Jose Theodore's career trend
By Mike Heika, Dallas Stars Blog, Sept. 20 ,2008 "Season preview, Washington Capitals"
The Washington Capitals had an amazing second half to the season last year, thanks in large part to MVP Alexander Ovechkin and coach of the year Bruce Boudreau.
Can the dynamic duo pull off another Southeast Division championship? It won't be near as easy.
Goalie Cristobal Huet left to sign a big free agent contract with Chicago, and Capitals GM George McPhee went with a bit of a stretch in signing Jose Theodore to try to jump in and continue the magic that Huet started. That, in itself, makes the Capitals a bit of a wild card.
But in what could be the weakest division in hockey and the most difficult to predict, I'm going with the Capitals to keep things moving forward.
The big reason, of course, is Ovechkin. Simply put, the 23-year-old winger is a dynamic force of skill and energy. His enthusiasm for the game is infectious, and his ability, without question, puts him among the top five players in the league. Ovechkin had 65 goals and 112 points last season to lead the NHL in both categories, and he did that while playing with two different center icemen. He started the year with Michael Nylander, but ended it with rookie Nicklas Backstrom when Nylander was sidelined by a shoulder injury.
In both cases, Ovechkin made his center a better player.
Interesting comment was left there:
Posted by Frederick Senkeeto @ 4:53 PM Sat, Sep 20, 2008
Hey Mike,
Caps have a great skill and speed up front, they could get a little more physical on defense, but they do get the puck up in a hurry.
Jose Theodore's career has basically be one year up (2002,2004,2006,2008) and one year down (2001,2003,lockout,2007) and that trend would suggest that this year would be a bad year.
I didn't follow Jise Theodore, if someone did, please leave a comment if it is true.
Update:
From Sabres blog, Sept. 21, 2008 by PeterS "Eastern Conference - Who will make the playoffs?"
Washington Capitals - My 2nd favorite team next to my beloved Sabres. I love watching Ovechkin and the boys play. Their inexperience bounced them out of the playoffs early last year, but that won’t slow them down much. Goaltending could continue to be a problem for such an offensive minded team, but I have little doubt the taste they got last year will bring them back. Playoff bound? Yes
So here’s your list - take it to the bank and see how much the teller will give you for it. My guess is its worth as much there as it is here. Two new teams from previous year, Buffalo and Tampa.
Playoff teams:
Buffalo Sabres
Montreal Canadiens
Boston Bruins
Philadelphia Flyers
New Jersey Devils
Pittsburgh Penguins
Tampa Bay Lightning
Washing Capitals
Donate to The One Fund - Boston 2013
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3 comments:
ok ugh im so tired of this argument. first of all last year we had Kolzig for the majority of the season. Huet had to do the amazing more then halfway through the season, and do the impossible he did. Huet was awesome and did superb. Now we have Theodore who last year might I remind people carried his team into the second round of playoffs with an injury ridden team that had no stasny, no forsberg, no svatos and no smyth. those are four key players on the avalanche team. Huet had to come in and lift up our team Theo has the whole season to keep us up. I like those odds. so you tell me, are you still worried?
and if that doesn;'settle your mind here are his some notable stats from last season
2007-08: Started 20 of Colorado’s last 21 games and 26 of the last 28…Was 12-4-1 with a 2.27 GAA in his last 18 starts (1029 mins, 39 GA)…Went 21-13-2 in his last 37 regular season starts with a 2.24 GAA and .919 Sv% (978 shots, 79 goals, 2119 minutes)…Allowed two goals or less in 23 of those 37 appearances, including one goal or less on 11 occasions and three shutouts…Owned the NHL's fifth lowest goals-against average (2.24) after January 1st…Sits 10th among active netminders in appearances (444) and 14th in wins (183)…Was 6-1 in shootouts this season, stopping 78.5% of his attempts (28 att, 6 GA)…9-2 career record in shootouts, allowing just seven goals on 40 attempts (.825 Sv%)…
Thanks, Marge, appreciate it. Goalies are special species, you never know, that's for sure. :-) Hopefully Theodore will be at his best, we need it.
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