José Back on the Ice Today and Probable Starter Tomorrow

José was back with the team today at practice, hopefully in good health. The Panthers will fly out this afternoon, headed for Boston. Probable starters tomorrow are José and Tim Thomas.

This will be José's 600th game! And his 31st against Boston.

José Is On the Mend

Markstrom has been reassigned to San Antonio, so it would seem José is feeling well enough that he will go on the road trip starting tomorrow.

Gameday, Panthers vs. Capitals, W (5-4)

José has flu-like symptoms. They recalled Markstrom, and Clemmensen will get the start. Speedy recovery to José!

The Panthers won 5-4, so now have a 7 point lead in the Southeast Division.

Fan Photos from Last Night's Game

Clemmensen got the start in the win over San Jose last night, but there were a few fan photos that I'd like to share.

Remember how fun José and Brent Burns were together last season in Minnesota? Burnzie is such an adorable and playful manchild, and he seemed to really like José. Well Burns is playing in San Jose this season, so during warmups they met at the red line and chatted it up for a few minutes.

@sharkshockeyforlife on tumblr took these two photos of the meeting.

And @Gladiatorslday on twitter shared these 2 photos with me.

Gameday, Panthers @ Sharks, W (5-3)

Clemmensen was in goal for this game. The Panthers won 5-3 and now have a 5-point lead in the Southeast Division. They are tied with Philly for the most road wins with 9.

"After being the first team all year to defeat the Sharks after they scored first, Florida is going into tomorrow’s game against Washington holding a five point lead on them in the division, plus six on Winnipeg, eight on Tampa and TWELVE on Carolina. The only other division with a difference between first and second as large or larger is the Northwest, where Minnesota is six ahead of Vancouver and Edmonton."

Gameday, Panthers @ Kings, 10:30 EST (L, 1-2)

After one period the Panthers were trailing 1-0. The one goal was an evil deflection goal. No chance for José. He saved 8 of 9 shots.Was really great on a couple PKs.

According to the boxscore, José only faced one shot that period. That's not right, because they scored one goal, and I know he saved some. I'll update at the end of the game.

Anyway, Panthers trail 2-1 right now.

Panthers lose 1-2, but considering all their injuries (Versteeg, Bradley, Goc, Upshall) I think they really hung in there well tonight. José had some awesome saves. They corrected their shots on goal stat, and he faced 7 in the 2nd and 10 in the 3rd for a total of 24 saves on 26 shots. But Jonathan Quick had more. He was almost a brick wall, stopping 40 shots. Can't win 'em all. They play San Jose on Saturday.

Article in La Presse Today

Thanks to fellow José fan, Mel, for sharing an article that was in La Presse today (a Montreal newspaper.)

Here's the link to the actual article.

And thanks to Mel for this translation:

JoseTheodore : Retirement can wait

And to think that Jose Theodore was toying with the idea of retirement…

As he hit 35 and after 13 seasons in the NHL, including a memorable 2001-2002 season where he was crowned with the Hart and Vezina trophies, Theo could have settled under the Florida sun and take advantage of a retirement full of time with his companion Stephanie and their daughter Romy.

After an unsatisfying year in front of the Minnesota Wild net, Theodore had no intention of extending his career just for the sake of extending it. And like all the star goalies in the last 10 years of the NHL, Theodore is more worried about the end of the world than the end of the month, and there was no way he was going to play just for the money.

Here's where it was time to reflect on a possible retirement.

One phone call changed everything. When Dale Tallon courted José Theodore, he did it with some strong arguments. He was giving him the chance to prolong his career with a team that had vastly improved, but also the chance to get settled where he already had every intention of throwing down the anchor.

“I got an offer from Denver to assist Varlamov, with who I played with in Washington. Ottawa and Detroit were also interested. My first choices were still Tampa Bay or Florida. Tampa went for Mathieu Garon. When the Panthers called and they agreed to give me two years, and I signed right away. It’s the best of both worlds. I play hockey for a guy that has faith in me and treats me as a number 1 and I was able to settle my family where I would have if I had taken my retirement. But, retirement can wait,” threw José Theodore by phone from L.A.to La Presse where he will face the Kings tonight.

Already 10 wins

Retirement can even wait longer than thought if Theodore and his team continue their success.

Strong off a night of 26 saves, including some spectacular saves at the expense of Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner, José Theodore ruined Kirk Muller’s headcoaching debut in Carolina.

With 10 wins to his record, Theodore and the Panthers, who have three more wins (two belonging to Jacob Markstrom and one to Scott Clemmesen), are surprising many opponents since the beginning of the season.

They are even making liars out of analysts that saw them maybe fighting for a playoff spot, but never for first place in the Eastern Conference.

It’s true that the Panthers are taking advantage of difficult season starts, some disastrous, by their rivals in Carolina, Washington, Tampa Bay and Winnipeg to take the lead in the South-East division, but as of Wednesday, they were only two points behind the Penguins who sit atop the East. With a game in hand over Sidney Crosby and his troops.

It’s something else...(significant)

Theodore is not the only one responsible for the surprising success of the Panthers. His goals against 2.29 and 92.4% save percentage and the fact that he has earned points in 13 of his 18 games played (10-4-3) confirm that he is giving his teama chance to win ever night.

Comfortable in his head and in his skin

Theodore is happy in Florida, both on the ice and with his daughter who started kindergarten. The Panthers,they are rubbing their hands as they are getting a good return on their 1.5 million in salary paid out to Theo this year.

Two games away from playing his 600th in the NHL, José Theodore will easily satisfy his bosses for another year and maybe for more if they decide to give him the opportunity to serve as big brother to the young Jacob Markstrom who is a season or two away from being a number one in Florida.

“I’m 35 years old. I’m fit even if the morning after games is starting to be a little difficult. I am above all happy. Serene. I don’t have anything to prove to anyone. I know that I was often criticized, but when I look at what I have done, I am proud. Six teams wanted me last summer. Which means that my value is good or it actually counts in the eyes of the hockey guys of the NHL.”

It’s true that José Theodore was often criticized. That his performances in Montreal, his Hart and Vezina trophies in 2001-2001, and his 30 and 32 win season in Washington, were minimized.

He was always shaken by his critics that affected him more than he let on, José Theodore never gave any excuses. He could have given some solid ones at that.

To the pleasure of his fans or the to the sarcasm of his haters, Theodore has been able to win 270 games, 31 by shutouts, even with all the legal issues his family and his father-in-law have faced. And if that wasn’t enough, he has had to deal with his daughter’s serious health issues, a miscarriage that robbed him of his first son and a premature birth that saw him lose his second son.

These issues would have ended many careers, but 15 years after starting in the NHL, José Theodore is still here.