Crisis? What crisis? (October 2002)
There's a nip in the air and frost on the windshield, John Garrett is losing the hockey pool again and there's a goalie controversy in Montreal. All's right with the world!
Oh the irony. On the same night that the Montreal Canadiens honoured Ken Dryden, their goaltending hero from that incredible 1976-77 team, the city was abuzz with controversy. A goaltending controversy no less. Jeff Hackett was going to start in the Montreal net for the second game in a row. At home. Against the Toronto Maple Leafs. On national television! Oh the horror, the horror!
Jose Theodore, last year's darling who won both the Hart and Vezina trophies, has had a tough start to the season. He allowed 12 goals in 2 games in front of the hometown fans. With a big fat paycheck in his pocket and the silverware on the mantel, was he getting complacent? Was he under too much pressure? Or was he really just a one-year wonder?
For the record, no, no and no. This happens. A lot. Goaltenders are like pitchers or drummers. They're the freaks of the team who slip in and out of a groove at the drop of a jock strap. Jose hasn't found his groove yet but pity the poor opponents when he does! Remember his 7-game win streak at the end of last season that nailed the playoff spot? Hmmm? Do you? How quickly we all forget.
And how quickly too we forget that the three million-dollar backup man is a darn good goaltender. Jeff Hackett is not the bad guy. He isn't playing because the organization has lost confidence in Theodore. He's playing because that's what backups do; they step in to give Mr. Number One a break. Often they steal a game...or two.
And let's face it; Hackett is for sale. He's being showcased for the teams that didn't bite in the summer goalie sweepstakes. He's cheaper than Ed Belfour, Curtis Joseph and Mike Richter were. And he's showing Byron Dafoe that he's first in line if St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Atlanta or even Boston come calling. Jeff Hackett will help the Montreal Canadiens if he stays or if he goes. His play of late has certainly given Montreal more to bargain with; they will be able to demand a good defenceman or power forward should the right deal arise.
If this is controversy, bring it on! Remember when Ken Dryden took the 1973-74 season off to finish his law requirements? Now that was ugly! The goalie trifecta of Bunny Larocque, Michel Plasse and Wayne Thomas couldn't get the defending Stanley Cup Champs past the first round of the playoffs. And I ask you, after Dryden retired in 1979, who was Montreal's number one goalie? If you answered Denis Heron, Rick Wamsley or Richard Sevigny, you might be right. But then again, you might be wrong.
Not until Steve Penney emerged in the 1984 playoffs did the Canadiens feel like the Canadiens again. Even with Guy Lafleur, Mats Naslund and Larry Robinson in the lineup, the lack of a great stopper hindered Montreal's chances to compete with the Islanders and the Oilers. However, Penney was a good warm-up act for what was to come.
The Patrick Roy era. And if you're looking for Montreal goalie controversy... don't get me started! Like Theodore, Roy became number one as Penney started looking average. The rookie quickly became one of the best goaltenders in the league, which was a good thing since his backups included guys like Doug Soetaert, Pat Jablonski and Andre "Red-light" Racicot.
As for Jocelyn Thibault, the guy never had a chance. After the darkest day in modern Montreal hockey history, even a Martin Brodeur or a Jose Theodore would have been doomed. There is never any gray area when you're the number one goaltender in Montreal. You're the hero or the goat. That kind of pressure can kill a career and destroy a spirit. Rocket Richard and Guy Lafleur never had it that bad.
I suppose it's only fitting that Montrealers go a little crazy at the slightest hint of puck-stopping trouble. After all, the coveted NHL goaltending trophy is named for Montreal great Georges Vezina. And Jacques Plante's legacy is evident in every rink on the planet when every goaltender dons his or her facemask.
So if the muckrakers and the fans are running amok with this story, so be it. Montrealers have earned the right to get the shakes and blow a goalie story way out of proportion. This year's controversy involving a couple of solid winners like Theodore and Hackett is the kind of trouble we should welcome. What's so bad about having two competitors playing their best to win a starting job? In fact, if our crystal ball is right, there might be some more trouble brewing down the road as farm hands Mathieu Garon and Olivier Michaud hone their skills as the goaltenders of the future. Who will be number one? That controversy will be worth waiting for.