Theodore piping hot at good time

Clutch play in goal helping Colorado offset its injuries

By Aaron J. Lopez, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Friday, January 18, 2008

Grant Halverson / Getty Images

Avalanche players surround goalie Jose Theodore after their win against the Hurricanes on Saturday.

Michael Martin / NHLI Via Getty Images

Jose Theodore

Amid the usual clutter of a pro athlete's locker, something seems to be missing as Jose Theodore unlaces his skates.

Canvas equipment bag, extra practice gear, baseball caps. The typical fare is in plain sight.

So where are the ashes? Everyone knows a phoenix can't be reborn without leaving behind a pile of charcoal-colored soot.

Once lauded as the second coming of Patrick Roy while winning the Hart Trophy in Montreal, Theodore has showed only brief flashes of a former MVP in two-plus seasons with the Avalanche.

Injuries, ineffectiveness and a Toronto tryst with notorious party girl Paris Hilton were among the lowlights for Theodore since being traded to the Avalanche on March 8, 2006.

If the past two weeks are any indication, the goalie finally appears poised to meet the expectations that come with being one of the NHL's highest-paid goalies.

"We've seen him at his best in Montreal and we're seeing signs of him recapturing that form," Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said Thursday. "It's exciting."

Theodore is expected to make his seventh consecutive start tonight when the Avalanche faces the Chicago Blackhawks at the Pepsi Center.

In the past six games, he has stopped 160 of 171 shots and lowered his goals-against average from 2.90 to 2.59.

The stellar play comes at a critical time for the Avalanche, which announced Thursday that leading scorer Paul Stastny will miss two to three weeks after having his appendix removed.

Colorado also is playing without captain Joe Sakic (sports hernia) and top-line forward Ryan Smyth (broken right ankle). Neither is expected to return before March 1.

"It's just what the Avalanche needed after all those injuries,"

ESPN hockey analyst Barry Melrose said. "It's very good news for the Avalanche that Jose's starting to look like the old Jose Theodore again."

Hitting bottom

Twelve months ago, Theodore simply looked old and overpaid.

In the second year of a three-year, $16.5 million contract he signed while still in Montreal, Theodore was relegated to backup duty after giving up five goals on 22 shots in a loss to Dallas on Dec. 27, 2006.

He did not make another start until Jan. 28 - another loss - and Avalanche goaltending coach Jeff Hackett recognized Theodore was at a critical point in his career.

"It probably started last January, where he probably hit rock bottom," Hackett said.

Playing sparingly while Peter Budaj assumed the No. 1 role, Theodore spent countless hours after practices and game-day skate- arounds working with Hackett as part of a one-save-at-a-time rehabilitation program.

"He didn't want his career to finish that quick," Hackett said. "He rededicated himself and basically knew that he needed to get back to working as hard as he could to find his game and develop the confidence.

"He definitely took the high road. He didn't complain about not playing. A guy of his status at that time could have easily just sulked and gone the other way. It's really a credit to him as a person that he dug in."

Hackett reviewed video of Theodore during his Hart Trophy season in 2001-02 and noticed Theodore's stance and positioning were different. Because of his size and quickness, the 5-foot-11, 182-pound Theodore is most productive when he plays high in the crease and bends his knees for optimum lateral movement.

During his struggles last season, Theodore was playing deeper in the net and standing more upright.

"Technically, you can see the way he's challenging (shots)," Quenne- ville said. "His rebound control is in order. When goalies have that movement, you can see the confidence in their overall game."

Confidence boost

Even while playing under the scrutiny of the hockey-obsessed Montreal media, Theodore rarely lost his swagger during his five-plus season as the Canadiens' No. 1 goalie.

His self-confidence soared to new heights when he won the Hart and Vezina trophies in 2001-02, but the tide started to turn when Theodore went 20-31-6 the next season.

"When you're great like he was in Montreal, they put him on a pedestal," said Avalanche forward Ian Laperriere, a Montreal native, "but when you fall, it's a long fall."

By 2005-06, Theodore was splitting time with Cristobal Huet and added injury to insult when he broke his right heel while cleaning snow off his stairs during the Olympic break.

The Avalanche hoped a fresh start would help Theodore return to elite status. Perhaps the process just took longer than expected.

"When things are not going well, people are entitled to their opinion," Theodore said. "I don't really care what some opinions might be. For me, it's to be accountable for my teammates or for the coaches and play the way I can. Then the people can say whatever they want."

Still something to prove

For the remaining skeptics out there - many Avalanche fans are included - Theodore still has to prove his recent resurgence is not a short-term phenomenon.

He enjoyed a respectable two- round playoff run in 2006 only to lose his No. 1 job to Budaj seven months later. He shared the top job with Budaj again this season until Budaj started nine of 10 games from Dec. 13 to Jan. 2.

Why should this time be any different?

"The only thing with Jose is, he's done it before, so if a guy can be the best goaltender in hockey once, you just don't lose that," Melrose said. "You've got (36) games left. To prove that he's back, he's got to play good over that period of time and in the playoffs."

Theodore's contract, though a salary-cap albatross at times, might actually work in the Avalanche's favor as it tries to survive a difficult Western Conference playoff race.

At 31, Theodore needs to show NHL executives he still can be an impact goalie worthy of a lucrative, long-term deal.

"Every coach you talk to would love to have everybody on his team in the last year of a contract," Melrose said. "It's not a mistake that guys have their best years in the last year of a contract.

"That is certainly weighing on Jose's mind. He knows that if he doesn't play well, he's not going to get close to the kind of contract that he had. Joel's got him exactly where you want to have a player when you're a coach."

Theodore insists that winning games takes priority over his pending free-agent status but he is eager to prove that his strong play of late is no fluke.

"I don't care if you're 20 or 35 or how much money you make, every year, you've got to prove yourself," he said. "Contractwise, it really doesn't affect my game. I just want to be accountable for my teammates and show coaching staff and everybody here what I'm capable of doing."

Considering that Theodore has made millions of dollars the past 10 years, Laperriere does not believe money will be the strongest motivating factor for his teammate during the next several months.

Each game is a chance to prove critics from here to Quebec wrong about the fall of Jose Theodore. His performance can speak louder than words, English or French.

"It's the only way. You can't go in the paper and say, 'Go (bleep) yourself,' " Laperriere said. "You can't say that. The only way you can do that and tell them that is by the way he plays out there. Right now, that's what he's doing. He's not done, trust me."

lopezaa@RockyMountainNews.com

Earning their keep?

Jose Theodore, who is making $6 million in the final year of a three-year, $16.5 million contract, is the third-highest-paid goalie in the NHL this season. The 11 goalies drawing the largest paychecks in 2007-08, according to the NHL Players' Association:

Goalie Team 2007-08 Overall contract Record

Nikolai Khabibulin Chicago $6.75 million 4 years, $27 million 15-16-3

Roberto Luongo Vancouver $6.5 million 4 years, $27 million 21-14-4

Jose Theodore Colorado $6 million 3 years, $16 million 11-10-1

Marty Turco Dallas $5.7 million 4 years, $22.8 million 18-10-4

Jean-Sebastien Giguere Anaheim $5.5 million 4 years, $24 million 21-11-4

Martin Brodeur New Jersey $5.2 million 6 years, $31.5 million 24-14-2

Olaf Kolzig Washington $5.45 million 2 years, $10.9 million 16-16-4

Tomas Vokoun Florida $5.3 million 4 years, $22.8 million 19-19-3

Evgeni Nabokov San Jose $5 million 4 years, $21.5 million 25-14-6

Rick DiPietro N.Y. Islanders $4.5 million 15 years, $67.5 million 19-15-5

Manny Fernandez Boston $4.5 million 3 years, $13.5 million 2-2-0