24 July, 2008

Category Archives: NHL Trades

The Capitals’ Top 10 Storylines for 2007-08

By pucksandbooks
Monday, April 28, 2008

10. The Rebuild Is Over. Owner Leonsis uttered this proclamation during the preseason, later claiming that the season’s barometer for success would be qualifying for the postseason. Through the middle of November both seemed delusionally wishful thinking. But when the right guy arrived behind the bench, when the Caps’ skilled young core was encouraged to attack, the team took off, rampaging from last in the league at Thanksgiving to a Southeast Division crown on the regular season’s final Saturday. The right pieces indeed were in place, and the team’s future has never been as promising.

9. Backstrom: the no. 1 Pivot of the Future — and the Present. Really nobody knew what Nicklas Backstrom’s rookie season in the NHL would bring. During last July’s Development Camp, he seemed to struggle a bit with making plays on a smaller sheet. But he looked better at the end of camp than at its start, and by September’s training camp he looked even more adjusted. Like other skilled players in Glen Hanlon’s system, he struggled. Like other skilled players under Bruce Boudreau, he blossomed.

His 69 points on the season represented the second-most prolific rookie season in Caps’ history (behind a certain precocious Russian in 2005-06). Most telling: 60 of his points came in the final 61 games. He adjusted all right. He played his finest hockey of the season when you want a player to — in the postseason. In so doing he defied a long tradition of rookies fading under the rigors of an 82-game season. And he rightfully earned a nomination for the Calder trophy.

8. One Seriously Sorry Sheet. Washington’s never been known to offer a quality sheet of ice for its NHL games, but the matter gained unprecedented urgency when in December team captain Chris Clark spoke with commendable candor to the Washington Post about the indefensible ice at home. This surface wasn’t merely bad aesthetically, it was, suggested Clark, injurious to players. Clark himself lost virtually the entire season to a groin injury. Flyers’ winger Mike Knuble injured his leg when he caught it in a Verizon Center rut in the playoffs. And game 7’s sheet was so ill-prepared that arena workers could be seen repairing it on their hands and knees in the moments before puck-drop — and throughout the game.

Whatever greatly skilled and exciting roster Capitals’ management assembles for the future, it won’t much matter if at home it’s asked to compete on an ability-leveling and integrity-sacrificing surface.

7. Deadline Day Doozies. Trade deadline day was supposed to be quiet for the Caps. It turned out to be anything but. General manager George McPhee engineered a dramatic infusion of postseason experience and skill in areas of weakness on February 26, including securing a no.1 netminder in Cristobal Huet from Montreal for merely a second-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft. All three players acquired on deadline day played pivotal roles in the season’s final 18 games.

In his Capitals’ debut on February 29, Huet stopped all 18 shots he faced in backstopping the Caps to a 4-0 win in New Jersey. He went 11-2 in his 13 starts for the Caps, winning the final nine games he started. In the biggest game the Caps played in years, Sergei Fedorov, acquired for 2007 second round selection Teddy Ruth, was named the game’s first star in the Caps’ 3-1 win over Florida on April 5, which vaulted the team to the SouthEast title and the postseason for the first time since 2003. He was especially adept in the faceoff circle. Matt Cooke played a less significant part statistically during the stretch run but recaptured his active, pest-like play from years ago in Vancouver night in and night out. All three veterans were credited with providing vital leadership to the young and inexperienced Caps.

6. Mike Green: the no. 1 Gun Arrives. If there was one overarching question confronting the Caps’ blueline heading into the 2007-08 season, it was: is there a no.1 Gun among? If last September you thought there was, you knew something the rest of hockey didn’t. In 2006-07, Mike Green played 70 games for the Caps, tallying just 2 goals and 10 assists. He offered glimpses of high-end promise, but he also seemed years away from becoming consistent and reliable and earning a top pairing assignment. But this past season Green blossomed into a dominant, mature-for-his-years force. He led the entire league in goals by a defenseman during the regular season, and he followed that with a superb playoff series — so much so that Flyers’ head coach John Stevens very publicly made it known that Mike Green was a weapon his team had to strategize to stop. The no.1 Gun on the Caps’ blueline has arrived.

5. AO: The Best Hockey Player on the Planet. Alexander Ovechkin’s hardware-hogging brilliance during 2007-08 earned him broadcasts of “Ovechkin Ovations” on the NHL Network and, more importantly, ascension over the Nova Scotian as the game’s greatest talent. His 65 goals during the regular season were the most scored by a Capital in franchise history, and he became just the 19th player in NHL history to score 60 goals in a season. By the end of the regular season he’d staked unassailable claims to both the Richard and Ross trophies and was a near mortal lock to command both the Hart trophy and the Lester Pearson award for his most valuable performance. At one point no less than the Great One suggested that his seemingly unbreakable record of 92 goals scored in a single season could be within Ovechkin’s visored viewfinder.

4. Canning Glen; Finding the Right Guy Right up the Road. After winning their first three games of the season, the Capitals proceeded to lose 15 of their next 18 and plummet to the very bottom of the NHL standings. While Glen Hanlon may well have been the right coach to preside over the rebuilding Caps beginning not long before the team began its purge of high-priced, under-achieving talent in the 2003-04 season, autumn 2007 seemed to deliver a resoundingly rotten verdict on his ability to advance the team to where management deemed appropriate for 2007-08.

No one would suggest that Hanlon didn’t offer the organization his fullest possible effort. But by late 2007 that effort wasn’t working. “He knew as soon as he saw me this morning,” McPhee told the Washington Post on Thanksgiving day. “He said, ‘I wouldn’t have known what to do today.’ ”

Enter Bruce Boudreau, aka “Gabby.” On Thanksgiving Eve Bruce Boudreau was in his third season behind the Hershey Bears’ bench. He’d enjoyed an auspicious first two seasons there: a Calder Cup title in his first season in Hershey in the spring of 2006 and a return to the finals the following season. He’d won a Kelly Cup title in the East Coast League as well. Still, to many Capitals’ fans, he appeared to be just another “no name” plucked from the farm.

Probably it was with this in mind that Hershey Bears’ Senior Manager for Communications John Walton authored a memorable open letter to Capitals’ fans on the day that Gabby was announced as the new Caps’ coach. “Know this first and foremost,” Walton wrote in his letter. “He’s a winner . . . For what it’s worth, we have seen the magic here. We’re more than willing to share.” Continue reading ›

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, American Hockey League, Bruce Boudreau, Calder Cup, Chris Clark, Cristobal Huet, Development Camp, Eastern Conference, Entry Draft, Front Office, George McPhee, Hershey Bears, Ice, John Walton, Kettler Capitals Iceplex, Matt Cooke, Media, Mike Green, NHL Network, NHL Trades, National Hockey League, Nicklas Backstrom, Philadelphia Flyers, Print, Sergei Fedorov, Stanley Cup Playoffs, TV, Ted Leonsis, The Big Deal, Training Camp, Verizon Center, Washington Capitals, Washington Post| Permalink| Comments (11)

The Lethal Mr. Brooks

By pucksandbooks
Saturday, March 15, 2008

Brooks Laich - bio pic from the Washington CapitalsThe Capitals’ communications team Saturday morning passed along some eye-opening data for Brooks Laich, who didn’t have a two-goal game in his first 214 NHL games but has three in his last nine outings. Laich has 10 goals and 12 points in the Capitals’ last 12 games, and now ranks third on the team with 19 goals. He entered this season with just 15 goals in 151 career NHL games.

The Capitals acquired Laich from the Ottawa Senators on February 18, 2004, in a somewhat controversial trade for a fella named Peter Bondra. Coverage of the deal was famous/infamous for camera shots of Bondra in tears out at Piney Orchard and Internet message boards littered with “Brooks who?” sentiments. Four years later, all of hockey is beginning to learn who Brooks Laich is.

At the time of the deal, Laich, then just 20, had played a grand total of one NHL game, and in the 2003-04 season, tallied a modest 16 goals for Binghamton and Portland in the American Hockey League. Bondra would go on to add 52 goals in a little more than two seasons in Ottawa, Atlanta, and Chicago before retiring. Laich, who won’t turn 25 until this summer, will score his 20th goal of the season any shift now, and by all appearances, he has a good many more ahead of him in his NHL career. He’s a magnificent skater, a grinder with soft gloves, a heart-and-soul type.

He’s particularly comfortable doing the dirty work in front of the opposition’s net.

“If you want money, you go to the bank. If you want bread, you go to the bakery. If you want goals, you go to the net,” Laich said.

Who in hockey back in February 2004 would have identified McPhee’s dealing of Bondra as lopsided . . . in favor of the Caps? That 2004 deal, incidentally, also brought from Ottawa a second-round pick, and in the summer of 2005 George McPhee flipped it to Colorado at the Entry Draft for a late first-round selection that day.

Joe Finley.

Filed in Brooks Laich, George McPhee, Joe Finley, NHL Trades, Peter Bondra, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (12)

Have Bauers Will Travel: Trans-Border Labor Trials

By pucksandbooks
Saturday, March 8, 2008

The NHL’s borderlessness is an unassailable virtue — the long-standing reality that a single NHL roster can be comprised of five or seven differing nationalities, all united in a common competitive cause. And yet as players move in significant volume as they did with last week’s trade deadline, big-time bureaucratic challenges set in as the complex immigration policies of sovereign nations mandate elaborate and well scrutinized process, formal inspection, and adjudication for players’ work eligibility. Media accounts briefly and generally allude to individual player’s visa challenges, but always without in-depth explanation. Fans are left to wonder: after a player in Canada is acquired via trade, just when will he arrive and dress and help out his new team? And why the delays?

The Capitals with their deadline frenzy last week had to navigate the protocols put in place by Congress, the U.S. State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security. Sergei Fedorov, a Russian national, was already in possession of a work visa while skating for the Columbus Blue Jackets, but Matt Cooke and Cristobal Huet, both laboring in Canada, necessarily had to navigate America’s immigration bureaucracy; that both were dressed in their new sweaters and helping out their new teammates by last weekend is a testament to the timely and detail-oriented work of the Capitals, the respective players’ agents, and likely some semblance of accommodation on the part of the U.S. government.

I had a chance this week to chat with Jessica Vaughan, senior policy analyst at the Center for Immigration Studies here in D.C., and find out a little about the basics involved with such player movement. If you’re really intrigued by the mechanics of the international hockey player (and fan) movement process, the bible for it is Siskind’s site for immigration and visa law review. (Warning: as with the U.S. immigration code generally, it’s not for the feint of law degree.)

From my conversation with Vaughan I learned that there are three basic principles guiding the process of border crossing for puck movers. First, while it’s true that most hockey-breeding nations such as Canada are part of the U.S. government’s Visa Waiver Program, (Russia however is not), it’s one thing to enter and visit the United States and quite another to work here. Labor here requires a specialized, well-documented, and well scrutinized category of admission, whereas entry for tourism, for instance, for nationals from Visa Waiver nations requires only a passport.

The second principle of admission is that foreign athletes — like foreign entertainers — ultimately will return to their home countries, and so they enter in America’s non-immigrant categories. For all practical purposes this means that international hockey players enter the U.S. most commonly under the ‘P’ visa — “Ordinary athlete or entertainer” — but also can avail themselves of the ‘O’ visa — “Extraordinary worker.” Individual players, typically represented by their agents, initiate petitions for these visas, but teams can as well.

“The State Department would expedite paperwork to the extent it can,” Vaughan told me, “however, DHS must approve the petitions, and they are not nearly as efficient as State.”

“Delays can occur for a variety of reasons — the [player] agent or athlete didn’t fill out all the paperwork correctly or completely; if the athlete has had any brush with the law, he/she might have to apply for a waiver, which can take a couple of weeks to process. If they have any criminal record, usually they don’t want that to be public, so the agent/press person will blame it on bureaucracy.

“I believe many of the ‘hassles’ reported by artists, entertainers, etc., are more due to incompetency on the part of agents or lawyers messing up applications than government inefficiency. The rules are pretty clear, and if these agents are worth their fees, they should know how to get it done right,” she claimed. That brings up principle three: have your papers in order; after all, players in hockey and other professional sports can be traded at a moment’s notice.

More evidence that the U.S. government is at times unnecessarily scapegoated: occasionally State will admit an athlete such as a French national like Huet on good faith, recognizing that his acquiring team has a need for his services in a timely manner while authorizing government paperwork will lag behind.

“Thousands of people get through every month without hassle, which doesn’t get reported,” Vaughan pointed out.

It’s not uncommon for P visas to be granted to athletes and good for 10 years.

Who would qualify for an ‘O’ visa? Maria Sharapova. Who most assuredly would not? Kris Beech.

To qualify for a non-immigrant visa, the applicant must prove to a U.S. consular officer and DHS inspector that he is likely to return home. A typical consulate will also require or encourage all applicants to submit a letter from their employer stating their position and salary [arch blogger observation: by this criteria Jaromir Jagr should still be held up in visa adjudications] — commonly known as the “job letter.” They’d typically also need a letter from their bank stating how much money is in their account (the “bank letter”), or other evidence of ties to their country.

Siskind’s site noted that the ‘O’ visa is a temporary work visa “available to those foreign nationals who have ‘extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics’ which ‘have been demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim.’ Again, Sharapova in, Beech out (good riddance). More: “It is also available to those in motion pictures and television who can demonstrate a record of extraordinary achievement.”

Like, these guys?

Filed in Cristobal Huet, Matt Cooke, NHL Trades, Sergei Fedorov, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (5)

OFB Poll: Trade Impact

By The OFB Team
Friday, February 29, 2008

The trio of traded-for from this past Tuesday — a recent All Star, no. 1 netminder, a former superstar and 3-Cup vet in the twilight of his career, and the perfect pest — will help push the Caps into the postseason this April.

View Results
Filed in Cristobal Huet, Matt Cooke, NHL Trades, OFB Polls, Sergei Fedorov, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (2)

Buzz Trades, a Big Game, a Big-Buzz Atmosphere Stream of Consciousness

By pucksandbooks
Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Was in the then MCI Center the night of March 13, 2001 — also deadline day — when earlier in the day GMGM dealt Zednik and Bulis and a pick to Montreal for Zubrus and Linden, and the mood in last night’s rink felt larger and more significant . . . that dealmaking carried a component of risk; this was pure aggression with minimal assets heading out . . . the better comparison may be with March 1997, carried out not in a single day but over the course of a couple of weeks, when McPhee, in his first season on the job, added Brian Belllows and Esa Tikkanen . . . Enjoyed most of all throughout the late Tuesday afternoon and evening messages from friends and strangers who were busy with business throughout the day and wholly unaware of the deadline day madness that enveloped the Caps, who arrived at the news late and lavished it (in my email inbox) with happy obscenities and exclamation points . . . Mike Vogel, looking terrifically telegenic, rinkside on Comcast in the 5:00 hour to help analyze the breaking big news, me comparing his polished appearance before TV DC with his pre-sunrise, blogging-through-the-Moscow-night, comrade shagginess with me during last year’s Worlds . . . big bonus: dinner with Ron Weber in the press room on such a big day . . . look at all the media big wigs who show up when hockey creates the day’s sports buzz: George Solomon of the Post, three Times’ reporters, the one-time Queen of OFB even, I think I may have even seen Arch Campbell in Bruce Boudreau’s post-game presser . . . Ted’s box is filled as I hadn’t seen it since perhaps opening night . . . Commissioner Bettman, in his pre-game presser: “This is a team that has been built on prospects and for the future” . . . He’s in town for some chit-chat on the Hill about drugs and athletes, and he mentions “players as role models” and a clear concern that his sport not be painted with a broad brush of they-all-do-it cynicism: “What goes on in one sport doesn’t [necessarily] go on in others” . . . “We’ve had one player in two-and-a-half years caught [for performance enhancing drugs],” and he references the tough remedies that face the offenders — a quarter-of-a-season suspension, three-quarter-of-a-season, three strikes and you’re out . . . and I think, Bud Selig he ain’t, but it’s also true that this sport has a much different relationship with its players union than all the rest . . . He is also asked about the prevalence of players exercising the “No” in their no-trade clauses: “Nobody makes a club give a player a no-trade clause” . . . I ask the commissioner about Ted’s expressed wish to take the team on a goodwill tour of Russia, “sooner rather than later,” and he expresses cautious support. When he references what a “big deal” it’s going to be for Jagr to return to Prague next season, I think I have my answer about the likelihood of Ovechkin’s returning to Moscow . . . He also acknowledges that the league today doesn’t have the relationship with the Russian Hockey Federation it once did . . . Even the arena’s game night personnel working in catering and as ushers seem buoyed by the day’s big news — they are all chipper and wide smiling in every encounter. . . On a day like today I appreciate the professionalism and the quasi-renaissance of renewed hockey coverage by our town’s two print beat reporters, both of whom blogged and filed on Tuesday until their fingers were sore, giving Washington hockey fans timely and superb breaking news; following Corey’s blog a bit during the game, I chuckled at his reflection “at some point I’ll eat” . . . Midway through the game I have a minimial amount of notes and reactions recorded, as friendly folks keep bending my ear for reaction and basic “Can you believe all this?” empathy, vanquishing my between-periods composition, and I relish it . . . Peter Bondra is back in the press box tonight, and on the ice sheet below the young prospect he was traded for, Brooks Laich, is having a career night, and I just sorta like the symmetry of that . . . in the second row of the press box, where the Caps’ communications staff works each game, I see each and every one of them, no one missing, and I think there’s so much work for them to do on a day like this they all have to be here, but it’s probably also the case that such a day makes a Caps’ staffer proud to have the careers they do, and they want to be in the rink, well dressed, helpful, and full of good cheer . . . very loud rock music typically greets bloggers and press in the post-game locker room after victories, but tonight it’s quiet, and I infer that the day’s drama has drained the entire team, that they want as efficient an encounter with media as possible, hot showers, and a race home to crash in bed . . . the circle of cameras and microphones and scribes around Kolzig is unlike anything I have seen in two years — it’s five-deep at turns, and Tarik has to make like a gymnast to get his recorder squeezed into some open space around Kolzig’s locker . . . no one much asks Olie the Goalie about the game, instead, The Trade . . . question after question on the trade: was he shocked? was he upset? how can it possibly work with three netminders? did the team approach him about a trade? . . . he says, among other things, “The thing that surprises me is that there’s three goalies here” . . . Coach Boudreau acknowledges the challenge of managing three netminders, but he dismisses a contention that the day’s developments insult the greatest goalie in Caps’ history; he maintains that the consumate professional will rise to meet the new challenge . . . Here’s hoping Fedorov this spring is Bellows of ‘98, Matt Cooke that year’s Esa Tikkanen, Olie Kolzig . . . Olie Kolzig.

Filed in Brooks Laich, Bruce Boudreau, Corey Masisak, Dainius Zubrus, Gary Bettman, George McPhee, Lindsay Czarniak, Mike Vogel, Morning cup-a-joe, NHL Trades, Olaf Kolzig, Peter Bondra, Print, Tarik El-Bashir, WRC, Washington Capitals, Washington Post, Washington Times| Permalink| Comments (8)

First Impressions: Huet and Cooke

By The OFB Team
Tuesday, February 26, 2008

The Capitals hosted a conference call this afternoon with Cristobal Huet and Matt Cooke. First things first: when are the new additions arriving in Washington? Huet comes in tonight during the game, Sergei Federov arrives tomorrow morning and will be at practice, and Cooke is having visa complications (which will hopefully be resolved quickly).

Cristobal Huet- photo from The Sporting NewsHuet was asked if he thought he’d be dealt today: “The only info I had last night was that I wasn’t playing with Montreal tonight. I was a little surprised.”

How does he feel about playing for Boudreau again? “Looking forward to being reunited with Bruce. We had a lot of success, he’s a very smart coach and from what I’ve seen this year, he’s done a great job.”

Other thoughts: “The [Caps] are excited to have me; I hope I can help them make a push for the playoffs.”

“I didn’t really have the chance to play after my game in Ottawa where I was pulled, so I didn’t really have a chance to redeem myself. I’ve been working hard; I’m not too worried about my game. I’m very confident that I can help the Capitals. The Capitals are very demanding; it doesn’t change much from that point of view and for me that’s the most important point.”

Huet’s impression of Washington: “It’s a really different place for players. [They're] definitely tough opponents to play when we played them- young guys, tough to play against.”

Is Huet open to an extension at the end of the season? “I’m really open, I would definitely think about it, but right now it’s not really up to me. Definitely up to my play but that’s all I can really focus on right now, help the team get some wins and get closer to a playoff spot.”

Next up was Matt Cooke. His impression of the Caps? “[They're] six points back right now…it can change in a hurry, we just need to win some games. For me in the past, the biggest way to do this is to focus on each game and make it the biggest win of the year.”

Matt Cooke- photo from cbc.caA Vancouver muckraker tried three times to get Cooke to bash coach Alain Vigneault and talk about why things didn’t work out in Vancouver, fishing for controversy. Cooke didn’t take the bait, with a tersely-worded “No Comment” followed by his intent to focus on his future here in Washington.

Cooke, on his style of play: “I pride myself on being on the forecheck and creating turnovers. I make people hear footsteps. I’ve had success scoring ‘dirty goals’ in the past. I don’t mind going to those places if that’s what it takes.”

What does he think about the Caps’ system? “We played there before Christmas or just after, definitely a dangerous hockey club to play against. Obviously Alex brings a lot of speed and passion to the game- that’s something you’d want through your whole lineup.”

Final thoughts: “I look forward to coming somewhere where you’re used in the proper way and you feel like you’re wanted; you’re supporting the rest of the cast as well. I look forward to the change and the opportunity with the Washington Capitals.”

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Bruce Boudreau, Media, NHL Trades, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (8)

Motzko Moved

By The OFB Team
Tuesday, February 26, 2008

TSN is now reporting that RW Joe Motzko has been traded by the Capitals.

Details to follow.

[Update] TSN reports Joe Motzko was traded to Atlanta for Alexandre Giroux.

[4:33pm Update] From the Washington Capitals press release:

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Washington Capitals have acquired left wing Alexandre Giroux from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for right wing Joe Motzko, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. Giroux, who was a member of the Capitals’ organization last season, will report to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League.

Giroux, 26, has played 10 NHL games in his career, including nine with Washington last season, scoring two goals and adding two assists. He is a three-time 30-goal scorer at the AHL level, including his best season of his career last year, when he recorded 42 goals and 28 assists (70 points) in 67 games for the Bears.

Giroux has 19 goals and 22 assists (41 points) in 44 games this year for the Chicago Wolves.

Filed in Hershey Bears, NHL Trades, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (6)

Pettinger Pitched, Matt Cooke Coming to D.C.

By The OFB Team
Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Matt Cooke

So much for standing pat.

[2:00pm Update] From the Washington Capitals press release:

ARLINGTON, Va. –The Washington Capitals have acquired left wing Matt Cooke from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for left wing Matt Pettinger, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.

Cooke, 29, has spent all nine of his NHL seasons in Vancouver. He heads to Washington with seven goals and nine assists in 61 games this year.

The Belleville, Ontario, native has played in 566 career games and has scored 83 goals and dished out 120 career assists. He has also appeared in 32 career playoff games, scoring eight goals and recording 12 points.

Cooke was a sixth-round choice of the Canucks, 144th overall, in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut on Oct. 14, 1998, against Edmonton and played in 30 games during the 1998-99 season. Cooke spent parts of the 1998-99 and 1999-00 seasons with the Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League before joining Vancouver full time.

Filed in NHL Trades, National Hockey League, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (7)

TSN: More Russians to Washington

By The OFB Team
Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Sergei FedorovTSN is reporting on air that the Capitals have acquired C Sergei Fedorov. Early reports are for draft picks.

Details to follow.

[1:20 p.m. Update] TSN: Blue Jackets trade Fedorov to Capitals

[1:30 p.m. Update] TSN: The Caps have parted with 2007 second-round pick defenseman Ted Ruth to acquire Fedorov.

[1:41pm Update] Per the Washington Capitals press release:

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have acquired center Sergei Fedorov from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Washington draft pick Theo Ruth, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.

Fedorov (SAIR-gay FEH-duh-rahf), 38, is in his 17th NHL season. The six-time NHL All-Star won three Stanley Cups as a member of the Detroit Red Wings (1997, ’98 and 2002), won the Hart Trophy as the league MVP in 1994 and won the Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward in 1994 and ’96. A 6’2�, 207-pound native of Pskov, Russia, Fedorov has nine goals and 28 points in 50 games this season for the Blue Jackets.

Fedorov has averaged nearly a point per game in his career, with 1,133 points (470 goals, 663 assists) in 1,178 games with Detroit, Anaheim and Columbus. One of the most decorated Russian-born players in history, he has played in two Olympics, two World Cups, a Canada Cup and three World Junior Championships. He was the first Russian born and trained player to play 1,000 NHL games.

Detroit’s fourth choice, 74th overall, in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, Fedorov played 13 seasons with Detroit before signing with Anaheim as a free agent in 2003. Columbus acquired him via trade on Nov. 15, 2005. In NHL history he ranks 47th in career points (10th among active players), 50th in career goals (12th among active players) and 54th in career assists (13th among active players). Fedorov’s career plus/minus rating of +259 ranks second among all active forwards, trailing only Jaromir Jagr (+272).

Ruth was a second-round selection of the Capitals, 46th overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. The defenseman is currently a freshman at Notre Dame in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

Filed in Columbus Blue Jackets, NHL Trades, TSN, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (14)

TSN: Habs Netminder Huet is a Cap

By The OFB Team
Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Cristobal HuetFor a second-round pick.

Details to follow.

[12:12pm Update] TSN: Habs trade goaltender Huet to Capitals

[12:22pm Update] Here is the official press release from the Washington Capitals:

ARLINGTON – The Washington Capitals have acquired goaltender Cristobal Huet from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.

Huet (KRIHZ-tuh-buhl YOO-iht), who will turn 33 on March 9, is in his fifth season in the NHL and played in the 2007 NHL All-Star Game. The 6’1�, 204-pound native of Saint-Martin-D’Heres, France, is 21-12-6 this season with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. He ranks 11th in the NHL in save percentage, 19th in GAA and 19th in victories. Huet has a pair of shutouts this season, most recently a 35-save effort against the Capitals on Jan. 29.

Huet has a 72-59-11-13 record in 170 career NHL games, with a 2.49 GAA and a .917 save percentage. He has 15 career shutouts and led the league in save percentage in 2005-06 with a .929 mark. Huet was the second French-born player to play in the NHL and has represented France in two Olympics.

Huet was a seventh-round choice of the Los Angeles Kings in 2001 and made his North American debut in 2002-03 as a member of the Manchester Monarchs, where he played for Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau. Huet made his NHL debut for the Kings that season, posting a 4-4-1 record in 12 games, and played 41 games in Los Angeles in 2003-04. Montreal acquired him on June 26, 2004, with Radek Bonk in exchange for Mathieu Garon and a third-round draft choice.

The draft choice Washington sends to Montreal is Anaheim’s second-round pick in 2009, previously acquired in exchange for center Brian Sutherby.

Filed in Montreal Canadiens, NHL Trades, TSN, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (16)

The Case for Standing Pat

By pucksandbooks
Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Do the Caps really need to acquire “a top six forward” — i.e., a center (to replace Michael Nylander) — and “a physical, top 4 defenseman” before today’s 3:00 trade deadline? Such acquisitions indisputably would help the team in the short term. But there are two compelling reasons arguing against their being buyers today.

Let’s first be clear about market conditions. It is a buyer’s market this February by virtue of the unprecedented competitive balance across the league. The Los Angeles Kings this morning are dead last in the league’s standings, with a 26-34-4 record. As worst-team records go, that’s really not all that lousy. They have, perhaps, Rob Blake to deal, but like Mats Sundin in Toronto, Blake isn’t interested in waiving his no-trade clause.

Tampa Bay is in 29th place. The Bolts dealt Vaclav Prospal back to Philly yesterday, and they are apparently interested in dealing Brad Richards and his budget-busting contract. They might have to deal Dan Boyle as well. If the Caps wanted to replace Nylander they’d need to acquire a pending UFA pivot — Nylander is signed for the next three years, through 2010-11, and obviously Nicklas Backstrom is a fixture in the middle in the team’s top six. Boyle is a terrific puck-moving defenseman, but he doesn’t fill that perceived need on the Caps’ blueline.

You might throw in the towel, too, if you’re Kevin Lowe in Edmonton, with 61 points and now captain Ethan Moreau on the shelf for the remainder of the season.

Other than these three teams, who’s truly out of it for the postseason this morning? You have perhaps 27 buyers and three sellers. And this well explains the inertia in player movement in the hours leading up to today’s deadline.

How did the league arrive at such extraordinary competitive balance? Better scouting across the board, more refined and thorough player development, and a broadened talent pool that includes not just outstanding European professional leagues but a well-oiled development program in place at USA Hockey and a vastly improved NCAA. North American kids — and some Europeans as well — are looking at U.S. college hockey as a route to the NHL in a way they didn’t just 10 years ago.

When Caps’ management authorized the tearing down and rebuilding of the team roster early in 2004 it’s highly likely they imagined the team being post-season competitive in 2007-08 — with good reason.

And unlike previous offseasons, the Caps won’t have a great deal of roster “off-loading” to perform this summer. There were a number of vital questions confronting team entering 2007-08, and one of the most important — where is the no. 1 blueliner? — has been answered. And that needed big-bodied rearguard may already be in the organization (playing for the Calgary Hitmen), and he may be ready to join the club this autumn. It’s understandable that Caps’ fans would clamor for an improvement with the team so close to making the league’s top 16. But this trade deadline, with 27 poker faces at the table, is unlike any we’ve ever seen. And most likely, wheeling and dealing for two key parts is not the right thing to do.

This team doesn’t need new faces — it needs more scars and creases on those stubble-challenged visages.

Late last week General Manager George McPhee told the Washington Post, “We like the players we have and the people they are. To start trading things out that could be a part of the future makes no sense.”

Then came the money quote, the quote of the year from GMGM: “We had a power play late in [Wednesday's 3-2 shootout loss to the new York Islanders] and five kids jumped over the boards, with an average age of 21 or 22. We’ve got to keep playing them if we’re going to be going for a Cup.”

Filed in Front Office, Michael Nylander, Morning cup-a-joe, NHL Trades, National Hockey League, Players, Prospects, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (5)

Trade Ovechkin? It May Come to That

By pucksandbooks
Sunday, December 23, 2007

Ovechkin on the ice after the final horn - photo by Kate McGovern / Off Wing OpinionThe Comcast broadcast booth discussion last night of Mike Cammalleri’s game — Coach Boudreau informing JoeB and Craig that the gifted LA Kings’ pivot was, after Ovechkin, the most gifted hockey player he’d seen up close (Boudreau coached him in Manchester) — was interesting to me, to say the least.

The Kings have a wealth of gifted young players in their organization and a 30th place standing to show for it. The Caps have a stud, some very good young players, and a 29th place standing to show for it. They also have thorny contract negotiations taking place (sort of) with their stud. Coach Boudreau possesses what might be termed fluency with a fair number of players in the Kings’ organization. Additionally, the Kings have a history of parting with a motherload of talented youth in order to acquire the services of the game’s premiere talent. It’s Tinseltown, after all.

And then there’s this: in year three of AO’s reign in D.C. the Caps are meandering toward a finish of between 75-80 points, and potentially a fourth consecutive last-place finish in the Southeast.

To quote Bryan Ferry, don’t stop the dance.

The ‘Net is filled (overly so) with innuendo-specius speculation-baseless rink rumors, and I’m not pecking away at the keyboard this holiday weekend to contribute to that. Rather, I’m here to suggest that, should the Caps and Ovechkin arrive at an impasse in new deal discussions, excruciatingly painful though it may be, a deal with the Kings could make sense.

Caps’ fans do have to consider this possibility.

We know that contract talks between Caps’ management and team Ovechkin aren’t progressing terribly well because (1) many months after Sidney got his new pact AO still doesn’t have his and (2) someone with access to the particulars told me so. This is not to suggest that all is hopeless or even that the genuinely serious, roll-up-the-sleeves-and-sip-late-night-coffee talks have come and gone. They haven’t. However, one vital area of concern appears to have emerged: the team and the star are lodged in different compensation realms. Worse, both sides have eminently reasonable defenses for their positions.

Let us say, just for argument’s sake, that AO is seeking upwards of $10 million per season. Even if the Caps wanted to pay him that they couldn’t. The CBA is explicit: no single player can earn more than 20 percent of a team’s payroll. The Caps are currently a hair below $40 million in player payroll. They’d need to be at $50 million before opening night next season in order to accommodate a $10 million demand from team Ovechkin. You might plausibly forecast an ‘08-’09 Caps roster boasting the additions of say Eric Fehr and Karl Alzner, but that wouldn’t take you anywhere near $50 million. Then there’s the very real possibility that Olie Kolzig’s $5.5 million compensation comes off the books beginning this spring, and that he’s replaced by someone markedly cheaper.

{Important correction: The actual CBA, available on line here, (you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader version 6.0 at a minimum), illuminates maximum player compensation thusly:

“50.6 Maximum Player Salary and Bonuses; Fixed Dollar Amount of Player Salary

(a) No SPC may provide for a total aggregate Player Salary and Bonuses that is in excess of twenty (20) percent of the Upper Limit for any League Year (the Maximum Player Salary and Bonuses). For a Player signing a multi-year SPC pursuant to which he receives the Maximum Player Salary and Bonuses in any League Year during the term of such SPC, the Maximum Player Salary and Bonuses for every League Year covered by the multi-year SPC shall be based upon the Upper Limit at the time the SPC was signed.

So it’s as clear as day.

The Caps in fact could pay Ovechkin $20 million annually were the league-wide, per-team cap $100. (That’s not happening under Bettman.)}

Ken Lay couldn’t make these accounting numbers work for a massive Ovechkin contract. In a very real sense, the Caps have their hands tied by prudent fiscal management by management.

And this blogger wouldn’t have it any other way.

No doubt General Manager George McPhee has formulated some specific thoughts about a player’s earning 20 percent of payroll and the likelihood of that player’s team contending for a Stanley Cup. The Ducks, who today are taking a cap hit of approximately $51 million, won the Cup last season, I’d wager, because their big two on defense (Pronger and Niedermeyer) were well but not exorbitantly paid. Moreover, they got Teemu Selanne’s 48 goals at a bargain rate. What of the Cup-winning ‘Canes and ‘Ning payrolls? Any bank-breakers within? In fact, the absence of astute fiscal management in Tampa Bay forced a breakup (Modin, Khabibulin) of that champions’ roster. Mediocre Tampa is today a one-line attack and a glaring vulnerability in net. And will be so for a while.

The Red Wings have enjoyed some exemplary regular seasons of late carrying along Nik Lidstrom’s enormous salary. Anything else to show for it?

These are accounting — and therefore fan-unfriendly — questions for management to ponder.

Which brings us back to a hypothetical glance at the last-place Kings. Twenty-five year-old Cammalleri is a rising star, and we already know what Boudreau thinks of him. 2006 first-rounder Jonathon Bernier made the Kings and started and won his first game in net against the defending champs in October. He’s back in Lewiston now, but his immediate future looks rather bright. No deal for a once-in-a-generation talent like Ovechkin could be carried off with merely a no. 1 liner and a no. 1 prospect in net. But what if the Kings could be persuaded to sweeten the pot all the way up to include Jack Johnson as well? What if such a deal deposited no.1 players at three separate positions for the Caps, and you were at a negotiations impasse with Alex, and as a management team you were convinced that a mega-contract not only couldn’t be achieved but was Tampa-like limiting going forward?

How good would that deal look then?

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, NHL Trades, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (35)

Free Agency — It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

By OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki)
Tuesday, July 3, 2007

The Capitals did as promised: they were major players in the free agent market this offseason. And it’s no sure thing that they’re done dealing, as pursuit of RFAs via trades has been a stated goal of the team for months.

I’m not saying that Michael Nylander, Viktor Kozlov and Tom Poti were the absolute best hockey players up for grabs; but the signings represent smart moves that directly address the team’s needs without mortgaging the future. Most importantly, the moves improve the team immediately while keeping enough funds handy to lock in Ovechkin and Semin — I’d rather see the team ante up for those two over any of the big-name forwards in this year’s UFA crop. The Los Angeles Kings took a similar approach to the Capitals’, signing pivot Michal Handzus (four years, $16M), wingers Ladislav Nagy (one year, $3.75M ) and Kyle Calder (two years, $5.5M) and D Tom Preissing (four years, $11M). Another relatively responsible restocking in this offseason of big spending.

How did the other 28 teams fare? Well, let’s review a few of the notables. Rather than a typical grading system, I’ll attempt a Hollywood Starlet system instead: Scarlett Johansson, Lindsay Lohan, or Nicole Richie.

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett JohanssonUndeniably attractive, smart, and sexy. And Scarlett ain’t bad either. Some teams made just the right moves, not only in their choice of players but also with the deals they offered. Rather than spending like Donald Trump’s ex-wives, certain teams found the right player(s) for the right price.

Avalanche fans will be thrilled with Ryan Smyth’s arrival in Colorado. By bringing in Smyth (5 years, $31M) and Scott Hannan (4 years, $18M), the Avs get two rough-and-tumble players whose styles fit the team perfectly. 31-year-old Smyth’s five-year deal is not only a fairly affordable cap hit, but a reasonable duration as compared to some other signings.

The Detroit Red Wings continued their less-is-more approach by signing just one notable player in the first two days of UFA-Fest: Brian Rafalski. After losing 38-year-old Mathieu Schneider to Ducks, the Wings managed to upgrade while not losing a dime by signing 33-year-old Rafalski. His $6M per year for five years is about what the Ducks are paying Schneider per year; yet Rafalski is five years younger. In addition, Rafalski notched 55 points last season (30 on the PP) while playing the Devils’ ultra-conservative system. One would think he’ll perform even better in the Motor City’s more exciting style of play. Once again, Detroit’s management manages to make the right moves without breaking the bank; it’s no wonder they’re perennial contenders.

Lindsay Lohan

Tyrone BiggumsSome teams went on benders to rival Ms. Lohan’s. The New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers signed big name players to obscene contracts — making sexy but crazy moves. Like Tyrone Biggums with crack cocaine, neither team could resist the allure of spending with abandon. Clearly both teams’ rosters are dramatically improved for next season; but this sort of freewheeling spending backfires more often than not. They both are trying to buy championships; and in hockey, that rarely works.

Philadelphia began their binge early, throwing crazy pre-July 1 deals at Kimmo Timmonen and Scott Hartnall — both appealing but now-overpaid players — whose contracts are crazy not so much in terms of annual salary as they are in terms of duration. Then the Flyers topped themselves by giving spear-to-the-groin Daniel Briere an eight year deal. Each of these players is undeniably talented; but the dollars and duration of these contracts makes one wonder if Bobby Clarke is still in Philadelphia, working the levers as the man behind the curtain.

Mind you, the Rangers’ attempt to make the New York Yankees seem like cheapskates is just as stunning. Snagging both Chris Drury and Scott Gomez is quite a feat to be sure. But $7M per year to Drury, combined with a $51.5M seven-year deal to Scott Gomez (who has exceeded 20 goals just once in seven years of play), is insanity.

Including Jaromir Jagr, they now have spent over a third of their salary cap on three players, and they have not signed Brendan Shannahan, Sean Avery, or Henrik Lundqvist yet. Yikes. One wonders how long it will take Jagr to complain about the loss of Nylander if his adjustment to Gomez/Drury is less than perfect. In fact, it sounds like he’s already laying the groundwork for future complaining.

Nicole Richie

Oh He-Man, behave!So far, the other 2/3 of New York was brutally pillaged by free agency’s raiders. Like Nicole Richie, the Sabres and Islanders are skeletal remnants who practically qualify for Federal disaster assistance.

The Sabres lost both their co-captains and seem to have returned to their spendthrift ways. After their season of excellence was eclipsed by the Ottawa Senators, Sabres management let both captains walk away with apparently minimal effort to stop them. With intense league-wide interest in both Drury and Briere, nobody expected the Sabres to retain both players. But losing both is a crushing blow to the team, not just in terms of skill but of leadership as well. Management’s half-hearted contract offers, particularly to local hero Drury, indicate a “well, we tried” attitude settling in with Buffalo’s brass. Here’s one Sabres fan writing for ESPN who certainly feels that way

As for the Islanders, they lost Kozlov, Poti, Ryan Smyth — who turned out to be a rather expensive rental, costing two former first-round picks plus this year’s first rounder — captain Jason Smith, and Richard Zednik. They appear to be emulating the Florida Marlins, only without the championship (well, not in the past 20+ years). Next they’ll rename their arena to Nassau Mausoleum. Isles fans cannot be happy losing three of their top six scorers — and their sole UFA signing of Jon Sim is not the answer. Dark days are ahead on the Island.

And . . .

Other teams were relatively silent, most notably the Caps’ Southeast rivals. A View from the Cheap Seats looked at the Caps’ divisional foes, and is similarly unimpressed with their signings so far.

A few other moves of note: the Blues snagged Kariya and Tkachuk (a.k.a. “The St. Louis Boomerang”), the Leafs acquired Jason Blake from the decimated Islanders, and the Penguins wisely re-signed Ryan Whitney (but what’s with the Darryl Sydor signing? Shades of Philly’s Derian Hatcher mistake), and Chicago brought in Robert Lang. The Ducks overpaid Todd Bertuzzi to ensure they have someone to take stupid penalties if Pronger gets hurt. Nothing too exciting there, though the Blues are clearly looking to return to the playoffs with those veteran deals.

As for the Capitals, fans seem pretty happy about the teams’ acquisitions; some may even renounce their hockey grumpiness. The Hogs are similarly pleased, and Off Wing Opinion has some interesting quotes from the GMGM conference call.

All in all, it’s been a good couple days for Capitals bloggers and fans alike . . . with perhaps more good news on the horizon.

[Feel free to post your take as a comment — either on the Caps' moves or other teams' signings.]

Filed in Alexander Ovechkin, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, George McPhee, Michael Nylander, Mike Vogel, NHL Trades, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Southeast Division, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (13)

What about Bob?

By OFB
Monday, June 18, 2007

You can trust this manDraftGeeks, time for hosannas. TSN insider Bob McKenzie has released his top 60 list of draft-eligible players for 200, as well as some background info on what the League in general is thinking.

Bob’s not a scout, so why should we pay attention to his list? Because he goes right to the source — NHL GM’s, scouts, directors of scouting, the whole totem pole. It’s about as accurate list as you’ll find, and is a must-print-out for the 22nd.

As a friend of mine e-mailed me, it’s nice that the offseason is now beginning in earnest. Players are starting to sign, trades are being made (quick analysis on the Flyers/Predators deal: good deal for both teams, though the terms of the Timonen deal are a bit long for me. The Flyers overpaid but are a better team today than they were yesterday. The Predators got their first-rounder back for two UFAs they weren’t going to re-sign).

It’s interesting that things both get more clear and more obscured as draft day approaches. I think we’re all excited for Friday to roll around and for things to reveal themselves.

Filed in DraftGeek, Entry Draft, NHL Trades| Permalink| Comments (0)

McPhee Wednesday Presser

By The OFB Team
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

General Manager George McPheeHighlights from this afternoon’s GMGM presser at Kettler-Capitals:

  • Eric Fehr’s seen “all the specialistsâ€? and doesn’t require surgery, just rehab. Mega-sigh of relief.
  • Trade activity: “Can’t gauge it yet.â€? Is talking to teams this week, will be next as well.
  • Roster needs: “more veteran presence . . . we played with kids the last couple of years.â€?
  • On the record numbers of Americans being drafted, and up high: “better development,â€? “players coming from all over [U.S.], from everywhere.â€? Credits, too, the breadth of hockey in markets across the NHL, AHL, ECHL, college hockey, and the USHL. “More exposureâ€? to the game here than ever before.
  • Positional strength of this draft: doesn’t know yet; will know more this time next week.
  • Overall quality of ‘07 draft: a “decent draft through a couple of rounds” . . . a clear elite class of five at the top.
  • No urgency to trade up. “We liked 5 guys last year and drafted fourth; we like 5 guys this year and are drafting 5th.â€?
  • Caps’ draft strategy: Team tries to stick with its strategy — “We don’t try to improvise” — as “crazy things can happen in the absence of a plan.” And: “Our best drafts [were when] we stuck with our plan. There’s lots of work involved, and we have a pretty sophisticated approach.”
Filed in DraftGeek, Entry Draft, Front Office, George McPhee, NHL Trades, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (4)

The Flea Market Opens

By pucksandbooks
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Cup'pa JoeWe are now full on in the throes of the end of the offseason’s offseason (mercifully, AMC last night offered up an 8:00 airing of ‘Slapshot,’ perhaps as a bit of a kickoff to the NHL’s off-ice action this month). By that I mean that any moment now we could see cross the transom the first of what typically is a string of trades clubs make to commence their offseason rebuilding. This June the pre-draft dealing buzz isn’t quite what it was last, but I’ve seen too many Draft-Eve seasons to know better. The first shoe will eventually drop, and off we’ll be. And unlike last June, when the Caps were just out of the first turn in its rebuild race, this summer management has pledged to be an active player for new players.

Likely we won’t see a blockbuster like last June’s Panthers’ dealing of Roberto Luongo (for junk; and we may not see such lopsidedness again in this lifetime). Then again, we may see Patrick Marleau moved. The game within the game taking place now through next Friday night involves the leagues GMs sorting through their UFA and RFA lists, comparing last season’s payroll with ‘07-’08’s projected cap, and charting a course for correction and improvement. For some clubs, payroll will be pared and some prime players moved. For others (the Caps), payroll will increase, assets added. A fair bit of this correction will take place over the course of the next 10 days.

Beyond being super submerged below the salary cap (by like tens of millions of dollars), this summer the Caps have consistently and publicly pledged to address their roster remedies through “trades,” Hershey graduations, and potentially the UFA market. In all of their public statements about offseason upgrades, all of management has consistently IDed dealing as a planned strategem, which struck me as brazen in its confidence. Notable, effective deals require willing dance partners. Two to tango. In mid-April, how could Caps’ management have been assured of them come mid-June?

The answer may not be all that secret or surprising. Because of the team’s plethora of draft picks dating back to 2002, and coupled with the Hershey Bears’ fabulous success the past two seasons, GM George McPhee has strong cards in his dealing hand. He is, for instance, loaded at left wing. And after last June’s work by his scouts in Vancouver, the organization suddenly seems deep in net. He is perhaps only a year or so away from being enviably deep on the blueline. And again with this Entry Draft, he has multiple picks up high (two picks each in rounds one and two). Add to these factors the team’s unrivaled cap space, and the Caps clearly are a power player on the phones the next 10 days. Continue reading ›

Filed in Entry Draft, Florida Panthers, George McPhee, Morning cup-a-joe, NHL Trades, National Hockey League, Steve Eminger, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (2)

My Man Marleau

By pucksandbooks
Saturday, May 26, 2007

marleau6.jpgOn the intrigue front: San Jose Sharks’ management, we learned from TSN this week, is looking for a playoff failure scapegoat. According to the Associated Press account, Sharks’ GM Doug Wilson needed “two weeks to calm down” after his team’s second-round ouster by the Red Wings. Ron Wilson may get the boot, or a high-profile player or two may get moved. Or both.

The intrigue, for me, arrived with this AP observation:

“Though he has built a sturdy, young team with no obvious weaknesses, Doug Wilson said he is determined to re-examine the Sharks’ structure. Any player seems available in a trade discussion — except Joe Thornton, last season’s MVP, who’s already had informal discussions about a long-term contract.”

Anyone but Thornton would bring into play Captain Patrick Marleau, who will enter the final year of his contract prior to UFA eligibility in 2008-09. In addition to his captain’s pedigree, he’s a first-line center — in his prime. He’ll be 28 this September, and he’s posted more than 30 goals in each of his past two seasons.

Why would GM Wilson potentially move his in-his-prime-and-peaking captain? For starters, Wilson appears to be in scapegoat mode, but Marleau also had a lousy playoffs. In 11 postseason games this spring Marleau tallied just 3 goals and 3 assists, and skated a -5. He went pointless in seven of those games.

Without question any club interested in prying Marleau away from the only NHL club he’s ever dressed for would have to pony up some serious assets. He scores goals, piles up assists, skates brilliantly, punishes opponents with his 6′2, 220-lb. frame, and this postseason notwithstanding, has a reputation for coming up large in crunch time. Perhaps the only thing average about his game is in the faceoff department — he won about 50 percent of his draws this past season, and he’s never been reknown for that skill.

He’s also distinctly durable: in his nine NHL seasons in San Jose, he’s skated 80 or more games in the regular season six times. In his three other campaigns he skated well over 70 games; the low tally came in his rookie season, when he dressed for 74 games.

You have to think that were he a UFA this summer he’d be more popular a pivot pick than his contemporaries Chris Drury and Daniel Briere. And in 2007-08 he will earn considerably less than those guys — $4.5 million.

(Incidentally, TSN has a useful Marleau stats page. With respect to imagining him as AO’s man in the middle, I really liked reading this synopsis of Marleau: “blessed with great speed and can catch defenders off guard by blazing right by them. Has natural goal-scoring ability . . .”)

Why would the Caps potentially be interested in addressing their conspicuous need for a first-line center via a trade, such as one perhaps for Marleau? For starters, the entire ‘A’ list of free agent pivots is regularly pegged as landing in the usual suspect cities. It’s a bit of Catch-22 dilemma for the Caps: until Washington can establish itself as a year-in, year-out playoff contender, most if not all the elite free agents are likely to bypass the rebuilding Caps. Problem is, they need a couple of high-profile horses like Marleau to get them there.

Marleau’s pricetag is also appealing — in his contract year, a good $3 million shy of what the elite UFA centers are likely to fetch this summer. Admittedly it’d be a risk moving significant assets for a guy who might dress for you just one year and walk, but remember the salary cap flexibility George McPhee will need next summer, when a certain set of Russian left wings will need new deals, as will the captain and potentially the no.1 netminder.

I have no idea if the Sharks will move Marleau. I just recall that after a string of 100-point seasons, and a few 90-pt. ones in between, each followed by early playoff exits, then Caps’ GM David Poile did the unthinkable and moved Mike Gartner to try and shake things up. What would it likely cost the Caps to land Marleau? You have to think this year’s no. 5 pick, and a prime asset, like say Fleischmann or Mike Green. And even that might not get it done.

Quality costs quality, you know.

Filed in NHL Trades, National Hockey League, San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals| Permalink| Comments (9)

Caps’ Season Overview: “A Work in Progress”

By The OFB Team
Monday, April 9, 2007

report_card.jpgFrom our vantage, the Washington Capitals have not yet assembled the key roster pieces that ownership and management need to supplement the rebuilding blocks laid during the first two post-lockout seasons — and which can deliver the Caps to springtime viability. Even prior to the trade of Dainius Zubrus, the team lacked a true first-line, playmaking pivot. This offseason, it needs to bring in skilled centers for the first two lines. One position presumably will be filled by 2006 draft gem Nicklas Backstrom of Sweden. Almost certainly the other will have to come from free agency or a trade this summer.

Despite Captain Chris Clark’s 30 goals, there are question marks on right wing. Is Eric Fehr’s back injury chronic? Is there durable chemistry between Alexander Semin and Tomas Fleischmann, and if so, can Semin settle in on the wing to Flash’s right?

Without question Alexander Ovechkin is the face and future of this organization, but his sophomore season brought struggles and frustrations few of us would have imagined last June, when we watched him best Sidney Crosby for the Calder Trophy. Eric McErlain last week well chronicled AO’s season of comparative discontent. He is one of the five most gifted hockey players on the planet today, but his defensive game, underscored by his -19 rating, has a long way to go. An important reminder: he is still a very young hockey player, and developing consistent defensive play takes time.

On the blueline, optimism is to be found with the maturation of Shaone Morrisonn, the precocious promise of Mike Green, the discipline and savvy instincts of Jeff Schultz, and most especially the two-way, bruising play of Milan Jurcina. George McPhee’s highway robbery of Jurcina from the Bs appears to rank among the best trade work of his 10-year tenure in town. But missing from the rearguard corps is a genuine #1 stud: a smooth puck-moving, minutes-eating threat from the point. There’s some shopping to do.

This past campaign was a tale of three seasons: that which ended on Dec. 16, with the team 5 games above .500; the next 25 games, when injury and illness and a brutally congested and difficult schedule sent the squad into a standings free fall; and the trade deadline purging of key veterans as the team settled into the Southeast’s basement. Again.

On the surface, 2006-07’s 70 points suggest a hockey club in standings stagnation. We don’t see it like that. Owner Ted Leonsis this past weekend claimed his team had taken “two steps forward and one back” this season. He also claimed in the season’s final week that the time for “rebuilding” was finished and intimated that “reloading” was more this offseason’s operative word. That seems about right to us.

Ovechkin - Caps/Carolina 7 October, 2006But this past weekend Ted also made an important point about the imperative of fans trusting in a team’s organic growth. Alexander Semin and his spectacular season, he noted, weren’t achieved via free agency splurging but rather from the astute labor of the team’s scouts as well as Semin’s years of development. That indeed is a blueprint to follow.

The Caps this season shaved off about 20 goals from the 300-plus they surrendered in 2005-06, but next season, they’ll need to lop off at least another 30 to rise to postseason contention. Olie Kolzig, newly turned 37, appears to have at least a couple more high-quality seasons in him (his general manager near the end of this season claimed he could remain an elite netminder through his 40th birthday), and it is our expectation that beginning next season, markedly less of a nightly workload will be thrust upon him: both volume and quality of shots faced need to be reduced.

A repeat disappointment: the Capitals finished near the bottom of the league again in power play efficiency, and in the “new NHL” that is a supreme no-no — special teams are more critical than ever. The team was consistently unable to generate one-timers, and its frustrating pass-pass-pass approach was often painful to watch. Low power play shot production and the lack of anyone camped in the opposing netminder’s crease to provide screens and bang in rebounds (a la Konowalchuk back in the day) made for too much extra-man misery.

Another indication of the team’s anemic power play: only Boston allowed more shorthanded goals than the Capitals. For approximately every five goals the Caps scored with the man advantage, they allowed one the other way. For comparison, Florida (13th overall in power play success) scored more than ten extra-man goals for every shorty allowed.

The lack of an experienced power play quarterback certainly looms over both the team’s poor power play production and its ineffective defensive coverage. With the addition of an experienced defenseman, another year of growth among the Caps’ young d-men, and the continued presence of the Alexes on the top-line power play, one expects to see a marked improvement in the fine alchemy of converting PPs to goals next season. Hopefully Coach Hanlon can convince the players to shoot first and ask questions later.

But the bottom has truly fallen out when it comes to overtime hockey. The Caps lost their last 15 overtime games of the season. It has a fanbase all but averting its eyes during shootouts. It’s not enough to attribute the unwavering extra-session failures merely to inexperience or bad luck. The shootout showings in particular are nothing short of harrowing.

The team is simply surrendering too many pivotal points in extra play. Management’s summer work, it seems to us, must acknowledge and address this. But how? Coach Hanlon has tried allotting the concluding minutes of practices to the shootout, and he tried in the second half of the season to inject new names as his shooters. Nothing has helped. Would a shootout ’specialist’ be included in the team’s offseason wish list?

A fixture of future shootouts will be Alexander Semin. Way back last autumn we thought we saw something special taking place with Semin and this team, and we were right. There were a lot of Semin doubters within the fanbase and media back then, and while his season was marred at times by wretched penalties, his game-breaking talent has few if any rivals in the history of this organization.

Another startling emergence was that of Boyd Gordon. He earned Glen Hanlon’s trust as the team’s most reliable and accountable forward. By January Sidney Crosby was calling him the toughest forward for him to play against. By March he was taking seemingly every important defensive zone draw. A virtual afterthought of the 2002 first round Caps’ draft class, today he joins Semin as another jewel from it.

There were, however, numerous and in some instances surprising struggles. We thought 2005-06 was a breakout year for Brian Sutherby. But we saw little of that two-zone effectiveness this season. Brooks Laich struggled in the season’s first half, after so strong a showing last season, but his game we thought improved appreciably from late January on. Both Matt Bradley and Ben Clymer received multi-year deals this past offseason, but they suffered nagging injuries for most of this season and never seemed able to get in their typical feisty grooves.

Our prediction is that there will be unprecedented competition for roster spots at Kettler Capitals Iceplex this coming autumn, and some promine