José in Goal against his Nephew

On Monday (June 17th), José's brother-in-law, Louis Morissette, tweeted this photo of José. His tweet:

Louis Morissette ‏@ZeMorissette 17 Jun

Game de hockey dans le sous-sol ...j'ai engagé ce ti-gars là pour pratiquer mon fils #vieuxchandail

That was translated to me as: "Game of hockey in my basement...I hired this little guy to help my son practice #old jersey"

Louis and Vero have a son that's probably around 4 years old, so it sounds like that's who José was playing with. And check out the kid's equipment he's wearing. Haha. Makes him look like a giant goalie. And he's having to catch left instead of his natural right. Good ole Uncle Jo. :)

José Through the Years (Montreal, Part 1)

Just a sampling of the many photos of him in his Montreal years. I call this Part 1 simply because it would be too many photos for one post if I did all his Montreal years, so I stopped after the 2002-03 season in this post. The rest of his Montreal years will be in the next post

Jose Theodore, goalkeeper for the Montreal Canadiens, skates on the ice,  East Rutherford, New Jersey, February 1996.

7 Nov 1996: Rookie goaltender Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens adjusts his helmet against the Los Angeles Kings at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles, California.

28 Nov 1998: Goaltender Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens looks on during the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Molson Centre in Montreal, Canada.

2 Dec 1999: Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens in net against the Dallas Stars at the Molson Centre in Montreal, Canada.

15 Dec 2000: Goalie Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens blocks a shot against the New Jersey Devils at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

01 Feb 2002: Goalie Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens in his North America jersey during the NHL Allstar week in Los Angeles, California.

29 Apr 2002: Goaltenders Byron Dafoe of the Boston Bruins and Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens take part in the traditional handshake after game six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series at the Molson Centre in Montreal, Canada. The Canadiens won 2-1 to take the series 4-2. 

Montreal Canadiens goalie Jose Theodore during a game vs Carolina Hurricanes, Raleigh, NC 5/3/2002

Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens with the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Vezina Trophy during the NHL Awards in the John Bassett Theatre at the Metro Convention Centre in Toronto, Canada on June 20, 2002. 

12 Oct 2002: Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens before a game against the Dallas Stars.

2002-03 season

 Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens makes a save against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 3, 2002 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.

Jose Theodore of the Montreal Canadiens stretches prior to the game against the Washington Capitals on February 9, 2003 in Washington D.C. 

José Through the Years (1996 WJC)

José played for Team Canada at the 1996 World Junior Championships in Boston during his fourth major junior season. He posted a 4-0-0 record with a 1.50 GAA to earn Best Goaltender and Tournament All-Star honours, en route to Canada's fourth straight gold medal at the tournament.

With Jarome Iginla.

José Through the Years (QMJHL)

I've been spending a few weeks organizing my José photos...I'm not done yet but I thought I'd go ahead and post some of my favorites.

Let's see, I'll start with his major junior days.

First of all, a big thank-you to primeaugurl25 for allowing me to post these photos. She took these photos herself years ago and was kind enough to grant me permission to post them. Thanks!

José played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) from 1992-1996. He played for the St. Jean Lynx from the '92-'93 season until traded to the Hull Olympiques during the '94-'95 season. He played for Hull through the '95-'96 season. After that season he began playing for the Montreal Canadiens.

First St. Jean photos (he would've been 16 when he started with them):

And here with the Hull Olympiques (he would've been about 18 when starting there):

This first one was not long after the trade, obviously, because he's still wearing his St. Jean pads and mask.

And then a few other photos.

And his Hull jersey number was retired when he was playing in Montreal.

And here is his name on the 1994-95 President's Cup (QMJHL Champions)

He also won the Guy Lafleur Trophy for playoff MVP.

From Panther Parkway: Three Ingredients The Florida Panthers Need This Coming Season

This is only one blogger's opinion, but there was mention of the Panthers' goalie situation, so I thought I'd post it. And this blogger does attend all Panthers' home games and has media credentials so he is more in the know than someone like me, who's just a fan of a player.

Full article found here.

Here is the part about goalies:

Third, the Florida Panthers need someone to “challenge” young net-minder Jacob Markstrom in order for him to continue his growth in becoming what many think is an elite goaltender.  Does this statement indicate that I don’t think he is?  I’d rather say that I’m not sold on the fact that so many think he will become the next Henrik Lundqvist.  He’s been both outstanding and below average, and needs to develop consistency in his game.  Forget the fact that the defence in front of him was shoddy at times this season, many of the goals scored against him were early in games when it appeared his focus or attention wasn’t in the right place.   The Panthers have been known to start games slowly offensively for years, and the ability of a goaltender to help the team survive the opening period of a game until they “find their legs” is just one more component of that.

If you look at the UFA market place, the available goalies for consideration in my book are Niklas Backstrom, Anton Khudobin, Ray Emery, as well as Jose Theodore.  With Scott Clemmensen as the current backup with one year left on his contract, and coming off arguably his worst year as a goal-tender, the Panthers could have their backs against a wall. If Jacob Markstrom remains as inconsistent as he was this past season, the Cats may once again have to fall back on Clemmensen which isn’t a favorable option. Luckily, the Panthers have a few options, but it all depends on their faith in Markstrom and if they’re ready to let Clemmensen go. Panthers could very well send Markstrom or Clemmensen to the minors, which means Clemmensen would have to clear waivers, (or they could just trade Clemmensen), and pick up a veteran goalie in free agency like Niklas Backstrom, or even trade for an RFA such Jake Allen from the St. Louis Blues or Jonathan Bernier of the Los Angeles Kings.  I don’t believe that Markstrom should be handed the keys to the car just yet, and while that will be met with disdain from much of that fan base, he still hasn’t proven to me that he’s ready for the task. It’s also difficult to determine if he’d have better numbers playing on a team that was not only better offensively, but also defensively.  The position of goaltender is one of the significant importance especially to a team that is so offensively challenged, and one that needs everyone firing on all cylinders every night.  In the past Florida has had Roberto Luongo,Tomas Vokoun and one healthy year of Jose Theodore, which wasn’t enough to compensate for a lagging offense.  You cannot expect your goalie to give up one goal or less every game.  It’s a recipe for failure.

Can all three “ingredients” be found in one offseason?  Yes.  Dale Tallon will be entering his fourth full season as the team’s general manager and this is the year that we should start to see some improvement.  Was 2011-2012 an aberration? With so many players having career years, maybe.  This past season was a fluke for the most part.  Too many injured players at too many important positions, with too many players making their NHL debuts in a season that was headed downhill. However, it would have helped a couple of them if they had come to camp in shape, and also taken care of some off season problems.

Adding leadership, toughness and a reason for Jacob Markstrom to raise his level of play will force this team to improve.  They can no longer continue being in the bottom of the NHL standings, and must figure out a way to be better prepared mentally, physically and emotionally.  Game one of this past shortened season made everyone think that it was going to be another playoff type year.  After beating Carolina 5-1 in the home opener the Panthers then went on to lose seven of their next eight games, and never recovered.

Recently found photo

I found this photo in an old magazine. I believe it was when they were expecting Romi, so probably late 2005 or very early 2006.

José during the 4/26/13 practice

José participated in the April 26, 2013 practice with the team. This was their last practice of the season.

Nelly took some video and photos. Since this is the last time we'll see this for a few months, I thought it would be nice to share. I'll probably watch these now and then during the off-season to get me through.