| 18 May 2009
With the offseason comes endless speculation on who will stay and who will go, and after Simeon Varlamov's incredible playoff performance Jose Theodore is at the forefront of the "who we should ditch?" talks.
Let's face it, Jose Theodore's performance has not lived up to his contract amount ($4.5 million) or what we expected of him. Despite a strong second half of the season, Theodore was downright shaky to start the year, and his only playoff performance didn't provide enough confidence to warrant another start. He has a nasty habit of allowing soft goals at the most inopportune times, and while he didn't show many signs of it he can be a streaky goalie instead of a solid one.
So would it surprise you if I said we shouldn't be so quick to trade the former Hart Trophy winner away? While it would make sense financially to get rid of Theodore's contract, it doesn't necessarily mean we need to get rid of it now.
If the Capitals were to trade away Theodore, the Caps' goaltending depth chart would look like this: Varlamov, Neuvirth, and Braden Holtby. Daren Machesney is a RFA, and Brent Johnson is UFA this summer.
Simeon Varlamov is still developing. He's developing rapidly, but he hasn't played a complete NHL season and he still has a ways to go in his conditioning and knowledge of the North American game before he's truly the goaltender the Capitals want him to be. Michal Neuvirth has been impressive in Hershey, and his back-to-back shutouts in the AHL playoffs that led Hershey past Wilkes-Barre suggest that while Varlamov is the clear leader Neuvy is not going to just let the Russian steal his chance to play in the NHL. We haven't seen enough of Braden Holtby at the professional level to say much about him and, depending on how training camp goes, he'll either be the Bears backup or the Stingrays starter.
Now assuming that Johnson is re-signed, the Caps would be relying on two second-year goalies, another rookie, and a goalie who just exited a hip surgery (we all know how great those are for goalies.)
So what harm, other than strapping the Caps for cash on July 1, does Theodore really pose to the Caps?
Varlamov could be a dud, get hurt, or just not be ready for the rigorous NHL season. Neuvirth may actually be the goalie of the future, and he may have to duel with Varlamov between call-ups over the season to prove it. Though Johnson's hip will be recovered by the time the 2009-2010 season starts, do you really want to rely on him to carry the Capitals through an 82-game season?
George McPhee and the Caps need to approach the free agent period as if Theodore will still be a member of the team, rather than dump him for a few low draft picks. For any of the mentioned reasons listed above, Theodore is still a valuable player to the Capitals, though obviously, not the most desirable.
The bridge to the next generation of Capitals goaltending has not yet been completed, and while it may be solidified by December or November of next season, it's best to play it safe with Theo now. Let him come to camp, compete for the job, possibly win it, and then trade him when it's obvious that the young goalies' times have come.
Theo's contract is hampering the Caps, but he's not the only contract the Caps could shed to open cap space (looking at you, Nylander).
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
