José Theodore

Infobox Ice Hockey Player

---

image_size = 265px
position = Goaltender
catches = Right
height_ft = 5
height_in = 11
weight_lb = 182
team = Washington Capitals
former_teams = Colorado Avalanche
Montreal Canadiens
league = NHL
nationality = Canada
birth_date = birth date and age|1976|9|13
birth_place = Laval, QC, CAN
career_start = 1995
draft = 44th overall
draft_year = 1994
draft_team = Montreal Canadiens

José Nicholas Théodore (born September 13, 1976 in Laval, Quebec) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He currently plays for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League. He previously played for the Montreal Canadiens where he won the Vezina and Hart trophies in 2001–02, and the Colorado Avalanche from 2006-2008. He wears the number 60.

=Playing career=

NHL Beginnings

Theodore was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, second round, forty-fourth overall. In 1996 he played for Team Canada in the World Junior Hockey Championships and won the Gold Medal. He was sent to the Colorado Avalanche in a trade on March 8, 2006 from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Swiss goaltender David Aebischer. At the time of the trade, Theodore was on the injured reserve; he strained his achilles tendon after slipping on the winter ice outside his home. He came off the IR with enough time to play in the last five regular-season Avalanche games. He went on to be the starting goalie in the playoffs, playing in nine games over the first two rounds before the Avs were eliminated. On July 1, 2008, he signed a two year nine million dollar contract with the Washington Capitals [ [http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=11353 2008 UFA Signings Tracker ] ] .

Rise to Fame

During a game on January 2, 2001, Theodore became the second goaltender to score a goal and capture a shutout when he attempted to clear the puck from the defensive zone and put the puck into the then empty net, vacated by Islanders goaltender John Vanbiesbrouck. In the following 2001-02 NHL season, Theodore captured the starting goaltender position from Jeff Hackett after a strong performance that helped the Canadiens gain a berth in the playoffs. His regular season play earned him the Vezina Trophy and the Hart Memorial Trophy the same year. In the play-offs his success continued when the Canadiens beat the top ranked Boston Bruins. Theodore became an immediate fan favorite in the city of Montreal. In 2004 he played back-up goalie for Team Canada, and won the World Cup of Hockey Championship. Theodore had another strong season in the 2004 NHL season as he earned a winning record of 33-28-5 and earning 6 shutouts, one shy of his current record. Also that season he participated in the Heritage Classic, the NHL's first ever outdoors hockey game. The game was held at Commonwealth Stadium versus the Edmonton Oilers, a game which Montreal won 4-3. On December 15, 2004 his father, Ted Nicholas Theodore, and his half-brother pleaded guilty to charges of loansharking and possession of a restricted weapon. In February 2005, the 71 year old Ted Theodore was given a $30,000 fine, but no jail time.

Drug Controversy

On February 9, 2006, news broke that Theodore had failed a drug test prior to the Olympic Games. It was later revealed to be caused by the prescription hair loss medication Propecia, which Theodore had been taking legally for 8 years. Propecia contains the drug Finasteride, which could be used as a masking agent for the performance enhancing drug Nandrolone among weight-trainers and bodybuilders, but it is not a performance enhancing drug in itself. Theodore did not face any punishment from the NHL as he had applied and received approval for a therapeutic use exception. [cite web
author = TSN.ca
title = Theodore's hair tonic causes positive test
publisher = TSN.ca
date = 2006-02-10
url = http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=154231
accessdate = 2006-10-28 ] Theodore received a two-year suspension from international play. [cite web
author = Diligent Media Corporation
title = Canadian star Theodore slapped with 2-year ban
publisher = Diligent Media Corporation
date = 2006-03-18
url = http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1018603
accessdate = 2006-10-28 ]

Personal life

*José has one child, Romy (born March 22, 2006) with his girlfriend Stéphanie Cloutier.

Name pronunciation

Ever since entering the NHL, the pronunciation of José's last name has been a topic of uncertainty and variation among the English-speaking media and NHL sportscasters, with common usage of "Tay-uh-DOHR", "THAY-uh-dohr" and "THEE-uh-dohr" between these groups, although the former is generally the most commonly-used. However, according to some English-language sources, José Theodore's name is pronounced "JOE-zay "THEE-uh-dohr". [cite web))

The proper spelling of Jose's family name is Theodorov as he is a Canadian of Macedonian descent (on his father's side).

author = ESPN.com
title = Jose Theodore - Colorado Avalanche Player Card
publisher = ESPN.com
date = 2006-12-9
url = http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=1420
accessdate = 2006-12-16 ] [cite web
author = hockeygoalies.org
title = Jose Theodore
publisher = hockeygoalies.org
date = 2006-12-9
url = http://www.hockeygoalies.org/bio/theodore.html
accessdate = 2006-12-16 ]

When Theodore joined the Washington Capitals, he was asked by a Comcast SportsNet reporter how to pronounce his name. Theodore himself said it is pronounced "JOE-zay THEE-uh-dohr."

=Career statistics=

=Regular season=

ee also

*NHL Goaltenders
*List of Colorado Avalanche players
*List of NHL seasons

References

External links