiation was grossly mishandled.
Hope Huet tears a groin and Theo kicks ass. Oh and Bring on Kolzig, LOLOLOL.
I’ll also add that there was a widespread rumor that Mrs Huet did not particularly care for the DC metro area, and we all know how those things tend to turn out (*coughNylandercough*).
It was grossly mishandled by Huet’s agent, I’ll give you that. That’s if you define mishandled as manipulative and deceptive. Frankly, I’m done with this discussion. Like Olie, Huet’s gone and he ain’t coming back. Theodore’s the new guy in town and I’m behind him 100%. (No way I’m getting in front of all the slings and arrows he’s going to take)
Rhetoric aside, we have certain facts presented to us…
Cristobal Huet intended to test “the market.” He did. If reports are correct, the Caps were presented an opportunity to match the Chicago offer. The Caps did not. So, the Caps did not think Huet was worth an extra year and $625K a year over the term; Huet did not think Washington was worth a similar discount from his market value. That, as they say, is business.
Huet has never played more than 52 games in an NHL regular season (last year) and has played more than half his team’s games twice in five seasons. 13 games is an audition; five years is a trend. I’m inclined to put more credibility on long trends. Huet is not a slam dunk solution, either for Washington or Chicago.
Theodore has never been what you’d really call a “workhorse,” either. In 11 seasons, he’s played as many as 67 games twice. Based on his history, he looks to be a 55-game or so goalie.
Theodore was 20-11-2, 2.32, .917 over his last 33 decisions last year. The GAA and save percentage numbers were consistent with his full-year numbers. It doesn’t compare with Huet’s 11-2-0, 1.63, .936 over his last 12 decisions, but Huet doesn’t compare with those numbers, either. No goalie does over the long term.
Much is made of the Caps drafting a goalie every year, but (with all due respect to the young men) it seems more an afterthought. Here is what the Caps did in the McPhee era:
1997: Curtis Cruickshank (4th round/#89 overall), Pierre Luc-Therrien (8/200)
1998: Jomar Cruz (2/49), Rastislav Stana (7/193)
1999: none
2000: none
2001: Robert Mueller (9/275)
2002: Maxime Daigneault (2/59), Robert Gherson (5/145)
2003: none
2004: Justin Mrazek (8/230)
2005: Daren Machesney (5/143)
2006: Simeon Varlamov (1/21), Michal Neuvirth (2/34)
2007: Dan Dunn (6/154)
2008: Braden Holtby (4/93)
With the exception of Varlamov and Neuwirth, there isn’t much there to suggest an effort to groom the successor to Kolzig. The criticism is, in my opinion, well founded here.
On balance, if I had to choose Huet or Theodore even up, I’d pick Theodore. But, things aren’t even up, either. Theodore saves the Caps $1.125M in cap room to re-sign Fedorov or Laich or pursue another player. I do agree though, that if the goaltending positon is messed up, you can’t redeem the deficiency with production from the other positions (i.e., more scoring). Not even this NHL allows that (see: Tampa).
Theodore is an imperfect solution. While not quite a “lemon” out of which the Caps are hoping to make lemonade, neither is Theodore the “apple” of anyone’s eye. The best that can be said is that he has it in him to be an elite goaltender — he has demonstrated that — but he has a lot of proving to do.
Me?…I’m not so much pessimistic as I am skeptical. I’m looking for him to show me.
Just like last year, I’m thinking that going into the season, the most important player on this roster might be Brent Johnson. Even in a perfect world, given Theodore’s history, Johnson might get 20-25 decisions. He only had 17 decisions last year (7-8-2), but that was in part a product of the Caps climibing into contention and Huet being obtained.
For the love of Mary people…can we PLEASE STOP PANICKING?
I totally agree with grapejoos and Caps#90. Someone explain to me why we were assured a SC with Huet (who has never won a postseason series) and now we have no chance with a younger goaltender that has won multiple series? I really dont see a drp off from huet to theodore. This deal will allow us to keep Backstrom and Semin in 2 years.
b.orr: if you are done with this discussion, why do you keep commenting?
as annoyed as i am with the huet situation that has no bearing on my hope that theodore is successful and that we will forget this mess by october.
peerless: if brent johnson is at all important, repeat after me, WE-ARE-F——.
I think there is a lot of over-reacting going on here. Huet was not our savior and if he doesn’t want to be here I don’t want him here. If we had matched Chicago’s offer then everyone here would be complaining about the amount of money and the length of the term. Theodore will be fine and may even surprise us. If he’s excited to be here I’m excited to welcome him. There’s a lot to be said for the locker room and how these guys play off each other so who knows maybe playing with a guy like Ovie will light a fire under his butt!
Let’s give JT a chance to prove he can regain his form. 4 years at 22mil was just too much for the Caps to spend on a goalie right now. It JT starts to suck, then GMGM can go out and get a goalie(Roloson, Fernandez, etc..) Look at the goalies that have played in the Stanley cup finals since the lockout, there aren’t very many whom I would consider top 10 goalies. Let’s give JT a chance, if he implodes we will find something.
The reason I say Johnson is important is that a team with Stanley Cup ambitions cannot afford a backup goaltender who won’t give them at least a .500 effort. When we looked at goaltending last year, here’s what we found about backups among playoff teams the previous year:
If one looks at the 16 teams that made the playoffs last year, here are the principal backups and their records:
Buffalo: Ty Conklin (16 games, 3-5-2, 3.34, .879)
New Jersey: Scott Clemmensen (6 games, 1-1-2, 3.15, .889)
Atlanta: Johan Hedberg (21 games, 9-4-2, 2.89, .898)
Ottawa: Martin Gerber (29 games, 15-9-3, 2.78, .906)
Pittsburgh: Jocelyn Thibault (22 games, 8-7-2, 2.83, .909)
NY Rangers: Kevin Weekes (14 games, 4-6-2, 3.39, .879)
Tampa Bay: Marc Denis (44 games, 17-18-2, 3.19, .883)
NY Islanders: Mike Dunham (19 games, 4-10-3, 3.74, .889)
Detroit: Chris Osgood (21 games, 11-3-6, 2.38, .907)
Anaheim: Ilya Bryzgalov (27 games, 10-8-6, 2.47, .907)
Vancouver: Dany Sabourin (9 games, 2-4-1, 3.70, .906)
Nashville: Chris Mason (40 games, 24-11-4, 2.38, .925)
San Jose: Vesa Toskala (38 games, 26-10-1, 2.35, .908)
Dallas: Mike Smith (23 games, 12-5-2, 2.23, .912)
Minnesota: Niklas Backstrom (41 games, 23-8-6, 1.97, .929)
Calgary: Jamie McLennan (9 games, 3-5-1, 3.60, .895)
…by and large, you can’t have poor backup goaltending. I thought Johnson pulled his weight last year. He will have to be at least as good this year.
I’d say there is a difference between meeting expectations (going .500 from the backup slot playing 20 games) and Johnson suddenly being the most important player. We can’t really afford for JT to be sucky or for Ovie to dip to 35 goals, either, eh? Just sayin.
To reiterate: settling for mediocrity in net is a formula for mediocrity in the standings. I made no claims of Huet’s being enshrinened in the Hall in 10 years’ time; rather, that auditioning under the most extraordinary of circumstances (lose once and we’re done), the man brought it. The team with the better goalie wins better than 50 percent of postseason series. In today’s Eastern conference, the Caps are staring out at Cam Ward, MA Fleury, H. Lundmark, and likely Carey Price soon joining their club. That’s just in their conference. Theodore, I allege, is this week causing no sleepless nights among our enemies.
However, in light of his treatment of the Caps when they were uniquely vulnerable at his position, I agree hereafter to use, exclusively, the term, “Freedom Fries.”
Lastly, a mid-summer’s flareup over free agency is a much-needed bit of enlivening, but there was a sumputous photo of a heart-stoppingly beautiful skating pond published here yesterday, and basically all of you pucksheads allowed it to pass unremarked upon. Shame on you.
“Freedom Fries”
Excellent.
The point that was made about who the fans would rather see in goal is both pointless and worthless.
I have no doubt that the fans would rather see Huet (as would I), as would the Capitals organization. If they didn’t want him, they wouldn’t have offered Huet what he asked for (what Huet thought he was worth). I don’t think who the preferred goalie is or was makes any difference now.
As was previously stated, it is business. Huet opted for the bucks (who can blame him?) and the Caps opted for a shorter term deal. I suspect if you asked GMGM would the Caps have gone for a 3 year $5.6M deal (annually), they might have gone for it. The term of the deal was the major issue.
However, four years is just too much commitment to an aging goalie. GMGM has to think about four years down the road. I don’t blame him. I think it took guts to make a decision that many would see as costing the Caps a star goalie. I doubt he is worried about perception.
Give the man credit for not overpaying into the future. Is that another way of saying preserving the future? The goalie situation is going to be tenuous at best but I got to believe GMGM isn’t done yet.
I will be surprised if he doesn’t strengthen the blueline before its over. And for all of you that say that it doesn’t matter how good the blueline is if the goalie is soft, I would say that without a good blueline even the best goalie has got problems.
It will be an interesting season…
This all really shouldn’t be a surprise. Huet, 33 yrs old, perennial backup….makes good. He is at the age where he was possibly looking at perhaps his last contract…and he wanted to cash in. 4 yrs, even 3 yrs was going to be too long for the Caps. GMGM might have bit even at 2 yrs/12M, who knows…..agree with the last post….it is sort of meaningless now. But make no mistake, GMGM did a great service to the Caps by perhaps saving upwards of ~10M over the next 4 yrs. Who can say at this point what that means in future negotiations with Semin, Backstrom…or even possibly this yrs offers to Feds, Laich, Mo, Fehr, and Gordon; or any possible future free agent we might not have otherwise been able to consider.
As long as Theo is decent, then I think the Caps will be just fine.
Huet played great down the stretch, but so far in two playoff series has been mediocre.
Either way, when it comes down to this teams fortunes, they start and end with a number 8. I’m not saying that goaltending is utterly unimportant, because it is worth considering, but we’re paying someone else to steal playoff series.
Why hasn’t anyone brought up the fact that maybe Cristobal Huet just didn’t want to be here. There were some people talking about the fact that his wife didn’t want stay in DC at the end of last season, right? So maybe, just maybe, Huet wouldn’t have signed with the Caps, even if they had gone all the way to four years and $5.6 million. Why hasn’t anyone considered that? I listened to GMGM’s press thing on the team website from yesterday. He said the team even considered going above $5 million, but not both above $5 million and four years. I’m not sure we can skewer the Caps and GMGM if Huet wasn’t willing to come back, even the money was the same.
Also, who else would you people want in net if Huet wasn’t available. Conklin? Raycroft? Auld? Give me a break. If the Caps met Huet’s demands, and he didn’t want to be here, then Theodore was clearly, clearly the next-best option. Why are you ripping the Caps for him signing a two-year deal? Is it their fault he wanted to take a shorter deal as motivation to earn a bigger deal in two years? It just looks to me like a lot of this angst is misdirected and improperly directed.
Lets rank the 5 goalies that P&B mentions in his earlier comment…
07-08 Career
GAA SV% GAA SV%
Cam Ward 5 5 5 5 (.897)WOW!
MA Fleury 2 1 4 4
Lundvist 1 3 1 2
C. Price 4 2 2 1
JT 3 4 3 3
The guy ain’t that bad…throw out his two years of sub-.900 and he’s a pretty solid goalie. BTW, I didn’t realize how much Cam Ward really sucked. Maybe the ‘Canes should have signed Theo.
Wait lets look at things in the proper perspective. Huet was traded by Montreal…he was not there long term solution…they think Price is (even though that did not work out for them in this year’s playoffs. How much did Huet like being a Capital, just like Kolzig, I don’t think he liked the BB style of play. Huet wanted a longer bigger contract to guard him from those oft injury seasons that he has and plus his family wanted to be closer to home. I think Chicago made a big mistake. They now have $14.5 million in goal salary for this season, while the Caps have $7.5 in goalies with two young ones in the wings.
I think those of us who have watched hockey enough, know the all goalies go through streaks. Huet gave us a great one the last 15 games of the season but the playoffs were not something as special. Also how much did he play better because of the spirit of the players around him. Did Feds make a big difference with him as it did on Semin? Did Green and Morrisons passion rub off on Huet? Finally is the signing of Campbell by the Blackhawks show Huet that they are a more defense minded team then the Caps?
I think GMGM has done a stellar job the last couple of years. I don’t think this Huet deal was anything that he could have forseen.
Finally if fans lose their passion for this team because a rent a goalie left town, then give your tickets to those who want to see this young team continue to grow up and become a force in the NHL.
well yeah, it sucks to not have huet. but would we really want a goalie who didn’t want to play for us?
This time you’ve got it wrong. The Right deal with good guy who really wants to be here is far better than the wrong deal with a good guy who obviously doesn’t care where he plays as long as he gets the most dollars.
Congrats to Tyler Green for beating my to the obligatory Batman reference here.
I have to say that I think this is a serious overreaction. GMGM signed Theodore to 2 years because of the potential stud coming up behind him. Huet had a couple of good months, but before that he was on the outs in Montreal. The Habs gave him away for a SECOND ROUND PICK! Unless they are out of their minds, they know something we don’t.
Theodore is the reason Colorado made the playoffs last year. He wants to play here and he has something to prove.
I hope he shuts us all up.
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