In Defense of Jose
As I’m sure everyone knows, the playoffs are fast approaching.
Duh.
So naturally these days every talking head, every so-called expert, every hockey fan who pays at best minimal attention to the Caps, has once again hopped on the “bash Jose Theodore” bandwagon.
I consider myself a fairly biased person at heart, but I can put aside my homerish tendencies and call a spade a spade when a player on my team isn’t up to par. I could admit when Olie let in too many soft goals last year or when Sylvain Cote made a boneheaded play back in the day. And I have an incomprehensible love for Tom Poti yet can fully admit that he’s been consistently bad lately.
…seriously, did he and Erskine have a Freaky Friday moment where they crossed their fingers, closed their eyes and muttered “I wish I could be him”?
And yet I cannot for the life of me figure out why every single article I read about the Caps and their playoff chances goes something like this – “the Caps have a great team with Ovechkin and player X, Y and Z but the question mark continues to be Jose Theodore”. The consensus seems to be that a very talented and dynamic team is hindered by one man who will derail their Cup hopes, send them plummeting to a first round sweep at the hands of whomever they may play and force GMGM into unemployment and a month-long drinking binge.
The venerable Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette had this to say:
“The ideal matchup [for Montreal] would be against the Washington Capitals and that’s the team the Canadiens would have played if the season ended after last night’s game.
The Caps have a potent 1-2-3 punch with forwards Alexander (The Great) Ovechkin and Alexander Semin and defenceman Mike Green. But this is the time of year when defence comes to the fore and the Caps have suspect goaltending in the person of former Canadien José Theodore and a shaky defence corps.” (h/t Japers’ Rink)
I love Pat Hickey. I respect Pat Hickey. But in this moment, Pat Hickey is a moron.
For one thing, the man behind that “suspect goaltending” not only dragged his Habs into the playoffs multiple times but also backstopped them to a seven game upset over #1 seeded Boston in 2004. He also won the Hart and Vezina as a Canadien…how soon they forget.
And for another, as much as I root for the Habs, I’m not sure that anyone who has played the way they have behind goalies who have been consistently inconsistent have a leg to stand on when calling another team’s goalie “suspect” and another team’s defense “shaky”. Especially when that other team has taken three of the four games in the season series (including a shutout by the “suspect” goalie).
Then there’s former Cap and general Cap-hater Keith Jones, who had this little nugget – which apparently was his way of throwing his support behind Green for the Norris (um, thanks but no thanks, Jonesy):
“The only defenceman for the Washington Capitals is [Mike] Green and and he should win the Norris because he has no help on the blueline. Milan Jurcina is the second highest scoring defenceman on the Capitals with 14 points and the Bruins gave him away. Tom Poti is the third highest scoring defenceman with 13 points. Green is +24 on a team without a goaltender.” (h/t Peerless)
That’s just harsh – Jose’s got pretty decent numbers for a guy who apparently isn’t even playing his position. I could go into more detail about what’s wrong with Jonesy’s statement but…come on, it’s Jonesy. Does anyone really listen to him anyway?
At any rate, there are a million identical statements I could dig up from assorted power rankings and playoff predictions and the like. They all say the same, revisionist history things – conveniently forgetting that Theodore was the reason the Avalanche won a playoff series they had no business winning last year, conveniently disregarding the times his Caps forgot to play defense in front of him, conveniently ignoring the fact that his numbers have gone up as the season has gone on and that goalies with similar numbers take no such heat.
Regardless of how you may feel about Jose’s potential to lead this team to the Cup or even past the first round, remember this – goaltending can win Cups, but it doesn’t have to.
Is Chris Osgood the greatest goalie to ever walk the earth? No, but he’s won 3 Stanley Cups because the teams in front of him have been as solid as they come. What about Ray Emery, is he Roy-like? Um…no. And yet an Ottawa Senators team that was arguably much less talented than this year’s Caps made it to the Finals on the back of a goalie who is absolutely less talented than Theodore.
And what about the other goalies in the field right now? We’ve touched on Osgood, who is having a horrific year even by his standards. Philly is going with a tandem of Niittymaki and Biron based on who happens to suck less on any given night. Cam Ward has been playing out of his mind lately but he’ll also head into the playoffs having played just about every game down the stretch. Marc-Andre Fleury is…well, let’s just say a battle of the neurotic, rebound-flinging French Canadian goalies would be one to watch should the Caps and Pens clash at all this spring.
Of the starting goaltenders kicking around right now, the only potentially scary ones are Lundqvist, Luongo and Brodeur – and while these are great talents, they’re backing up what are in my opinion decent but not spectacular teams. These Devils are not Scott Stevens’ Devils; the Rangers are more like the 2004 breed than the 1994 breed. The Canucks…are the Canucks.
The bottom line is that, for now, I’m putting my faith in Theodore to give as much as he can and in the team in front of him to actually play defense as well as they can. Whether they prove me right or not remains to be seen – but whether this team succeeds lies in the hands of all 20 guys on the roster, not merely on the head of the man between the pipes.
Just let Theo prove them all wrong. Trust me, he can. These analysts are supposed to stir the pot, get reactions, and then when they are wrong go “oh well, it doesn’t matter!” They’re like weathermen, but with even less accountability.
What I’m more concerned about is the coming Varlamov/Johnson situation.
Comment by Capitals Kremlin — April 6, 2009 @ 4:55 pm
Let us not forget, Mr. Jones also played for the Flyers. And maybe took one too many hits to the head.
Comment by NS2NOVA — April 6, 2009 @ 5:17 pm
Great article…totally agree
Comment by Dan — April 6, 2009 @ 7:01 pm
I’ve said it for months: there is going to be a LONG line of people owing Theo an apology before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Comment by baltimore caps fan — April 6, 2009 @ 8:01 pm
Part of me might be a pot stirer, part might just like the funny pictures of Theo on the interweb. Either way he is who we have and is no stranger to the playoffs. As much as we rely upon our “young guns”, I believe the vetrans of the team will best help prepare Gabby and crew for what lies ahead. Jose is a previous Vezina and Hart Memorial Trophy winner – which they don’t hand out in cracker jack boxes.
Well written and well noted. Keep up the good work.
Comment by Krafty — April 6, 2009 @ 9:16 pm
It was a good season. Hopefully, Jose can carry us reasonably far in the playoffs this year and the rest of the team do well.
We still have three more games.
By the way, love that picture of Semin that’s in the frame for your blog. (He’s really improved in the defensive department and has almost identical stats to Green.)
Comment by CapsFan1975 — April 6, 2009 @ 9:39 pm
[...] A View From the Cheap Seats » In Defense of Jose [...]
Pingback by Goalie News Tuesday April 7, 2009 | News | Hockey Goalie Resource by Goaltenders for Goaltenders — April 6, 2009 @ 10:58 pm
but whether this team succeeds lies in the hands of all 20 guys on the roster, not merely on the head of the man between the pipes.
Thank you. I have said this all season long. This is a “TEAM” effort & sport, not an individual. I too support Jose. Great article.
Comment by sha1 — April 7, 2009 @ 1:07 pm
Simeon Varlamov can carry us further than Jose today. He was undefeated with a GAA under 2.0 for the Caps this season until the defense scored the first 3 goals on him against Buffalo (as quoted by Boudreau). If the defense plays ADEQUATELY in front of him Varlamov could take us to the finals. Don’t overlook the Russian connection the other team members either.
Comment by Eric Johnson — April 7, 2009 @ 1:49 pm
JT is very ‘unpredictable.’ As much as I try and ‘will’ him a telepathic S.O., he let’s gravy stuff in, then turns around and makes stellar, 10-bell saves, only to let another ‘roller’ in..
Varlamov is very good, but I don’t think he’s ready for game-after-game play at the NHL level.
I think JT can carry us deeper into the playoffs than what we currently have to pick from. And regardless of his ‘previous trophies’, that doesn’t mean squat, today. I used to be able to run 2 miles in 12 mins flat. It takes me longer than that to get out of bed, now.
Comment by Rick — April 7, 2009 @ 3:43 pm
The other goalies with comparable stats play for teams that are not ranked second in the conference. Perhaps the goalie with the closest stats to Theodore’s is Dan Ellis. Ellis was one of LAST year’s best goalies (starting to sound familiar…), who surprised everyone and took the Predators to the playoffs, and even managed to beat the Red Wings twice. Now he has been delegated to backup, because he has stats like Theodore. I’m not on the bandwagon, I’ve been driving it since the start of the season. Theodore is shameful for our team, and I fully support putting in Varlamov, who has of course only played five games, but he’s far tighter in his play than Theodore. You can admit that Olie, a man I admire, had a rough season. Look at the facts. This isn’t 2004, this is 2009. Five years can be a long time in pro sports, and its taken its toll on Theodore. Delegate him to backup like the other goalies of his “quality.”
Comment by Ryan — April 7, 2009 @ 10:51 pm
I was actually excited about Jose coming here, and I have been very pleased with what I’ve seen. I also think that just like last year, Ovechkin can help raise anyone’s level of confidence. I really hope that if Jose sees any of this criticism it just pushes him to prove them wrong!
Comment by Shawn — April 9, 2009 @ 11:11 am
Just wanted to say “I told you so.”
Comment by Ryan — April 26, 2009 @ 5:11 pm
Yeah. Theodore is doing real well.
Comment by Ryan — May 3, 2009 @ 1:45 am
Ryan: To be fair, we don’t know how Jose would have responded had he gotten back in to the series; I’m excited for Varlamov and I think he’s the main reason we’re doing so well but I still think Jose is a great goaltender.
In other words…let it go already.
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