What kind of fan does this make me -- the Caps aren't going to qualify for the postseason this year, but I don't even want them to? I acknowledge that professional athletes have fiery competitiveness in their DNA, and I am aware of GMGM's longtsanding assertion that there's a real crapshoot quality to the NHL's postseason, but to me conspicuously flawed clubs have no business bearing brass ring aspirations. I have no interest in seeing this Caps' team, as it's currently comprised, go into a round one series with a second-line center by committee, a mish-mash of mid-level and inexperienced blueliners, and wildly unbalanced scoring among four lines.

I can speak only as a fan, but it seems to me there's only one reason to venture into the postseason: to win. How plausible is postseason winning for an outfit that's yet to prove it can be competitive regularly with the Florida Panthers? All manner of consolation prizes to the postseason -- of "experience" and "character" building -- strikes me as diversionary prittle-prat, the domain of losers. Me = not interested in door prizes.

Generally by February the interminable NHL season reveals the true identity of its member clubs, and what we know of the Caps after nearly 60 games this season is that they're still searching for their durable identity. Mercifully, the organization allowed the delusionally inaccurate marketing slogan "Always Intense" of a couple of seasons ago to wither into oblivion. (They're rarely intense in Sunrise.) Here's my free marketing advice for a slogan: "We're building something."

And that's really good news.

Olie Kolzig's injury yesterday occasioned what I regarded as a surprising torrent of "our playoff hopes are dashed now" reactions from fans and media. (Tarik this morning at least termed them "feint.") Those plausible hopes were dashed a couple of weeks ago. How does a battered 12th or 13th place in the conference outfit consistently better the points tallies of upwards of a half dozen clubs above them, all of whom possess more experienced bluelines and better balanced scoring? And above them aren't the Florida Panthers.

I understand as well as anybody the accumulated shoulder slumping of years' worth of being on the outside looking in as far as the playoffs are concerned. But I'm preferential to the Buffalo style of organization building: you're bad when you're on the outs, but once in, you're very, very good. And there are other similar models; it pains me to say it, but the Pens may be on the cusp of arriving at that status. At least they might soon wreak their havoc in another conference.

It's been a season of mixed developments for the Caps. They've found a terrific captain in Chris Clark, settling for a while a glaring leadership void. Boyd Gordon has enjoyed a grand development leap. Alexander Semin is on the cusp of superstardom. Mike Green has played brilliantly, quite well, and poorly -- about what you'd expect from a talented rookie logging veteran's minutes. And in an admittedly brief audition Green's '04 draftmate Jeff Schultz has demonstrated poise and promise. But there have been, too, glaring and daunting instances of regress. Brian Sutherby's atrophied offense, Ben Clymer's merit-based benchings; even one-dimensional play from #8. Kris Beech's flop was wholly predictable.

I'm accused at times of being a glass-is-half-full optimist, even when the losing is at its ugliest, the line combinations their most cluttered, the standings woes their most worrisome. This morning my metaphor is aeronautical. Our playoff charter is at the gate, but mechanics are still working on it, the flightplan is still being verified, and inside the terminal, on two walkways moving passengers in opposite directions, the walkway toward boarding bears a better volume than its counterpart.