Over the next few weeks, Jose Theodore has a battle in front of him to keep his starting job as goaltender of the Washington Capitals. It was a tough postseason for Theodore, who had to sit and watch the final 12 games after Bruce Boudreau replaced him with Semyon Varlamov one game in.

Obviously, anything that happened last year or does happen on the ice this year is secondary to what Theodore had to deal with this summer with the death of his infant son. It is something that shouldn't happen to anybody, and it certainly isn't something that is easy to write about, either.

Here's what Jose had to say about losing his son:

"It is something that I am going to deal with the best I can," he said. "Being around the guys here helps with getting my mind off of things, but it is definitely going to be the biggest challenge for me. I’ve been through some hard stuff, but nothing compared to this. I’m going to tell you as the season goes along, but for now I am just doing the best I can."

As for competing for the starting job, Theodore said he has to be consistent and play well every day or he knows either Varlamov or Michal Neuvirth will be ready to take his job.

"There’s always somebody pushing you. I’ve been in the league, what, 12 years now and I can’t remember ever having a year where there wasn’t somebody pushing me. It started in Montreal with Mathieu Garon and then [Jeff Hackett] and in Colorado with [Petr Budaj]. There’s always somebody pushing you, and this year there’s going to be two young guys that want to be in the NHL and play well and they’re great goalies. I know I can’t let down. I have to be consistent and I have to play well because they’re going to be guys that are ready to come in there."

There will be more news and notes from media day on here, and check the paper tomorrow for much more on Theodore.

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