Green Stays, Huet Goes
Caps Replace Incumbent Goaltender With Théodore

By Tarik El-Bashir
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 2, 2008

The Washington Capitals entered the first day of NHL free agency hoping to re-sign Mike Green and Cristobal Huet, two important pieces on a team hoping to contend in the Eastern Conference next season.

They ended up settling for only one of them.

The Capitals signed Green, an electrifying 22-year-old offensive defenseman, to a four-year, $21 million contract extension. Huet, however, spurned Washington for a more lucrative deal in Chicago, forcing the Capitals to act quickly on their second goaltending option, Colorado's José Théodore, with whom they agreed to a two-year, $9 million contract.

General Manager George McPhee said the Capitals opened negotiations with Huet the day after the season ended and several times increased their offer for the 32-year-old, eventually agreeing to meet Huet's request for a three-year, $15 million contract. But Huet insisted on testing his value on the open market before signing the deal, McPhee said, and when he did, the Blackhawks lured him with a four-year, $22.5 million deal.

"We basically met their demand," McPhee said of Huet, who was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens at the trade deadline and, after beating out incumbent starter Olie Kolzig, went 11-2 down the stretch to guide the Capitals to their first payoff berth in five years. "And that still didn't get it done. . . . We were at the critical hour, trying to decide if we should [offer] four years at [Chicago's] numbers, and nobody was comfortable doing that."

So the Capitals instead will enter next season with Théodore, their third No. 1 goalie in five months. The 31-year-old, who won the Vezina and Hart trophies in 2002 as a member of the Canadiens, was traded to Colorado in 2006 after he struggled to regain his all-star form after the lockout. But with the help of Avalanche goalie coach Jeff Hackett, the right-handed-catching Théodore rediscovered his confidence during the second half of the regular season.

"I feel like I have my game back on," said Théodore, a native of Quebec. "It was two things: confidence, obviously, and just working really hard, I think. Sometimes there were a couple distractions on and off the ice, and from there, you lose confidence a little bit. But when you reach the lows in your career and you bounce back up it makes you a better person and a better player. My confidence is as good as it's ever been, so I know I can play at a high level for a long, long time."

Theodore posted 28 wins, a .910 save percentage and a 2.44 goals against average last season, his best statistics since 2003-04, when he won 33 games to go along with a .919 save percentage and 2.27 goals against average. Huet, for comparison's sake, compiled 32 wins between Montreal and Washington last season with a .920 save percentage and a 2.32 goals against average last season.

"He had tremendous success as a young player in an intense market," McPhee said of Théodore, who is 9-2 in his career in shootouts, including 6-1 last season. "He fell off his game a little bit, but he seems to have it back. We were interested in him last year near the [trade] deadline, but he was playing so well [Colorado] didn't want to move him.

"If you've got a top five goaltender and you want to do a long-term deal for big money, that makes sense. But for any of the other goaltenders, it's probably better to be smart and prudent and do short-term deals to keep them sharp. And if doesn't work out, you can get out of it. If it is working out, you can always renew them."

McPhee said he hopes Théodore will bridge the gap to the organization's prized goaltending prospects, Simeon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth. The money saved by signing Théodore instead of Huet, he said, also provides the Capitals with additional financial flexibility, which could come in handy in the coming days. McPhee said he still wants to re-sign center Sergei Fedorov, an unrestricted free agent; he also needs to get restricted free agents Brooks Laich, Shaone Morrisonn, Eric Fehr and Boyd Gordon under contract.

As for Green, the Capitals re-signed him before he could be tempted by an offer sheet from another club. Green's agent, Don Meehan, confirmed that other teams had expressed interest in his client, who led all defensemen with 18 goals.

"Mike Green is one of the best young players in this game right now," McPhee said. "It's really hard to find right-handed defensemen. He's really a dynamic young player, and when you draft and develop your own players, you want to hang on to them."

Said Green: "There's a little bit of pressure. But it also takes a lot of pressure off. You know you're with the team and where you want to be. So that takes some pressure off me in one sense, but it puts the pressure on me to perform. We have a lot of unfinished business here in Washington -- at least I feel that way."

Capitals Notes: Kolzig signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with Tampa Bay. . . . Chris Clark, who missed most of last season because of a strained adductor (groin) tendon, said he plans to resume skating next week and hopes to be ready for training camp in September. "There's still a little bit of pain there," he said this week. "I'm going to give it plenty of time to heal and coax it along with rehab." Meantime, defenseman Brian Pothier, sidelined since January because of the fourth concussion of his career, is recovering but has not resumed strenuous activity, according to a report in his hometown paper, the Standard-Times of New Bedford, Mass.

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