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Post by AH on Dec 9, 2002 15:33:49 GMT -5
Well ... this is something that crossed my mind a couple of weeks back.
Last year, when the playoffs started, Theo struggled big time in the first 3 games of the Boston Series. As I recall, Hackett, who happenned to be watching the games from his home in London because he was recovering from shoulder surgery, called up Theo and told him exactly what was wrong with him. This led to Theo being unbelievable not only for the rest of the Boston series, but all the way until the last game of the Carolina series.
Could it be that Hackett knows what Theodore is doing wrong and is not telling him because then it would then seriously cut into his own playing time ? Seeing how a trade in the near future involving Hackett is unlikely, he may be looking at Theodore's struggles as a way to get in some games.
Not saying that Hackett has the answer as to what is wrong with Theodore, but could it be that he is not getting the same support and pointers from Hackett as he has in the past ?
Just a thought ....
;D ;D
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Post by Maritimer on Dec 9, 2002 15:49:26 GMT -5
Personally as a goaltender I don't see it...if you adjust a part of your game it may cut down on rebounds, short side goals etc. I don't think it could completely change your results overnight.
I thought his strong play coincided with the Mclaren hit on Zednick?
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Post by MPLABBE on Dec 9, 2002 16:10:17 GMT -5
Yeah me too.
His revenge on the Bruins was too shut them down ;D
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Post by montreal on Dec 9, 2002 16:44:36 GMT -5
Personally as a goaltender I don't see it...if you adjust a part of your game it may cut down on rebounds, short side goals etc. I don't think it could completely change your results overnight. I thought his strong play coincided with the Mclaren hit on Zednick? So whats your take on Theodore, what is going so wrong with him? I have seen most of all the games he's played with us. Before last year, he would make some unreal saves, then let in a softie. But last year, he seemed to fix that problem, as his rebound control was better, and his reflexes were lighting quick down low. Now this year, it reall boggles the mind. Lately I seen him make some great saves, and I start to think, finally he's coming back to form from last year, and then just like that he lets in a soft one, followed by a few more soft ones. When it goes bad for him, it gets downright ugly. I wonder if they should bench him for a week or so, I don't know, but something has to be done, he's really struggling. Like the first game against dallas, he sucked in the first peroid, then was great in the 2nd and 3rd. I just don't understand what's going on.
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Post by AH on Dec 9, 2002 17:00:13 GMT -5
What I have noticed the most about him are the following:
- He is not as quick as last year (his feet and lateral movement). - He also seems to have become VERY lazy (he no longer fights to get into position to get a better view of the puck when there is traffic in front of him) - His handling of the puck outside the crease, which was bad to begin with, is even worse this year.
The top 2 points lead me to believe that he is physically out of shape, which is not hard to believe considering he partied it up the entire summer and did not come to camp as sharp. He may be carrying extra baggage around his waist from eating all those Vachon cakes.
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Post by Viper on Dec 9, 2002 17:00:25 GMT -5
Yeah me too. His revenge on the Bruins was too shut them down ;D He was quoted in saying just that on the night the series wrapped up if i remember correctly.
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Post by MPLABBE on Dec 9, 2002 17:13:46 GMT -5
What I have noticed the most about him are the following: - He is not as quick as last year (his feet and lateral movement). - He also seems to have become VERY lazy (he no longer fights to get into position to get a better view of the puck when there is traffic in front of him) - His handling of the puck outside the crease, which was bad to begin with, is even worse this year. The top 2 points lead me to believe that he is physically out of shape, which is not hard to believe considering he partied it up the entire summer and did not come to camp as sharp. He may be carrying extra baggage around his waist from eating all those Vachon cakes. Ah, those Vachon cakes...... ;D Well the handling of the puck hasn't cost him a goal yet has it?(I can't remember one..) Like Montreal said, there are times when you say ''holy crap what a save...is he back?'' then he lets in a bad goal and you just shake your head. It also doesn't help when he has to make 18 saves in a period(jeez, Martin Brodeur has to make that number in 1 game and usually gets a W) Also last year Theodore's rebounds always seemed to go in the corner or somewhere with no opponent in site. This year the rebound control is not even close to that good. The lateral movement was superb as well. And the league has a game plan against him...just put a bunch of big guys in front of him and he won't see anything due to his small frame. That's why we need a big d-man who will push some of those guys out of the crease. Look at the players who have lit it up against Theodore this year...Pyatt, Leclair, Primeau, Handzus, Cole, Arnott,etc all guys who are big(Cole is the smallest at 6') and go to the net.
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Post by Viper on Dec 9, 2002 17:43:14 GMT -5
And the league has a game plan against him...just put a bunch of big guys in front of him and he won't see anything due to his small frame. That's why we need a big d-man who will push some of those guys out of the crease. Look at the players who have lit it up against Theodore this year...Pyatt, Leclair, Primeau, Handzus, Cole, Arnott,etc all guys who are big(Cole is the smallest at 6') and go to the net. Well said Marc. Very well said I still believe that the whole Theodore struggling revolves around alot more than just Theodore and this is another fine example. Many times he gets smoked on cross ice passes or bad rebounds and alot of the times his reaction time is hindered by his lack of visibility or His defender's inability to pick up the checks, Clear the front of the net, or even clear loose pucks. Of course last year he was way better at making the miraculous stop on those occasions when his blueline failed him. My problem with that was the fact he had to do that way more than any regular keeper. If only hackett could start to stink then we could see the reality of the team better. I'm just sick and tired of having a crap team with a great goalie we're the Buffalo sabres of the new Millenium for goodness sake.
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Post by MPLABBE on Dec 9, 2002 18:24:34 GMT -5
The D still sucks as bad as it did last year...maybe even worse with Dorkhuis looking terrible this year, no Souray and Quintal being sub-par before this weekend.
Rollie Melanson was on the radio and said Theodore is still working hard but lacks ''the fire in his eyes'' he had last year. The extra desire to go out and get a win for the team.
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Post by Viper on Dec 9, 2002 18:35:37 GMT -5
Rollie Melanson was on the radio and said Theodore is still working hard but lacks ''the fire in his eyes'' he had last year. The extra desire to go out and get a win for the team. There's a major answer to alot of question's i wonder why though it seems wierd i've always thought of him as a big time competitor. Could it be he's sick of playing for MT
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Post by MPLABBE on Dec 9, 2002 18:39:28 GMT -5
Or maybe the money? Or maybe the fact he established himself as a NHLer now?
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Post by habwest on Dec 9, 2002 19:00:11 GMT -5
uhmm...a great goalie is struggling because of a crap team. How come Hackett is doing real good? Because he's 2 inches taller?
Theo just plain sucks this year. Playing great one minute and imitating a sieve the next is defintiely not what a $5M goalie is supposed to do. He should be taking just as much heat as Audette and Czerk, if not more. And at least Audette has an excuse in the arm.
About all that you can say for Theo this year is that he's keeping his mouth shut, but I guess that's the only way he can keep from laughing over taking the Habs to the cleaners and then having to do squat to earn it.
I really don't care what the excuse is. Personally I think that he's just too comfortable with that fat new contract. He held up the Habs big time and now he owes us big time. Not to mention GG. So he should be getting lots of heat, the more the better. Just so as to encourage him. In the meantime he should sit.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Dec 9, 2002 20:27:00 GMT -5
Well ... this is something that crossed my mind a couple of weeks back. Last year, when the playoffs started, Theo struggled big time in the first 3 games of the Boston Series. As I recall, Hackett, who happenned to be watching the games from his home in London because he was recovering from shoulder surgery, called up Theo and told him exactly what was wrong with him. This led to Theo being unbelievable not only for the rest of the Boston series, but all the way until the last game of the Carolina series. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if Hack had called Theo if only to help him out. Hack has been one of Theo's best friends and supporters for quite a while now. I also think Theo wasn't to blame for the series-ending game against Carolina. Honestly, I feel he played about as well as the rest of his team on that night. They all seemed to run out of gas at the same time. Oh well. I honestly don't think Hack would do something like that. It just doesn't seem to be part of his character. As far as a trade goes, I think if they do move him it will probably be around the trading deadline which might be self-destructing should the Habs be in a playoff hunt of their own. Having said that, however, over the past few years the Habs have traded up around Christmas. If they do so this year, with Hack as part of a package, Theo would have no choice; put up or shut up! Cheers.
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Post by BCHab on Dec 9, 2002 20:32:52 GMT -5
uhmm...a great goalie is struggling because of a crap team. How come Hackett is doing real good? Because he's 2 inches taller? Theo just plain sucks this year. Playing great one minute and imitating a sieve the next is defintiely not what a $5M goalie is supposed to do. He should be taking just as much heat as Audette and Czerk, if not more. And at least Audette has an excuse in the arm. About all that you can say for Theo this year is that he's keeping his mouth shut, but I guess that's the only way he can keep from laughing over taking the Habs to the cleaners and then having to do squat to earn it. I really don't care what the excuse is. Personally I think that he's just too comfortable with that fat new contract. He held up the Habs big time and now he owes us big time. Not to mention GG. So he should be getting lots of heat, the more the better. Just so as to encourage him. In the meantime he should sit. I agree with you on all points. Theo is stealing the money this year. Call me a cynic but I don't see him benched for too long. The more radical elements of the French press, in particular, would be all over the team if he sat for an extended period of time, poor performances notwithstanding. I'd imagine that some of the more xenophobic columnists would come out with some rather extreme conspiracy theories of their own, none of them remotely amusing or factual.
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Post by MPLABBE on Dec 9, 2002 21:00:47 GMT -5
The french media are all agreeing with the decision.
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Post by montreal on Dec 10, 2002 0:51:10 GMT -5
uhmm...a great goalie is struggling because of a crap team. How come Hackett is doing real good? Because he's 2 inches taller? Theo just plain sucks this year. Playing great one minute and imitating a sieve the next is defintiely not what a $5M goalie is supposed to do. He should be taking just as much heat as Audette and Czerk, if not more. And at least Audette has an excuse in the arm. About all that you can say for Theo this year is that he's keeping his mouth shut, but I guess that's the only way he can keep from laughing over taking the Habs to the cleaners and then having to do squat to earn it. I really don't care what the excuse is. Personally I think that he's just too comfortable with that fat new contract. He held up the Habs big time and now he owes us big time. Not to mention GG. So he should be getting lots of heat, the more the better. Just so as to encourage him. In the meantime he should sit. Well I agree, Theo should be getting a lot more heat from everybody. It's no coincidence that every game that we have gotten blown out, Theo was in nets. (except one, NJ) yet everything is blamed on Therrien. (I'm not saying Therrien is a good coach, just that Theo has escaped the much heat around here) I think he's going down too easy, his angles are off, as he gets caught cheating, his rebound control is brutal at times, and with our shaky defense, that spells trouble. I don't understand why he isn't playing anywhere near as good as last year, but he has to turn it around, if we are going to make the playoffs, unless Hackett really does stick around as the #1 playing the way he has been.
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Post by JohnnyVerdun on Dec 10, 2002 0:59:56 GMT -5
All I know is that if I'm Andre Savard, somebody has to be willing to really, really overpay for me to part with Jeff Hackett right now. Moving Hackett could effectively extinguish any playoff aspirations this team has if Theo maintains his present level of play, and whether he likes it or not the end of the playoff hunt may mean the end of his tenure as GM....To me, the deal would have to be one that's likely to improve the team significantly over the next few years. Hackett and Kilger for Lundmark, or Kloucek, or something as unlikely as that. Otherwise it's just not worth it. It'd be better to ride Hackett as far as we can and lose him for nothing, rather than move him (especially to a conference rival like the Rags) for a spare part or a pick lower than a 2nd....
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Post by BCHab on Dec 10, 2002 12:30:32 GMT -5
The french media are all agreeing with the decision. Yes they are, for now. But I think you'll agree that some are less "patient" than others and that sooner or later, there will be a call to play Theo for an assortment of reasons that may or may not be pertinent to hockey. He is the Habs only french speaking star after all and there is a certain amount of symbolism attached to that type of status. Ask Al MacNeil. Cheers.
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Post by JFM on Dec 10, 2002 19:31:07 GMT -5
Well then, I suggest that everyone read Rejean Tremblay's article in La Presse today. He blames Theo's problems on A.S.' "mismanagement of the goaltending situation. This is the same columnist that wrote " Who the F*** is Craig Rivet?" after Rivet's comments about the lacklustre play of many of his teammates. I'm really getting fed up with this guy and his good buddy Michel Bergeron: Saku is selfish for his comeback. These clowns have nothing better to do than stir up anti- non francophone sentiments. Now that being said, the English side is equally poor, but their crap isn't politically motivated.
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Post by MPLABBE on Dec 10, 2002 19:45:48 GMT -5
Reading that fat piece of sh*t is wasting time.
F him.
But the rest of the french media agreed with the decision...even Bergeron..
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Post by PTH on Dec 11, 2002 0:20:11 GMT -5
All I know is that if I'm Andre Savard, somebody has to be willing to really, really overpay for me to part with Jeff Hackett right now. Moving Hackett could effectively extinguish any playoff aspirations this team has if Theo maintains his present level of play, and whether he likes it or not the end of the playoff hunt may mean the end of his tenure as GM....To me, the deal would have to be one that's likely to improve the team significantly over the next few years. Hackett and Kilger for Lundmark, or Kloucek, or something as unlikely as that. Otherwise it's just not worth it. It'd be better to ride Hackett as far as we can and lose him for nothing, rather than move him (especially to a conference rival like the Rags) for a spare part or a pick lower than a 2nd.... Agreed from start to finish. Can't see Hack being moved, no one needs him more than we do now.
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Post by habwest on Dec 11, 2002 0:47:03 GMT -5
Here here.
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