The Washington Capitals have signed goaltender Jose Theodore to a two-year, $9 million contract.
Theodore, 31, became an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after playing out a three-year, $16 million deal. The former Montreal Canadien came off a solid 2007-08 campaign, posting a 28-21-3 record and a 2.44 goals against average.
The Avalanche acquired Theodore in 2006, hoping to re-vitalize his career after a few struggling campaigns in Montreal. In 2001-2002, he won the Vezina and Hart Trophies as the league MVP with a 2.11 goals against average and .931 save percentage. He followed that up with a disastrous 2002-2003 season, during which his goals against shot up to 2.90 and his save percentage dropped to .908 as the Habs missed the postseason.
The Colorado Avalanche quickly replaced Theodore, signing Andrew Raycroft to a one-year, $800,000 deal.
The Toronto Maple Leafs placed Raycroft on unconditional waivers last week and bought out the final year of his contract.
Raycroft was acquired from the Boston Bruins prior to the 2006-07 season for goaltending prospect Tuukka Rask and went on to set a franchise mark for wins with 37 that season.
But the Belleville, Ontario native took a backseat to Vesa Toskala early last season and never regained the starting role. He finished the year with just two wins in 19 appearances.