Russo's latest on José

RussostribMichael Russo

“Fletcher said he’s left things “open-ended” with Jose Theodore; #mnwild would like him to be No. 2, but he’ll try first for No. 1”

Free Agency begins TOMORROW!!

Big news could break as early as tomorrow.

I realized after talking to another José fan that I haven't written everything I've heard on here. I forget sometimes that all of you don't follow Mike Russo on twitter, so don't see what he says.

He has been saying for months that the Wild would be very interested in signing José again, as their backup. With Backstrom's long-term/no trade contract, José would still be the backup. But he would definitely be their first choice. Russo feels that the Wild will give José a few days to possibly find a #1 spot, because they all know he deserves one. But just because he deserves one doesn't mean he'll be offered one (as we all saw last season...grumble, grumble, grumble.) So if after a few days he hasn't shown interest in resigning with Minnesota, then they'll pursue other options for their backup.

I have read online that Tomas Vokoun is still very interested in staying with Florida, so that option is probably off the table. And Tampa Bay signed Roloson to a one-year contract, so Tampa is out. Philly is out because they signed Bryzgalov. So that leaves Phoenix. Toronto might be looking for someone to help out Reimer. Garon is a free agent, and he was the backup in Columbus. If they don't resign him, would José be interested in backing up Steve Mason, hoping to possibly slide into #1? (Thanks for that possibility, B.) Anyone know of any other possibilities?

Hockey Wilderness's take on the Wild's UFA's

Over at the Hockey Wilderness (on SB Nation) they discussed the Minnesota Wild's free agents today. Here's what they said about José:

JS: It's a miracle he was still available when the Wild signed him, yet he also does not fit anymore. He was a more than serviceable back-up to Backstrom this year and hopefully, he was able to open a few eyes, because he kept the Wild in more games than he probably should have. For the same reasons as Harding, he's gone, no matter how good he's been. Good luck Theo, and thanks a bunch!

Verdict: Gone.


Elise: Theodore was a great replacement back-up this season. He was solid, at times better than Backs and grew to be well liked by Wild fans. But I don't think he's coming back. The Wild have goalies and Theodore has performed very well as a starting goaltender; he proved last year that he could do that. I see Theodore's past year as proof to the NHL and now he will sign somewhere else who needs a goalie more than the Wild do.

Verdict: not signed.


Bryan: Theodore ruined my year last year. We all wanted to see Borat moved up into the NHL back-up role, and somehow, the Wild just weren't having it. Turns out, Theo was the best free agent signing of the summer. A low cap hit,he is a solid back-up with the credentials to be a number one. It was honestly shocking he was still there when Harding was hurt. Theo has never been a bad goalie. He is a good goalie who has played on some terrible teams. He'll find his way somewhere again next year.

Verdict: As much as we may want him back, he'll sign elsewhere.


Nathan: The best value in the NHL last season, Jose deserves a #1 shot, and it won't be here. He'll garner too much money, and honestly, good for him!

Verdict: I say he ends up in Phoenix.

Will it be Phoenix?

I've been hearing José's name more and more in conjunction with Phoenix, since Bryzgalov is off to Philly. I'd be fine with that. If he's fine with that, I mean. I just want him to be happy.

Tweet from today:
BreakthrsportsBreakthroughsports

Most likely goaltending option for the Phoenix Coyotes on July 1st will be Jose Theodore. Ray Emery, Pascal Leclaire and Josh Harding also options, but health has been a concern in the past for all 3. Tomas Vokoun is currently out of their price range, Dwayne Roloson will most likely be back in Tampa for a year, Mike Smith is too inconsistent and Marty Turco is no longer a solid starting goaltender.

Did anyone save the José videos from Fox Sports North?

Until just recently I didn't have a way of recording streaming video, but I recently got a program to do that. I went back to the José interviews he gave with Fox Sports North this past season, and they all say "currently unavailable." I'm so upset. I can't get them recorded now, and I feel like crying. (Ridiculous, I know, but...)

I was wondering if any of my followers were able to record them at the time and could send me the files?

José's Buddy, Brent Burns, Traded Last Night

Last night during the NHL Draft, the Wild traded José's "pesky little brother", Brent Burns to San Jose. In return the Wild got Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle, and a 1st round pick.

I knew that a Burns trade was a possibility. The Wild need scoring power, and Burns is one of the only players they had that other teams would be interested in. But it still came as a surprise at the moment it happened. And all I could think about was all the fun we had watching José and Burnsie "interact" this past season. Burns was such a pest...punching him in the arm, putting him in headlocks, trying to give him noogies. They really seemed to enjoy each other. And when I met José, Burns came into the room right before, and I got to meet him too, and he was really fun and goofy. I'll definitely miss him.

If José returns to Minnesota, it definitely won't be the same without Burnsie. Players are used to this sort of thing, I'm sure, but it still has to be tough.

José's Gatorade Ice Commercial

Thanks to wondrous fellow José fan, Exit-Ghost, we now have access to the Gatorade Ice commercial that José did after his Vezina/Hart season. Check it out!!
http://youtu.be/pF_lkvLjHtU

Photos from 2002

I forget sometimes that not all of my readers here visit my tumblr site, so you wouldn't see all the photos I post there. So I'll post a few of my recent ones here also. These were from an Oct 2002 game.

José's Masks Through the Years

The first mask was with the Hull Olympiques, then the Team Canada one for the 1996 World Juniors. The others are pretty self-explanatory.

More photo fun

José through the years. As far as NHL headshots go...the guy rocks 'em. And I only feel a little guilty about leaving off this season's. But I think he'd prefer that...

You never know where José will show up online...

José shows up in some of the oddest articles/places online sometimes. Today at the Bleacher Report, which seems to be a fan-written site, there was an article titled "NHL Hockey Hair: 23 Best Mullets in NHL History."

His was voted as the 23rd best. First of all, in my opinion, José never had a mullet. There was never enough of a difference in the length of the front and the back of his hair to constitute a mullet. He had what I would call "hockey flow." The front flowed into the back...and yes, it was longer than many guys' hairstyles, but it was not a mullet. Here's the photo they used to illustrate...and it's very obviously NOT a mullet. (Again, under my definition.)

FYI...I love his hair this length, but it's not a mullet (have I said that enough?) Haha.

Here was the write-up about him along with his photo:

A modest clipping with a lax-bro vibe, Jose Theodore is one of many players in NHL history whose mullet has been hindered by a goalie mask (more to come).

Theodore will always be remembered for some remarkable playoff runs as a member of the Montreal Canadiens, including a 2004 upset over the Boston Bruins as a seventh seed.

Theodore's mullet was always well tended to, but unfortunately didn't stay around long enough to gain the proper recognition.

MORE fun at Big Huge Labs

I have had way too much fun at bighugelabs.com.

Draft Tidbits

So with the NHL Draft talk picking up, it got me to thinking. José was drafted in 1994 in the 2nd round, 44th overall by Montreal. I would love to find a photo from his draft day…didn’t they take photos then? I mean…it was only 1994…we had cameras back then. ;o) So if anyone ever sees a draft photo of José holding up that jersey, I would be forever in your debt if you passed it along.

And in my internet searching, looking for said photo that I did not find…I ran across the list of 1994 draftees. I was curious of those drafted in the first 2 rounds, how many are still active NHL’ers. So I checked. Of the 43 players drafted ahead of José, only 8 are still active in the NHL. Then of the players behind him in the 2nd round, only one is still active in the NHL.

So of the draftees from the first 2 rounds in 1994, José is one of only 10 that are still NHL players. I think that’s a great testament to his skill, longevity, and all-around BAMFery.

Getting Close to this Blog's 1st Year Anniversary

Now that June has arrived, the 1st year anniversary of this blog is coming close. I began it on June 23 of last year. Wow...it doesn't seem that long ago! So much has happened this past year.

I'm seriously considering changing the look of the blog. I feel it needs to be freshened up a bit. As much as I like the "library look" it might not be totally appropriate for José's blog. So I'll look into other layouts and see what's available. I just don't want to mess stuff up, so we'll see...if things go weird temporarily, bear with me. ;o)

Hope you are all having a great summer!! (Even though it's not really summer yet.) It has sure felt like summer the past couple days here in Central Illinois. Steamy. I have to admit I'm not too interested in the Stanley Cup Finals, since I don't care about Vancouver or Boston, so I'm not planning on watching too much. The season is pretty much over for me.

After July 1st we'll see what happens in the free agency market. Hopefully we won't have to wait as long as we did last year to know where José will be playing.

Hope you are all well!!