Bruce Boudreau was on NHL Live (XM 204) this afternoon discussing everything from the Cup Finals to his goalies (when he follows an awkward pause by noting that there are "some good goaltenders out there and we'll find one of them," is he implying that Cristobal Huet won't be back? How did E.J. Hradek not follow up on that point?). Anyway, here's the interview (in two parts), with the goalie chatter coming midway through the second part:
17 comments:
Uh, there's a silence there that speaks volumes. Uh-oh.
Budaj: "BOO-die." Groan.
How could those guys not follow up with the obvious, "Do you mean to say Huet won't be back?"
Dear Tarik,
Ball's in your court.
Sincerely,
Us.
jp:
THANK YOU! Wondering the same damn thing!
I wouldn't read too much into it, other than it's probably club policy not to talk about guys who aren't signed as if they are signed. At least I hope.
I also believe there is no need to lose sleep over player signings right now. Let's see who we have by the 30th of June. We could still get Huet after 1 July, but that would imply our first offer/counteroffer was rejected.
Doug
Gabby's answer is a heck of a lot different from McPhee's "we expect to sign Huet" a couple of weeks ago.
I don't feel so good...
Do you think it might be a problem that the Caps need Huet more than he might need the Caps?
-d
I watched and listened to BB's appearance on the show today, and my take was that BB was saying no more than the company line re: FA's. In fact, in a cryptic kind of way it could be that Bourdreau was ratifying McPhee's earlier (positive) statements about Huet, while 'keeping an open mind'...
This should be an interesting month! Here's to GMGM and Ted to keep laying out the dough.
Meh. If it were GMGM saying it, then of course you worry, but not so much for Boudreau. I don't expect him to know all that much about GMGM's contract negotiation processes, other than maybe if things are definitely done (one way or the other). I doubt he has all that much inside info at this point, so he's probably just covering his bases and saying things without making any assumptions.
@bigonetimer:
That pause reminded me of his awkward responses to injury questions. Not in the sense that he's hiding something, but that he was instructed to do so. He's been company line all the way and for good reason is keeping it that way this offseason. Free Agency is touchy for head coaches.
Bradley summed it up best: If it were McPhee talking, I would be a little bit concerned. Gabby doesn't have much to do with signings, whereas GMGM IS signings!
I would look at it this way - I'm SURE that GMGM isn't putting all of his eggs in the Huet basket. They're hoping to sign him, I'm sure, but they've got to be exploring Plan B if somehow they don't.
I wouldn't expect anything less - you can hope for Plan A all you want, but you'd better be ready for Plan B if it's needed.
I think you're reading too much into it. The Caps and Huet's agent are early into negotiations and probably pretty far apart on the numbers and Bruce just wanted to be careful on what he wanted to say OR they're close to a contract and he didn't want to say anything that might screw the pooch. In any case, we're probably over-analyzing the situation if we're reduced to inferring what a pause means. Maybe we should be focusing on the strong statement by Bruce that George will get a top goalie in the fold this summer. Huet is my first choice, but he isn't the only goalie out there.
The pause doesn't bother me. Neither, really, does Boudreau's "there are other fish in the sea" answer.
What bothers me is that neither of the NHL Live boneheads asked the obvious follow-up about Huet. Sure, Boudreau would've likely stonewalled, but you've still gotta ask.
In that situation you expect the coach to trot out boilerplate on how great Huet had been down the stretch and how you hope to bring him back. For professional coaches that's almost a reflex action. And Gabby, known as Gabby because he's chatty and honest, didn't go there.
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