Jose Theodore

The Panthers came in on a high, winning three of their first four games. Brian Campbell leads the NHL with seven assists, and he's a defenseman. They had just swept last seasons Eastern Conference finalist Tampa Bay in a home and home series. Things have not looked this promising in quite some time.

The year was 2003.

The Colorado Avalanche had just been eliminated in a heartbreaking Game 7 overtime loss at the hands of future Av and then-Minnesota Wild forward Andrew Brunette, and it would bring the end of an era.

The goal would be the last allowed by Patrick Roy, winner of 551 regular season games and four Stanley Cup championships.

Injuries have knocked both Jimmy Howard and Chris Osgood out of net for the Detroit Red Wings.  Osgood will be out at least six to eight weeks as he recovers from a sports hernia.  Howard’s injury initially looked bad, but it appears he will be back this week. 

Beyond the injury concerns is the fact that both of these goalies will be free agents after this season.  What are the Red Wings' plans?  Will they bring in someone before the trade deadline, sign Howard long-term or bring in somebody in the offseason?

Coming into the 2010-11 NHL season there was a lot of uncertainty on the Minnesota Wild roster.

The one spot that there was none, though, was at the goalkeeper position. 

The Minnesota Wild have been on an impressive streak the past month, going 10-5-1 and beating some playoff-bound teams like the Phoenix Coyotes (twice), Colorado Avalanche, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins.

But they have also lost to some bad teams in there too, like the Ottawa Senators and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The question is: Which Wild team will show up tonight? 

As training camp grows closer and the heat of the free agency period in the NHL winds down, the list of available players still on the market has begun to dwindle.

With Ilya Kovalchuk finally settled on a contract with New Jersey, there are just 11 forwards and four defenseman on the list of remaining UFAs who scored double-digit points last season, in addition to only two goalies who started more than ten games.

Jose Theodore is still an unrestricted free agent on August 10.  Most teams have solidified their goaltending position and there just aren't enough seats for all the kids at the party. 

On the surface, it appears like his career could be winding down as he faces another crossroads.   The NHL landscape has taken a sudden turn and it has players like Theodore asking himself—what now?  

Personal tragedy, new economic and philosophical realities, and negative stigmas stand  between him and another shot at the Stanley Cup.

Goaltender Jose Theodore is one of the NHL free agents who is still without a home after free agency started two weeks ago.

Theodore has had a lengthy career playing for the Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche, and the Washington Capitals.

Theodore is now looking for his fourth home as he looks to continue his career.

In spite of the fact that many NHL teams have their goaltending duos in place for next year, there are still teams that could benefit from having Theodore on their roster.

Free agents.

Every NHL team has at least a few of them every year.

Some are prime players who seem to have no problem getting signed right away.

Others...well...it's a little harder.

These are the players who are injury-prone, had less than stellar seasons, or have attitude issues that keep them from playing well with others.

These players can sometimes remain unemployed almost right until the start of the season.

With the recent resigning of Montreal's Tomas Plekanec and San Jose's Patrick Marleau, the 2010 NHL Free Agent frenzy has slowed to something of an Ilya Kovalchuk Sweepstakes and nothing else. 

Sure, other cash pieces, like Alexander Frolov, Dan Hamhuis, and even Bill Guerin, will draw considerable attention, but this free agent season has less to do with superstars than the NHL Entry Draft. When it comes right down to it, the top free agents to watch this off-season will be coming from in between the pipes.