José Theodore gone, Aebischer in.

[andreww770]

Just in case some merbites follow hockey.
In case you haven't seen the news, Montreal just traded José Theodore for David Aebischer of Colorado. Aebischer is have a much better season with far better numbers, and costs less than half of Theodore. How did Gainey pull this off?
What ever happened to the MVP in José Theodore? Will he be a star in Colorado?
Why do the Canadiens have 2 Swiss goalies now?
What will Montreal do with all that extra money?
Will we keep Aebisher, what's this talk about dealing him for Luongo?
What the hell is Colorado thinking?
Bob Gainey is the devil.

Discuss.

 

[Techman]

It's a good move. They get to dump Theodore's salary and now have some headroom in the salary cap to pick up someone else. Also they need some backup for Huet. Denis isn't a a bad goalie, but going into the playoffs with 2 goalies with no real experience is a big risk. Now they have a goalie that can step in to play if Huet gets injured or if he simply burns out due to the pressure.

 

[General Gonad]

That is great news - how much did we have to pay to get rid of him?LOL!

 

[Blacksun]

I think it was a great move. Unfortunatly Theo is not the goalie he used to be, maybe because of the equipment changes, family problems, whatever the case may be. His stats do not reflect that of a former hart trophy winner. Would it be wise to hold on to him until next season, where he would be making around 6M$. If he would have a similar season, who would take him in a trade with that salary. Colorado is taking a chance with him, maybe it will work out, maybe not.

I am hoping however that with the added cap space, we can sign a big name forward or two. I'd be surprised if Gainey would not make another move before the deadline today which would involve other players leaving, possibly Zednik.

 

[Khangg]

Bob Gainey is the devil.

Better to have this devil on our side.

It's a great move for Theo and us. Let's see what else Gainey has up his sleeve.

 

[Cosmo]

I'm not sure it's that good a move for us.
After all Theo has won Hart and Vezina,not to mention all star teams.
What are Aebisher's credentials?
I feel we could've had much more,after all Minnesota got a first round draft pick for Dwayne Roloson,a VERY average goalie who's stats don,t match theo's.

 

[Lusty Pig]

wow.............losing sleep over this...............what and influence all this has on my personal life.....all chocked up................NOT

 

[Cosmo]

Maybe for this season.Theo,s having the worst season of his carreer.
But overall I think he's a much better goalie.How many Vezinas and Hart Aebischer won?
How many all star team nominations?
Quite frankly I think this trade has a lot to do with money,much more so than actual talent and reputation.
Theo's contract and his off Ice misfortunes were a real burden.
Too bad,I liked him.Let' hope Aebisher will be good.

 

[spin]

I'm with Cosmo on this one.

 

[Techman]

I really don't care what Theo has done in the past. He's had two winning seasons here, that's it. This year he was a lousy goalie and he was way overpaid. People who compare him with Roy are dreaming or taking really good drugs. Considering the season he had, with his problems with the new equipement rules leading to him being the rebound king of the league, the Habs are lucky to have found someone to take him and his contract off their hands. He is a goalie on the downside of his career. This is the best move both for the team and for him. Maybe in Colorado he can get his game back. Here in Montreal the team would never be able to play with confidence with him in the net. They would always be trying to cover his ass. They have gained confidence since Huet has been playing, you just have to look at the record since Huet has been in the net. I wish Theo well and hope he has a great end to his career. Except when he plays the Habs.

 

[Blacksun]

I agree with Techman on this one. It's great that Theo did all this great stuff in the past, Jim Carrey was a great goalie for one year, where is he now? Where is Andrew Raycroft, he beat our Ryder for the rookie of the year trophy, and he's not around. Not many GM's would make a trade for what someone did three years ago. Theo has the third worse save percentage in the league amongst starting goalies. Personally, I would not take a chance on him next season with his salary reaching almost 6M. Maybe there will be a deal in the off season to bring an established goalie to Mtl. This move was not made with winning the cup in mind for 2006. I don't think we would have gotten much more for Theo at this time, and with his increased salary next season, if he has another bad year, we would not get anything for him. ya he's won trophies, stole a few games here and there, and can be brilliant between the pipes at times, but as brilliant as he can be, he can be just as brutal, giving soft goals, over the shoulder top corner goals. For him, I hope a change a scenery will do him well, with less media pressure and the spotlight night shining in face with on and off ice issues, I think it will work out to be a good trade for him too. Only time will tell.

 

[hornyanglo66]

I think some already know my thoughts on hockey (fuck 'em all they can all drop dead) but I do want to give Theo credit in how he left. His interview with the media was hors-normale in that he did not blast the organization. Too many times we see 'athletes' take millions from a team and then when they leave make disparaging comments in the media about the team. Kudos to you Jose although you're still an overpaid useless idiot....

 

[Techman]

I was listening to team990 on the way home today and Pierre McGuire actually brought up the point that the Habs were worried about Theo adjusting to the new equipment rules, smaller sweater, pants and pad size, and that he was getting beaten because he didn't have the physical size that he had with the bigger gear. The smaller pads were leading to more and longer rebounds because he was used to the larger, softer ones. Apparantly this has been a worry for the team since training camp. His off ice problems and his little "click", didn't help either.

 

[picasso]

Totally lame!

I was listening to team990 on the way home today and Pierre McGuire actually brought up the point that the Habs were worried about Theo adjusting to the new equipment rules, smaller sweater, pants and pad size, and that he was getting beaten because he didn't have the physical size that he had with the bigger gear. The smaller pads were leading to more and longer rebounds because he was used to the larger, softer ones. Apparantly this has been a worry for the team since training camp. His off ice problems and his little "click", didn't help either.

If maladjustment to new equipment is used as an excuse for lousy performance on the ice, that's pretty lame. Every single player in the NHL this year has had to make adjustments after the strike year and the new rules. Imagine hearing something like that in the NFL or even MLB. If that was really his excuse, I'd say Theo is a wuss and I'm glad he got shipped out. BTW, from a financial perspective, getting rid of Theo and his big salary was one of the best things that Gainey did this year...

 

[picasso]

Two things: 1) Habs sell out their games, unlike the Expos so the financial perspectives are completely different. Dumping Theo's big salary gives the team a lot of flexibility to go after other players for the stretch run. 2) Habs are an institution in Mtl unlike the Expos who despite their talent were considered the laughingstock in MLB. How many World Series rings do the Expos have now? And can you imagine the Habs moving out of Mtl???

 

[Techman]

The fans never said that about the Expos. The owners did. And they had no salary cap to stay under. No fans at the games either but a downtown stadium would have fixed that. Besides, the Expos always dumped their best players and all the Habs did was trade Theo. He was far from the best goalie in the league. And from the way Huet is playing, 3 shutouts on a 6 game roadtrip...when was the last time a Habs goalie did that?...he was far from the best goalie on the Habs.

 

[Techman]

If maladjustment to new equipment is used as an excuse for lousy performance on the ice, that's pretty lame. Every single player in the NHL this year has had to make adjustments after the strike year and the new rules. Imagine hearing something like that in the NFL or even MLB. If that was really his excuse, I'd say Theo is a wuss and I'm glad he got shipped out. BTW, from a financial perspective, getting rid of Theo and his big salary was one of the best things that Gainey did this year...

No one from the team has publicly used that as an excuse. But if it's true it says a lot about Theo's quality as a goaltender in the league. If you want to compare it to baseball, try taking two or three inches out of an infielders glove and see how many ground balls or shoestring catches he misses. Or narrow the goal posts by a couple of feet and see how many field goals a kicker misses. Trust me, some would adjust better than others and some would never be the same player once they start to lose a bit of confidence in their skills.

 

[picasso]

No one from the team has publicly used that as an excuse. But if it's true it says a lot about Theo's quality as a goaltender in the league. If you want to compare it to baseball, try taking two or three inches out of an infielders glove and see how many ground balls or shoestring catches he misses. Or narrow the goal posts by a couple of feet and see how many field goals a kicker misses. Trust me, some would adjust better than others and some would never be the same player once they start to lose a bit of confidence in their skills.

But you know what? The best players have always been able to make adjustments and maintain their excellence and consistency in the field of play. Theo is clearly not in the upper echelon of NHL goalies.

 

[steak]

I have a feeling that there is something we are not told. The management has been more patient with him. And they stood behind him after the shylocking, the fingers, the hell's angels, the propecia... I feel that there is some last straw that happened recently, that we are not told, that made the habs think they had enough. Perhaps it is related to his heel injury. Apparently there are rumors, but I don't know what they are about.

I may be wrong, perhaps they just thought that he would never be back in his old shape. But it seems there is just too much bs around him not to think it might be related to this rather than his poor performances.

 

[Techman]

But you know what? The best players have always been able to make adjustments and maintain their excellence and consistency in the field of play. Theo is clearly not in the upper echelon of NHL goalies.

Exactly my point and trading him away is not a big loss. Maybe with a decent goalie we'll see what this team is capable of doing. For quite a while I've felt that the team played nervous when Theo was in the net. They were afraid to play too offensively because they felt that if the other team got a break Theo was not up to stopping them. With Huet in the net they play with more confidence. Of course there is always the possibility, and really probability, that Huet is playing way over his head right now. But it seems to be giving the entire team a boost. Let's see where it takes them. Besides, Patrick Roy won the team a cup by standing on his head with 10 overtime wins the last time the Habs won the cup. So anything is possible.

And no...I'm not saying that Huet is anywhere near the goalie that Roy was, he's not, nor am I saying that the Habs will win the cup this year, they won't. But until the bottom falls out of this guy's game, if it ever does, anything can happen. At the very least the guy has earned himself a decent raise next year.