Will José be in the NHL this Season?

I can't quite express my disappointment with all the NHL teams...no one has signed José for this coming season. It's believed by many that he is one of the best, if not the best, free agent left at this time. It seems that there was a glut of goalies becoming free agents this summer, and it did not bode well for Theo. If there had only been a couple, I think he would've been scooped up quickly.

He had 30 victories and only seven regulation losses for the Capitals last season. But they didn't make it past the first round of the playoffs. And unfortunately it seems goalies get the brunt of the blame for that. Here's the thing, according to one writer:  "Lots of goalies don't perform well in the playoffs, not just Theodore. It'd be a real shame if some "stigma" ultimately ends the career of a goalie who has fought off all the demons he faced earlier in his career to become a competent player again."

It was on Twitter on Friday that "The GM of the KHL’s Traktor Chelyabinsk confirmed that he had talks with Jose Theodore, but Theodore didn’t want to go to Russia."

I, for one, am glad that José won't be going to the KHL. I still hold out hope that someone in the NHL will realize he still has good years in him, that he'd be a great asset to their team. He's a class act player/guy that would bring a wonderful presence, on and off the ice.

When José spoke to the media in September of last year about the upcoming season with Washington, a reporter brought up his age (he will be 34 this coming Monday.) And José admitted, very good-naturedly, that he's "on the back 9 now." He knows he's in the last years of his playing career, but I (and many others) still feel he has some good years ahead of him. He needs a team to believe in him and give him a chance, and he can take care of the rest.

The guy has overcome so many difficulties in his personal life through his career, and he's become a stronger person for it. I can only hope that this summer has made him stronger yet.

José still has many, many fans out there, and I hope we all get a chance to watch him play in the NHL this season.

Nous soutenons et vous aime, José.

(That's supposed to say "We support and love you, José." If Google translator let me down and it says something totally off the wall and wrong, please let me know. ;o)