Theodore or Roy
Once upon a time in a hockey town named habsland there was a goalie trade. No not that one the other one. Vezina and Hart winner Jose Theodore was traded away for David Aebischer. Nobody blinked. Little reaction by the french media for one of their own being traded away. Everyone more or less let go a sigh of relief.
Jose Theodore was a Memorial cup winning goalie drafted by the habs in the second round. He also married into a quebecois entertainment family and was the toast of the town for a year or two. Theodore took the long road to the NHL. He played over two seasons in the AHL where his numbers were average at best. During this same period, the habs had Tomas Vokoun in their system who would become a starting goalie for several NHL teams.
Theodore was given preference in the habs organization and he slowly progressed until he became the habs starting goalie. After his Hart and Vezina winning season in 2001-2002, the accolades followed including a sizeable long term contract. Then he retrogressed and retrogressed until the above mentioned trade. Some of the issues were pure bad luck like being taken off the Canadian Olympic team for using a banned substance which turned out to be propecia. He also slipped on an icy balcony and was injured long term. Finally, members of his family were accused of illegal activities which left a black mark on Theodore’s reputation at the time. His play had deteriorated before the injury when it seemed that he was struggling with any type of shot and looked like a shell of his former self. Since Bob Gainey was the GM and he garnered respect from his playing days, there was little or no outcry about the trade even from the french media or public.
In the mother of all ironies when Theodore won the Vezina and Hart trophy, Michel Therrien was the head coach. A year later he would be fired and Claude Julien replaced him. Theodore did have one more decent season before he signed a 3 year pact in 2005. After signing the contract all the troubles began. Claude Julien was stuck with a failing Jose Theodore. Julien did not survive the Theodore fiasco and was fired before Theodore was traded. Sound familiar?
The reason for this blog is not to recount ancient Jose Theodore history but to discuss the Carey Price conundrum. Carey Price cannot be traded he has a no movement clause. Therefore the only way he is traded is if he waives it. I can only see him doing that if it appears his goaltending woes are due to a deficient habs defence. If that is the case then it is likely he would want to go to a team on the cusp of winning a stanley cup. However, any team interested in picking up his gargantuan contract has to think they are close to the cup and also have to have faith that Price can regain his Vezina winning form.
So is Carey Price the Patrick Roy or Jose Theodore of the present habs? Unlike Price, Patrick Roy had already been to the Stanley Cup final three times and won two Stanley Cups before he was traded. All those teams, average at best, were first and foremost led by Roy’s heroics. Theodore never did as well in the playoffs. He had some short term runs where he eliminated a team but nowhere close to going all the way and winning the cup. Carey Price has won the Olympic Gold for Canada but as a a hab his playoff record resembles more Jose Theodore.
Jose Theodore was a Memorial cup winning goalie drafted by the habs in the second round. He also married into a quebecois entertainment family and was the toast of the town for a year or two. Theodore took the long road to the NHL. He played over two seasons in the AHL where his numbers were average at best. During this same period, the habs had Tomas Vokoun in their system who would become a starting goalie for several NHL teams.
Theodore was given preference in the habs organization and he slowly progressed until he became the habs starting goalie. After his Hart and Vezina winning season in 2001-2002, the accolades followed including a sizeable long term contract. Then he retrogressed and retrogressed until the above mentioned trade. Some of the issues were pure bad luck like being taken off the Canadian Olympic team for using a banned substance which turned out to be propecia. He also slipped on an icy balcony and was injured long term. Finally, members of his family were accused of illegal activities which left a black mark on Theodore’s reputation at the time. His play had deteriorated before the injury when it seemed that he was struggling with any type of shot and looked like a shell of his former self. Since Bob Gainey was the GM and he garnered respect from his playing days, there was little or no outcry about the trade even from the french media or public.
In the mother of all ironies when Theodore won the Vezina and Hart trophy, Michel Therrien was the head coach. A year later he would be fired and Claude Julien replaced him. Theodore did have one more decent season before he signed a 3 year pact in 2005. After signing the contract all the troubles began. Claude Julien was stuck with a failing Jose Theodore. Julien did not survive the Theodore fiasco and was fired before Theodore was traded. Sound familiar?
The reason for this blog is not to recount ancient Jose Theodore history but to discuss the Carey Price conundrum. Carey Price cannot be traded he has a no movement clause. Therefore the only way he is traded is if he waives it. I can only see him doing that if it appears his goaltending woes are due to a deficient habs defence. If that is the case then it is likely he would want to go to a team on the cusp of winning a stanley cup. However, any team interested in picking up his gargantuan contract has to think they are close to the cup and also have to have faith that Price can regain his Vezina winning form.
So is Carey Price the Patrick Roy or Jose Theodore of the present habs? Unlike Price, Patrick Roy had already been to the Stanley Cup final three times and won two Stanley Cups before he was traded. All those teams, average at best, were first and foremost led by Roy’s heroics. Theodore never did as well in the playoffs. He had some short term runs where he eliminated a team but nowhere close to going all the way and winning the cup. Carey Price has won the Olympic Gold for Canada but as a a hab his playoff record resembles more Jose Theodore.
The question of whether Price remains a hab is exacerbated by his contract. If Price has a string of poor seasons no GM in his right mind will want that contract. With the porous habs defence can Price maintain his reputation as a great goalie to entice another team? Undeniably watching Price at times, the question about trading him becomes almost obscene. Some games he seems to have his Vezina winning swagger back. However, at times his nerves frayed by the giveaway defence he seems unable to stop a beach ball and for many the question becomes how do we unload this guy and who wants him? At this point Price is becoming an enigma and nobody is sure who will show up the next game. Your move Bergy.
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