It isn’t Jose Theodore’s fault the National Hockey League Players Association lists him as the fourth-highest paid goaltender in the NHL, at $5.5 million this season, behind only Chicago’s Nikolai Khabibulin, Dallas’ Marty Turco and Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo.
Nor can the Avalanche goaltender be blamed for making more than New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur and Calgary’s Miikka Kiprusoff, the two best goalies in the league.
Yet the fact Theodore hasn’t played well enough this season to take a stranglehold on the Avalanche’s No. 1 goaltending job lends credence to the argument that Colorado isn’t getting sufficient bang-for-the-buck impact from Theodore in the salary-cap age.
“I put the same expectations on myself,” Theodore said Saturday. “If you look at the way I’ve been playing this season, it’s not like I’ve been playing bad. I know I need to step up, and the expectations are much higher. I expect much more of myself. There’s a lot of room for improvement, and especially more consistency. That’s what I’m working on right now.”
With a cap number of $5.33 million, the average of his three-year contract that runs through 2007-08, Theodore is second on the Avalanche salary list to Joe Sakic. Theodore takes up nearly one-eighth of the Avalanche’s available payroll of $44 million this season. (The NHLPA’s listed figures are for compensation this season, and can include signing bonuses, depending on when they were paid.)
The other Avalanche goalie, Peter Budaj, who made and won three consecutive starts before Theodore was back in the net Sunday at Chicago, is making $600,000 – or barely one-ninth as much – this season, the first in his three-year, $2.1 million contract.
Some criticism of Theodore this season has been clichéd, blame-the-goalie overstatement, making him the scapegoat for Avalanche defensive shortcomings. Yet Theodore has not played up to the level of expectation his salary and résumé – including the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player in 2002 – create.
Going into Sunday’s games, here’s how Theodore stacked up among the 10 highest-paid goalies in the NHL this season:
* Theodore’s 3.06 goals-against average was better only than the 3.08 of Washington’s Olaf Kolzig, who has the excuse of facing a barrage-like 34 shots a game.
* Theodore’s save percentage of .903 was the worst.
Evaluating a goalie’s work can be about eyeball tests, gut feelings and consistency as much as it is about sheer numbers. Great goalies earn leeway from their teammates and forgiveness for the inevitable bad goals because of their ability to bounce back. But Theodore’s play hasn’t passed superstar muster on those levels, either. As close as he seems to have come to crossing the threshold of trust with his teammates, such as when he made 50 saves in a playoff series-clinching win at Dallas last spring, he hasn’t earned that collective faith – and kept it.
In the past, franchises grimaced when players were overpaid in relation to their contributions. Still, “mistakes” could be overcome if ownership consented to open the coffers. Now, the $44 million cap is inflexible and comes without the various exceptions and loopholes of the NBA cap system. The NFL’s cap has a recovery mechanism: Contracts aren’t guaranteed. In the post-lockout NHL, with its guaranteed contracts and a “hard cap,” misjudging a player’s worth is a major problem, especially when the player is a goal- tender.
That said, Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville is adamant he isn’t under pressure to play Theodore.
“Not even hints,” Quenneville said. “Nor do I feel obligated. … I don’t think there’s any pressure or influence based on the economics. It’s based on what gives us the best opportunity to win.”
The risky nature of the March 8 deal for Theodore was obvious. Colorado hoped that once Theodore was healthy and distanced from the white-hot pressure and notoriety he faced in Montreal, he would be rejuvenated. That rejuvenation has come only in flashes, and is starting to seem similar to last season in Montreal, when Theodore struggled and unheralded Frenchman Cristobal Huet was given increased work and eventually took over the No. l job. Then Theodore suffered a fractured heel in a fall during the Olympic break and was traded during his stay on the injured list.
The irony? Huet made $456,000 last season, jumped to $3 million (including signing bonuses) this season under a new two-year contract, and leads the league in save percentage, a stingy .932.
Francois Giguere returned as general manager to the Avalanche from the Dallas front office in the offseason, after Pierre Lacroix relinquished those duties and remained team president.
“I have a lot of faith in Jose,” Giguere said. “In my mind, Jose’s playing well. Is he at the level he was at with Montreal? No. But I’m not sure he’s that far off.
“Since the start of the season, my position has been that our goaltending tandem was going to be one of the strengths of our team, compared to the teams we play against. I still feel that way. Both have been successful. We knew we were going to get good goal- tending and I’m not surprised Peter has done well.”
Going into Sunday’s game at Chicago, Budaj had an 8-6 record, a 2.28 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.
“I don’t think that’s something I should worry about,” Budaj said of the salary issue last week. “I know you guys are always bringing it up, but for me the most important thing is to win hockey games. Jose and I are in the same boat.”
The other “defense” is that Colorado’s two-goalie expenditure – $6.1 million this season – isn’t out of line when compared to other teams. Giguere brings up the San Jose Sharks, who have been alternating Evgeni Nabokov ($5 million) and Vesa Toskala ($1.375 million). The difference there is that both have been excellent all season and are third and sixth, respectively, in goals-against average in the league. Although GM Doug Wilson is playing coy, the Sharks are expected to trade one of them if the right offer comes along – and install the other as the No. 1 down the stretch.
If Budaj’s recent strong play is portentous of stardom, as seems to have been the case with Huet’s work as Theodore’s “usurper” last season, that could lessen the embarrassment over an Avalanche misjudgment of Theodore. But given what Colorado has invested in Theodore, and Budaj’s track record for inconsistent play, it’s safe to assume the higher-priced goalie will get additional chances to retake the No. 1 job.
Staff writer Terry Frei can be reached at 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
