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Theodore thinks positive

Recent surgery a blip as goalie eyes redemption

Rick Sadowski, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 15, 2007 at midnight

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CENTENNIAL - Jose Theodore is convinced better days are ahead as he tries to put last year's forgettable campaign behind him.

But the Avalanche's 31-year- old goalie first needs to recover from the arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent Aug. 29 after a magnetic resonance imaging test revealed a problem.

"They found a tear under the kneecap," Theodore said Friday after the Avalanche's first training camp workouts at the South Suburban Family Sports Center.

It was a surprising development, because Theodore didn't experience knee problems last season, and he felt fine while skating for 10 days after returning to Colorado from Montreal.

"I was feeling great," he said. "Then one morning it was kind of sore."

Theodore called the surgery "a minor thing" and said there's no specific timetable for when he can play in a preseason game. He's concentrating on rehabilitation while maintaining his conditioning.

"I'm making good progress," he said. "I'm anxious to put the equipment on."

After watching Peter Budaj start 39 of the final 46 games last season, Theodore also is eager to prove he's capable of being an elite goalie again.

"I'm looking forward to regaining the status I had," he said.

LEOPOLD HEALTHY: The way coach Joel Quenneville sees it, the Avalanche has shored up its defensive corps with two new veterans.

Scott Hannan was signed as a free agent, but injuries limited Jordan Leopold to 15 games last season after his June 2006 acquisition in the deal that sent Alex Tanguay to Calgary.

"It's important for him to get in some playing time here in the preseason and get comfortable," Quenneville said.

Leopold missed the Avalanche's first 25 games to recover from hernia surgery, 17 more because of a groin injury and the final 25 because of a broken wrist.

"It was tough, but I feel good," he said. "There's some rust, of course, but that's for everybody. It's actually fun to look forward to the next day. I'm just excited to be out there."

COMEBACK TRAIL: Free-agent signee Jeff Jillson is trying to salvage his career. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound defenseman, a first- round pick (14th overall) of San Jose in 1999, has played in only two NHL games since 2003-04 and spent last season with Eisbaren Berlin in the German League.

"I definitely want to get back in the NHL," he said. "The past is the past. I'm coming in here on a clean slate and just trying to go forward."

Jillson, 27, has played in 140 NHL games with San Jose, Boston and Buffalo. After collecting 10 goals and 30 points in 73 games in 2005-06 with the Sabres' American Hockey League affiliate in Rochester, N.Y., he went overseas.

"I got a chance to play on the big ice and improve my skating," he said. "Plus, it was a good life experience."

Asked how Jillson's career might have gotten off track, Quenneville said: "High expectations, high pick. They were probably looking at him to be a top-four defenseman right off the bat. Sometimes you get that start, and all of a sudden you don't fulfill that dream and the (next) opportunity is not quite as generous."