Stephen
Moderator
- Feb 28, 2002
- 79,201
- 54,473
How much of a disappointment do you consider his career to have been? At first glance he doesn't seem to be a player worth too much debate, just a serviceable journeyman starter with an all-star appearance, but there are some interesting storylines involved with him that make you think he should have been more that what he ended up as.
For starters, he was drafted 10th overall in 1993 by the Quebec Nordiques, the highest drafted goalie since Jimmy Waite in 1987. The franchise that picked him already had a ton of talent, similar to the way the Pittsburgh Penguins were stacked post-lockout. Obviously, he was projected to be the missing piece in net. To make things even more interesting, Thibault's pick was the one the Philadelphia Flyers sent as part of the Eric Lindros trade.
Secondly, Thibault made the NHL at a time when young goalies were landing starting jobs around the league. Teaming with Stephane Fiset, Thibault was part of a wave of goalies including Brodeur, Potvin, Osgood, Kidd, Roussel, Soderstrom in 1994 who were making inroads as NHL goalies playing significant roles. The popularity for young goalies really spiked during the 1994 and 1995 drafts when 8 goalies were drafted in the first round, including Storr, Fichaud, Cloutier, Ryabchikov, Giguere, Biron, Boucher and Denis. During the lockout shortened season, Thibault put up some fantastic numbers before being knocked out of commission with an injury.
The other major event in Thibault's career was being traded home to Montreal in exchange for Patrick Roy. This is significant because he was unable to be a part of being a part of Colorado's contender years, where he conceivably could have developed into a cup winning goalie in his own time, and also because it probably cemented his reputation as a bit of a flop as an elite goalie in the NHL. Unable to live up the expectations, pressure and failing to replace Roy, he was traded to Chicago at the still very young goalie age of 24, where he was a good workhorse goalie on a rebuilding club before finishing as a backup after the lockout.
All things considered, how much was Thibault's career a disappointment? It seems like he had two distinct opportunities to establish himself as a great, first as a Marc-Andre Fleury type goalie on an uber talented Avalanche team, and secondly as a Carey Price type new franchise goalie in Montreal. Could he have been more in Colorado? Would he have succeeded if Montreal handled him differently or gave him more time?
For starters, he was drafted 10th overall in 1993 by the Quebec Nordiques, the highest drafted goalie since Jimmy Waite in 1987. The franchise that picked him already had a ton of talent, similar to the way the Pittsburgh Penguins were stacked post-lockout. Obviously, he was projected to be the missing piece in net. To make things even more interesting, Thibault's pick was the one the Philadelphia Flyers sent as part of the Eric Lindros trade.
Secondly, Thibault made the NHL at a time when young goalies were landing starting jobs around the league. Teaming with Stephane Fiset, Thibault was part of a wave of goalies including Brodeur, Potvin, Osgood, Kidd, Roussel, Soderstrom in 1994 who were making inroads as NHL goalies playing significant roles. The popularity for young goalies really spiked during the 1994 and 1995 drafts when 8 goalies were drafted in the first round, including Storr, Fichaud, Cloutier, Ryabchikov, Giguere, Biron, Boucher and Denis. During the lockout shortened season, Thibault put up some fantastic numbers before being knocked out of commission with an injury.
The other major event in Thibault's career was being traded home to Montreal in exchange for Patrick Roy. This is significant because he was unable to be a part of being a part of Colorado's contender years, where he conceivably could have developed into a cup winning goalie in his own time, and also because it probably cemented his reputation as a bit of a flop as an elite goalie in the NHL. Unable to live up the expectations, pressure and failing to replace Roy, he was traded to Chicago at the still very young goalie age of 24, where he was a good workhorse goalie on a rebuilding club before finishing as a backup after the lockout.
All things considered, how much was Thibault's career a disappointment? It seems like he had two distinct opportunities to establish himself as a great, first as a Marc-Andre Fleury type goalie on an uber talented Avalanche team, and secondly as a Carey Price type new franchise goalie in Montreal. Could he have been more in Colorado? Would he have succeeded if Montreal handled him differently or gave him more time?