For starters, it should be stressed that Jocelyn is a perfectly acceptable name for a man. And with that, now coming to an AHL rink near you (though not nececsarily, Wilkes-Barry, PA), former Blackhawks G Jocelyn Thibault, shown above in Celebriduck form. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Dave Molinari.
The Penguins acquired Jocelyn Thibault in the summer to provide a bridge to the time when Marc-Andre Fleury would take over as their No. 1 goalie.
And he did.
It just happened a lot quicker than anyone anticipated.
The Penguins waived Thibault yesterday, less than a day after recalling Fleury from their American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre.
If Thibault is not claimed by noon today, he can be assigned to the Baby Penguins. Should Thibault refuse to accept the demotion, the Penguins would not be compelled to honor the two-year contract worth about $3 million that he signed after being obtained from Chicago for a fourth-round draft choice in August.
General manager Craig Patrick and coach Eddie Olczyk expressed optimism that Thibault would report to the Baby Penguins if he clears waivers, although both said they had not discussed that aspect of the situation with Thibault.
“My guess is, ‘Yes,’ but I don’t know the answer to that,” Patrick said.
Thibault did not respond to a phone message seeking his reaction to being waived.
Before he was waived, Thibault rejected a request that he go to Wilkes-Barre on a conditioning stint to get his game back in sync.
“We asked him if he’d go down for two weeks to get his game back in shape, and he’s not willing to do that at this point,” Patrick said. “So our option is to put him on waivers. You have to do what you have to do. It’s all business.