July 02, 2008
Caps Hope Theodore Can Fill Huet's Pads
I spent yesterday at work, being fed text messages from my hockey buddy about what was going on with the free agent frenzy. Work became so busy I lost track of my messaging, and returned to a double-barrel shot of news: "Caps get Theodore" and "Huet goes to Chicago."
I was stunned. By all accounts the Caps were fairly close to re-signing Huet, and it sounded like he wanted to stay in DC. But no, he bolted for the big bucks and extra years in Chicago.
Huet was the reason the Caps made the playoffs last year. There's no way around it. He came into the District and finished the season 11-2 with a 1.63 goals against average and a .936 save percentage. Unfortunately, in addition to endearing him to the city, that kind of performance gave him additional leverage in any dealings.
I was a fan of Huet. He was a stellar goalie for the short time he was here (not so much against Philly) and handled himself quite well in the locker room with reporters. He was quiet but confident, and more often than not would be found deflecting praise to his teammates.
With that in mind I was dubious as to why the Caps would fail to offer him more money, especially since it was less than what Olie made last year (5.635 mil instead of 7). But fortunately I stumbled across some wisdom put forth by our friend Japers' Rink as well as The Red Skate.
I'll be honest, I didn't exactly follow the Avalance last season past knowing they brought back some old favorites and made the playoffs. Fortunately Red Skate let us in on a little secret: Theodore was just as good as Huet down the stretch last season.
For those upset that Huet isn’t between the pipes for the home team at Verizon this fall, justify your belief that it is more likely that Huet will carry his dominant play from March of last season into this coming season than it is likely that Théodore (12-4-1 with two shutouts, a 2.27 GAA, and a .917 SV% in his final 18 starts) will do, essentially, the same. They seem exceedingly comparable netminders, and are of similar age as well.
Looking at the numbers Huet wasn't exactly head and shoulders above Theodore. His GAA was far lower in his last 13 games than in Jose's last 18, but hey, wins are wins, and they were pretty damn close.
Plus, Theodore has a few more accomplishments to his name that Huet can't match. As Japers' points out,
Jose Theodore has played in more than 52 games in a single season before (five times) and has won a playoff series (four times, in fact). Jose Theodore has won a Hart Trophy and a Vezina Trophy. Jose Theodore has scored a goal, failed a drug test, and probably nailed Paris Hilton.
So there you have it. Theodore is better, and apparently way cooler. Now he does have his hot and cold streaks, but with the way the Caps offense is geared, as long as he doesn't let in a million goals he should be alright.
Huet was a star for the short time he was here, but now it's time to get the spotlight ready for another stellar goalie.
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Jose Theodore's agent called, he says thanks.
Posted by:
at July 11, 2008 04:57 PM
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