Panthers sign Jose Theodore to 2 year, $3M contract

With negotiations with Tomas Vokoun going nowhere fast, the Florida Panthers have made a quick move to sign a free agent goalie before it was too late. Unfortunately his name is Jose Thoedore. With this move one can only reason that Tomas Vokoun has moved on from South Florida for greener pastures and playoff contenders, and that Scott Clemmensen and Theodore will have to duel it out for the starting role. Theodore will make 1.5 million dollars in each year of the contract.

Theodore is a veteran goalie at 34 years old and has seen plenty of action as a starting goaltender in 13 full seasons. Though coming off a less then spectacular season with the Wild, Theodore has had several winning seasons including impressive runs with the Washington Capitals, but overall has been mediocre with mediocre teams. In the unlikely event of the Panthers making the playoffs, Theodore does have one advantage over Vokoun, Jose has a good deal of playoff experience and has shown flashes of brilliance when called upon.

For Dale Tallon, signing Jose Theodore may have been the only thing he could do. Instead of pursuing Vokoun until he signed elsewhere and there were no good goalies on the market, Tallon cut his losses and has presumably left Vokoun free to sign where he wishes. Looking at all of the free agent goaltenders, Theodore isnt much better or worse than other options, but at least he came cheap and didn't want a lifetime contract. Right now it's all about the future, and if it means giving Theodore a contract as a stopgap for Jacob Markstrom, so be it.