Theodore vs. Varlamov, Round Two

With a month to go before the Capitals open training camp, people who presumed Semyon Varlamov would be the No. 1 goaltender after taking over in the playoffs are incorrect, according to Bruce Boudreau and Capitals Insider.

"Right now José is the number one guy and the other two young men [Varlamov and fellow prospect Michal Neuvirth] have got to come in and play the way they did last year and try to push him out," Boudreau said. "José won [32] games for us last year, and like the year before when Cristobal Huet got hot down the stretch, Varly came in and did a great job where we just couldn't take him out."

Of course, Boudreau's logic makes sense. With Jose Theodore being an unrestricted free agent following the season, to stick him on the bench for a majority of the 82-game regular-season schedule only would hurt his possible trade value at the deadline, something the Capitals could use to add a piece by swapping out the remainder of his salary. As the season progresses, his untradeable contract will become more attractive to teams needing a goaltender, and therefore be useful to the Caps to either rely on him for the playoffs if he plays well, or unload his contract and bring up presumably Michal Neuvirth in that case.

Varlamov's progression also will be worth watching, as while the rookie dazzled in the first round by taking away the lower half of the net with his style, he became vulnerable to high shots as the Penguins series progressed, culminating in the clunker of Game 7.

Theodore certainly was wildly inconsistent in 2008-09, starting out poorly but then going on a hot streak around the holidays to propel the Caps into an insurmountable lead in the Southeast Division before going cold again late in the regular season. But with a contract to play for, making the veteran the No. 1 for the beginning probably makes sense to maintain his value, and since the Capitals are certainly solid enough to withstand his slumps during the regular season, it certainly won't hurt to start him out as the incumbent.

And, the competition certainly won't hurt, as Varlamov is already working out in Russia to try to win the job, and Theodore has been skating at Kettler to do the same. Look for the pairing to start the season in Washington, with Neuvirth to come up in case of injury or trade.