Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Jose Theodore

Jose Theodore

Born in Laval, Quebec, Jose Theodore played with the Richelieu Riverains in the Quebec Midget AAA Hockey Leauge. In 1992-93, he joined the QMJHL's St-Jean Lynx and played there for parts of three years. He was selected 44th overall by the Montreal Canadiens at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft then spent the better part of the 1994-95 season with the Hull Olympiques. During the 1994-95 season, he led the league 32 wins and helped his club reach the Memorial Cup tournament.

A member of Canada's Gold Medal World Junior team in 1996 and the tournament's Top Goaltender, Theodore split his first four professional seasons with Montreal and Fredericton of the AHL. He made 30 appearances in 1999-00 and recorded five shutouts with an impressive 2.10 goals against average and was a member of Canada's World Championship team where he was named to the Second All-Star Team.

During the 2000-01 season, Theodore became a workhorse for the Canadiens after a season-ending injury to Jeff Hackett and became the team's number one netminder the following year. The 2001-02 season was a dream season for the Laval, QC native leading the Habs to their first playoff appearance in four years and capturing numerous awards including the George Vezina Trophy as Top Goaltender and the Hart Memorial Trophy as Most Valuable Player.

Coming off a career year in 2001-02, Theodore and the Canadiens struggled the in 2002-03, missing the post season, yet rebounbing in 2003-04 with a career high 33 wins, and was subsequently named to Canada's entry in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Following a lock-out year in 2004-05, Theodore struggled with the Habs in 2005-06 and just prior to the NHL trading deadline was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for netminder David Aebischer.

In his first full season in Colorado, Theodore struggled and posted a 13-15-1 record with a 3.26 GAA. He rebounded in 2007-08 and toward the end of the season was dominant in leading the Avalanche back into the playoff picture. Despite their turnaround, the Avs were quickly defeated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings that year and Theodore became an unrestricted free agent in the summer.

On July 1, 2008, Theodore signed a two year nine million dollar contract with the Washington Capitals.

			REGULAR SEASON						PLAYOFFS
Season	Club	League	GP	W	L	T	SO	Avg	GP	W	L	T	SO	Avg
1990-91	Richelieu Bantam Regents	QAHA	42				0	1.90
1991-92	Richelieu Riverains	QAAA	24	9	13	2	0	3.99	5	2	3	0	0	5.28
1992-93	St-Jean Lynx	QMJHL	34	12	16	2	0	3.78	3	0	2		0	3.77
1993-94	St-Jean Lynx	QMJHL	57	20	29	6	0	3.61	5	1	4		0	3.65
1994-95	Hull Olympiques	QMJHL	58	32	22	2	5	3.46	21	15	6		1	2.80
1994-95	Fredericton Canadiens	AHL							1	0	1		0	3.00
1994-95	Hull Olympiques	M-Cup							3	0	3	0	0	5.20
1995-96	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	1	0	0	0	0	6.67
1995-96	Hull Olympiques	QMJHL	48	33	11	2	0	3.38	5	2	3		0	4.01
1995-96	Canada	WJC-A	4	4	0	0	0	1.50
1996-97	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	16	5	6	2	0	3.87	2	1	1		0	2.50
1996-97	Fredericton Canadiens	AHL	26	12	12	0	0	3.55
1997-98	Fredericton Canadiens	AHL	53	20	23	8	2	2.85	4	1	3		0	3.28
1997-98	Montreal Canadiens	NHL							3	0	1		0	0.50
1998-99	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	18	4	12	0	1	3.29
1998-99	Fredericton Canadiens	AHL	27	12	13	2	2	2.87	13	8	5		1	3.03
1999-00	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	30	12	13	2	5	2.10
1999-00	Canada	WC-A	8	5	3	0	2	1.63
2000-01	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	59	20	29	5	2	2.57
2000-01	Quebec Citadelles	AHL	3	3	0	0	0	3.00
2001-02	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	67	30	24	10	7	2.11	12	6	6		0	3.06
2002-03	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	57	20	31	6	2	2.90
2003-04	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	67	33	28	5	6	2.27	11	4	7		1	2.39
2004-05	Canada	W-Cup
2004-05	Djurgardens IF Stockholm	Sweden	17				0	2.46	12				0	2.23
2005-06	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	38	17	15	5	0	3.46
2005-06	Colorado Avalanche	NHL	5	1	3	1	0	3.04	9	4	5		0	3.04
2006-07	Colorado Avalanche	NHL	33	13	15	1	0	3.26
2007-08	Colorado Avalanche	NHL	53	28	21	3	3	2.44	10	4	6		0	3.15
2007-08	Lake Erie Monsters	AHL	1	0	1	0	0	3.02
2008-09	Washington Capitals	NHL	57	32	17	5	2	2.87	2	0	1		0	3.71
NHL Totals			501	215	214	45	28	2.67	49	19	27		1	2.79

QMJHL Second All-Star Team (1995, 1996)
WJC-A All-Star Team (1996)
WJC-A - Best Goaltender (1996)
NHL Second All-Star Team (2002)
MBNA Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award (2002)
Vezina Trophy (2002)
Hart Memorial Trophy (2002) Played in NHL All-Star Game (2002, 2004)

Scored a goal vs. NY Islanders, January 2, 2001. Signed as a free agent by Djurgarden (Sweden), December 20, 2004. Traded to Colorado by Montreal for David Aebischer, March 8, 2006. Signed as a free agent by Washington, July 1, 2008.

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