Remembering the Goalies: Jocelyn Thibault

[Mr. TM]

Journeyman goalie? You bet. He was the type of guy who would provide the backup that you needed, and he could be a poor teams number one goalie. CH David might give us an insight into his career better than most, as he spent most of his career playing in pizza town.

No cups for him, and he never backpacked his team to anywhere deep in the playoffs, but just by reading up on him, there is one interesting note. Maple Leafs Gardens and the Forum are two of... the two biggest hockey arenas in NHL history. and the last two wins by a goalie, are by him, as well as the Capital Centre.

He now works for the Avalance as a goalie coach (guess they don't have a former goalie to help them, who was better than Thibault). At 34, he retired quite early, but after being held back as a backup on, there was little chance for him to ever improve.

 

[CH David]

Thibault was an average to good goaltender in his career. When he was with the Blackhawks, he had no chance at success because of how terrible the team in front of him was in the early '00s, short of the 02-03 season. That season was his personal best, with 8 shutouts and 2.37 GAA. However the season before he had his highest total of games started with 67, and wins with 33. He didn't have any intangibles to make him a good to great goalie without help. However the defense would play in front of him, was how he was going to play.

He was a solid backup, and that is pretty much it. Shouldn't have been an everyday goaltender, but the Hawks had nothing better on the bench during his time there. So Thibault had a decent career, nothing made him stand out much other than his own personal career season of 02-03, and his All-Star appearance. Something I actually just happened upon, he is .500 in his career, at 238-238-68. So yes, average to good goaltender depending on the team in front of him.

 

[BooCocky]

He wasn't called Thiblow because he was good. I remember him in Pittsburgh a few seasons ago abd he sucked. It was funny though, he'd give up one goal one night and for five straight nights he'd give up like 4. I guess that's the career of a back-up. That's all he ever was, he was a backup that brought a veteran presence to the locker room. O well he made a decent living out of it. He played one of the hardest positions on the ice and still had a decent career out of it.