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When the Boston Bruins said good bye to backup goalie Anton Khudobin, they had to fill his role and had to do it on the cheap given their cap constraints so they elected for Chad Johnson, he of 10 career NHL games.
Even though Tuukka Rask will get the vast bulk of the starts, it doesn't seem that the Bruins were completely comfortable with that tandem going forward as they are reportedly on the verge of signing Jose Theodore to a one-year deal.
According to our hockey analyst Yvon Pedneault, Bruins are on the verge of signing G Jose Theodore to a 1-yr contract. Passed phys. Wed #NHL
— L.A. Lariviere (@L_A_theRiver) August 18, 2013
But before we get too far, there are conflicting reports on this one as Bob McKenzie of TSN says he heard there's no truth to the rumor. Obviously somebody is right.
The last we saw of Theodore in the NHL, he was playing for the Florida Panthers. He was their No. 1 goalie two seasons ago when the Panthers were a surprise Southeast Division winner but followed it up with a disappointing season this past year that ended early due to injury. In 15 games with the Panthers the veteran had an .893 save percentage and a 3.29 goals against average.
While Theo isn't coming off a great season at all and an injury to boot, he did show two seasons ago there is still gas in the tank. If he indeed does sign with the Bruins they will have a proven goalie as the backup, perhaps giving coach Claude Julien a little more freedom to rest Rask when necessary.
It must be noted that the Bruins are already slightly over the salary cap for next season as it is but it's unlikely Theodore would command much at all in a salary so the Bruins should be able to make a move or two to remedy that situation. Overall, though, it is a concern and might seem to lend credence to McKenzie's report.
Whether he signs with Boston or not, at least we know that Theodore has been keeping his glove hand strong during the offseason.
