At least you have nice hair Theo

How sad is it that the 2002 NHL MVP is now more famous for shagging Wonky eye behind his wife's back, his father being arrested and using Propecia to stop from balding.

Being a Canadiens fan, I can attest to how unbelievable he was during the 2002 Season/Playoffs. Dominant was not the word. Even though it was a longshot at best, he convinced me that a roster with a first line of Doug Gilmour, Richard Zednik and Oleg Petrov could win the Cup if he continued to stand on his head.

In the first round of the 2002 playoffs vs the top seeded Bruins, Theodore and the Canadiens were outshot 211-141 (79-31 in Game 5 and 6) yet won the series in 6 games. In the second round of the playoffs against the Hurricanes, Theodore had the Canadiens on the brink of a 3-1 lead against the Canes while being outshot 158-70 in the first 4 games. The walls finally came tumbling in after blowing a 3-0 third period lead in Game 4, but his season ended when he was yanked during an 8-2 loss against the Hurricanes in Montreal to a standing ovation.

The guy had it all. At 26 he was the reigning MVP and the starting goaltender on the Montreal Canadiens, (which is akin to being a rockstar in that city), he had good looks and was armed with a $5M contract. Fans were beginning to forget the name Patrick Roy and Jose Theodore decides it is a better idea to hang out with Mike Ribeiro and Pierre Dagenais and chase tail, then work on the skills that brought him to the apex of his sport.

Upon being traded to Colorado he proclaimed that the Canadiens were wrong and he would recapture his form. Well he quickly rounded in to Don Swayze form and found himself playing backup to Peter Budaj!! The Avs contemplated buying him out, but decided to stick with him during his contract run. Theodore than puts together another great season sucking the Caps into ditching Cristobal Huet in the process.

The Caps deserve that albatross and it amuses me that GMs can be so stupid as to reward a guy who has chronically underachieved outside of his contract years for the past 6 years. Good for you Theo, I guess Paris Hilton taught you that you don't need to show any talent to actually make big money today.

Losing your starting job 5 weeks into the season to Brent Johnson? (and Boudreau will not come out and say it, but when you pay a guy $4M+ and are going to his backup in the first week of November, you are not happy with his play) Bravo, even I who would not have touched you in a fantasy draft with a ten foot pole is impressed with your new found ineptitude. For all you Theodore owners out there, he played you for a sucker, good luck with that and say hi to your mother for me.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitalsinsider/

This morning's practice was canceled, but Coach Bruce Boudreau talked to the beat writers on the phone a few minutes ago. The topic du jour - you guessed it - was the goalie situation.

There is no controversy, according to Boudreau. But Johnson will make his second straight start tomorrow night against Carolina at Verizon Center.

"I don't think [either is] going to play 10 games in a row," Boudreau said. "But we're going to go with the hot hand."

And right now, the hot hand belongs to Johnson, who stopped 42 shots in the Caps' 2-1 overtime loss to the Senators. Johnson is 1-1-2 with a 2.47 goals against average and a .914 save percentage. Jose Theodore, meantime, has a 3.44 goals against and a .877 save percentage.

"We haven't given up on Theo or anything, or think anything less of him," Boudreau added. "Right now, Brent played really well last night, so I've got to believe he's earned another start tomorrow night."

Boudreau said after last night's game that goaltending coach Dave Prior told him that Johnson's performance at Scotiabank Place was his best as a Capital.

"He's not old by goaltending standards," Boudreau said of Johnson, 31. "So I've got to believe that he's going to get better. He's better than when he was 25 and he's better than when he was 29. I don't know if he would have been able to poke check Daniel Alfredsson on a breakaway five years ago."

Boudreau is clearly pleased with Johnson's play this season (he was also very good in the preseason). But the coach also wasn't willing to say that there's been a change in the hierarchy. Theodore is still the Caps' No. 1, Boudreau said.

"Who knows, if Brent goes in and is crappy tomorrow obviously we're going to go with Theodore against the Rangers on Saturday," Boudreau said. "All I'm looking at is tomorrow night's game."

He added: "Theodore is still the No. 1 goalie we have. But for tomorrow, Brent is getting another start. Theodore started five games in a row. Brent came in a did well, so he's earned another start."