ARLINGTON, Va. — If the Capitals of two years ago had tried to recruit Jose Theodore, he would have been a tougher catch.
“I might have paused,” the 31-year-old goaltender said. “I don’t say I wouldn’t have come, but it would have been maybe a different scenario.”
As it is, players such as the 2002 NHL MVP are more than happy to join a team that has left its last- place rebuilding seasons behind and is clearly on an upward curve with current MVP Alex Ovechkin and a cast of other young stars. Theodore was formally introduced Thursday by the Capitals, one week after signing a two-year, $9 million contract.
“When you’re a free agent, the first thing I look at is I want to play for a team that has a chance to win,” Theodore said. “And then obviously the contract. With all the work that’s been done, getting players, I think the organization shows that they’re willing to make good moves, and that’s what they did.”
Also Thursday, the Capitals announced that right wing Eric Fehr had been re-signed to a one-year contract. Fehr, 22, split last season between the Capitals and the Hershey (Pa.) Bears of the AHL.
Theodore is the latest winner in the chaotic game of musical goalies played out by the Capitals this year. Longtime favorite Olie Kolzig lost the starting job to trade-deadline acquisition Cristobal Huet near the end of last season, but Huet became a free agent and demanded more money than Washington was willing to play.
So Huet signed a four-year, $22.5 million contract with the Blackhawks, and Kolzig left in a huff. He didn’t bother to say goodbye and has since signed a one-year deal with the Lightning.
“I called, and he didn’t return my call,” general manager George McPhee said. “It didn’t have to be that way, but that’s the way it went. He didn’t have a good year last year. He’s expecting to have a good year this year. No hard feelings.”
Theodore looks like a relative bargain, having played well over the second half of last season with the Avalanche. He finished with a 28-21-3 record with three shutouts and a 2.44 goals-against average and .910 save percentage.
The trade from hockey-crazy Montreal to Colorado in 2006 helped Theodore regain some privacy, and he should find much the same in the nation’s capital.
“Denver was great for that,” he said. “You were able to do your stuff off the ice, walking around with our family and it wasn’t in the paper. Montreal was a great experience early on in my career, but I think the change was really good. Being here, I’m really excited. I can focus on what I do for a living.”
Footnotes.
The Canucks signed forward Pavol Demitra to an $8 million, two-year contract. He had 15 goals and 39 assists in 68 games with Minnesota last season.
• Forward Martin Straka, who played for the Rangers the last three seasons, signed a one-year contract with his former Czech club. The Associated Press
