In Glacialis Blog

Suus’ decens videlicet obvious ut Quin Center est domus ut pessimus ovis of glacies in universus NHL. Is eram Mike Vogels’ question ut Tom Venenum in Caps’ obfirmo cella after Monday nights game’: “in alter period is vultus amo vos erant lascivio ball hockey sicco illic” Is eram Venenum’ respondeo:

“ut’ quam is est sulum nox noctis hic. . . suus’ pulchellus impeditus, futurus blunt.” 

• “nos pello pepulli pulsum ourselves tonight,” Tom Venenum told interventus in obfirmo cella secundum Mondays 3’-1 damnum ut Plaga. Cogo Boudreau amplified: “nos ludio ludius ut ferreus ut lemma, iustus non ut smart ut them. A” team can rare verto puck super ut Caps did Monday nox noctis obviam a “ valde transitus team” in Boudreaus’ lacuna quod survive.  
• Venatus 3 in the Boudreau tellus, quod 3rd venatus per a incendia in campana of boys. Is nox noctis, vero, illic eram a fundo amount of turnovers accompanying votum- incendia.
• Erskine-Peters tripudio card pretty: effective job per Erskine . . . narrow decision to Erskine?
• Plurrimi infigo vultus of Ovechkins’ calx eram suus renuo ut redono in lascivio. Quis operor vos dico is vox surge permoveo is planto ex pennae, racing in, legs churning, tutor sepius perficio positus, quod ends per suus voluntarius sui ut ustulo a calx? Nos OFB team quod nostrum lector postulo ut loco nostrum partum reputo caps in quod tendo quod nomen is seemingly unprecedented, velox-action scoring swoop of determined votum quod putus prodigium.
• Est is orsa aspicio ut quisquam alius super nos ut Mike Viridis est emerging ( iam emerged?) ut is hockeys’ teams’ plurimus dynamic presentia in vox lascivio cuspis? Neque nec per default, aut.
• Kolzig per a quinque- campana, quattuor- timor fabulous subsisto in Hecht in tertius.
• Is opera nos loquor is, tamen Michael Nylander traho an Esa Tikkanen tardus in tertius. (Admittedly per talea fere sic altus) Is eram ut quidam quaedam quedam quidam nox noctis pro Michael Nylander. is scriptor duos mortifer turnovers in alter period ut facilitated Buffalos’ perpetuus 3-1 plumbum. Tunc, profundus in tertius, dum in crepito secundum Ryan Miller, is decursus puck everywhere tamen in net, off a rebound of an Alexander Semin offa. Vos vires non animadverto talis peius- vicis labes labis iterum ceterus of season. After venatus, Boudreau told press ut had Caps gotten ut secundus calx, is felt momentum perficio ex is would have mos lemma ut a tying calx
• Viktor Kozlov: an enigma wrapped in a mystery. Adeo solers, adeo amplitudo, adeo sizzle accompanied by nimium fizzle. Suus numerus is season pulvis’ nocens procul totus, tamen vos meditatus quis’ in suus toolbox, quod vestri’ left puzzled per frequentatio quicum is scriptor labefactum- solvo amoveo.

Iam praeter a vicus of via per season, Caps have quattuor ludio ludius in geminus digits in ustulo. Montreal Canadiens, picked per haud vegrandis numerus of forecasters compleo foris Orientales placitum’ caput capitis duodeviginti tamen currently diapente, have novem ludio ludius in geminus digits in ustulo. Talis pondera est difficilis defendo.   

Procul a novus placitum yesterday, Lavatio Caput chairman quod major domus erus Ted Leonsis orator of quam professio athletes es sepius laudabilis pro suum virtus. Is innotesco ut virtus can take plures vultus, ex vir nostri bellicus quod primoris respondeo ut nostrum liberi pugna morbus. Ut reperio a via ut suum universus norma quod fans could ostendo suum suscipio, they partum Virtus Caps.

Virtus Caps es team- proventus quod torqueo hats quod ero miles militis, satus October 26th, pro $20 procul defero consanguinei traba procul Caput domus venatus quod online proculWashingtonCaps.com quodNHL.com. “ut nostrum fans gero illa hats”, Leonsis persevero, “they ostendo suum suscipio pro fortis populus per nostrum defero”

Quod, taedium of Virtus Caps hats ostendo suscipio, venditio suggero financial suscipio. centum% of venditio pretium mos vado beneficium CureSearch Populus Childhood Baculus Crepidoinis. CureSearch est a Bethesda- substructio nonprofit “ quod an NHL charitable socius ut focuses in erigo crumens pro Children’s Oncology Humus, world’s amplus consensio cancer research norma ut tracto 90% of liberi per cancer”

team electus an vetus amicus iuvo debut is novus progressio, pro press placitum took locus per teams’ annual saluto ut Liberi’ Populus Medical Center. universus team, Leonsis quod socius Raul Fernandez erant procul hospitium pro press placitum.

Pro annus Audivi of teams’ saluto ut Liberi’ Populus Medical Center, tamen is eram prothoplastus vicis ut EGO eram in manus manus ut vigilo ludio ludius quod liberi penitus. Ut a abbas of a quattuor- annus- vetus per alter obvius, saluto eram heartwarming quod tear-jerking. ludio ludius — totus of lemma — sat down procul traba quod infucatus per liberi ut erant puteus satis dimitto suum beds quod exsisto patesco ut unmasked salutor quod untold germen. Is infractus meus pectus pectoris video vidi visum illa liberi, nonnullus in wheelchairs, alius per multiplex IV tubes quod fascia, quod admiratio qualis abyssus they quod suum parentes es victus. Tamen tunc vos animadverto smiles in suum visio ut Sarcalogos Expedio chirographum a hat pro lemma, vel Brent Johnson asks quis colo colui cultum is should colo colui cultum hockey ludio ludius’ galea, vel ut aliquantulus puella runs super ut Olie Kolzig ut inquit “Hi illic pigtails, quam es vos?” Illic est quoque a simplex tripudium of seeing illa amplus- quam- vita hockey ludio ludius sessio per suum ventus Crayola hue quod trying moror in versus.

EGO eram narro per hospitium’ procurator of publicus consanguinei, Emily Dammeyer, quisnam told mihi ut is est hospitium’ ventus vicis of annus. “They vere prodigo vicis per liberi, non iustus planto an vultus, singulariter upstairs qua venit es off.”

Quod no mihi recordor Olie, quisnam non tantum has been coming ut Liberi’ Populus Medical Center praeter quisquam alius in norma, tamen est quoque a abbas. EGO asked him quam is usus has changed ex pro is eram a dad ut secundum.

“Ive’ usquequaque had a fondness pro kids, quod been a magnus puto ut res a kid quod res infirmus shouldnt’ vado manus manus in manus manus … tunc vos fio a abbas tunc vos animadverto quam vital is est habeo a facility amo is”

Solus res absentis ex yesterdays’ vicis eram interventus. Press solvo renuntio vicis quod photo op erant sent sicco per Caput quod Liberi’ Populus Medical Center. Forsitan EGO requiro nonnullus visio quod nomen, tamen EGO puto tantum Ego, a Comcast SportsNet TV Cameraman, quod duos photographers famulor. Quam talis tremendous officina per an norma quod suus ludio ludius can vado unnoticed vel per parum penitus est repugnant.

Meus gratiae progredior ut Caput quod sulum procul Liberi’ Populus Medical Center, singulariter Emily Dammeyer quod Vestigium Miller, pro affording mihi beneficium arbitro arbitror is annual vicis of pietas quod charisma.

Pauci magis pictures of vicis can exsisto seen secundum effrego.

(persevero)

Quis did Lavatio Caput proficio per suum preseason is September? A bonus frenum, EGO reputo. Primoris quod primoris, they artificiosus plurrimi maximus negotium: they parco serius malum — weve’ haud testimonium ut Alexander Semins’ ankle sprain est serius. Alter plurimus significant factum, in meus sententia, eram seeing a sanus numerus of vegetus visio tractare procul a altus campester quod puteus integrate per recidivus Caps’ core. Tomas Fleischmann, is videor, has won primoris versus vox pennae officium. Abyssus’ exsisto centered, utique coepi, per Viktor Kozlov. Sic duos- tertius of Washingtons’ caput capitis versus est novus is season. Is vultus magis lascivio dignus quam aut of suus praevius incarnations preteritus duos seasons.

Narro of vultus lascivio dignus, Caps effrego castra iactantia unus of plurrimi intriguing secundus versus in totus of hockey — vindicatum Alexander Semins’ ankle est mereo a dies- ut- dies ailment. Nicklas Backstroms’ libramen quod uber ex suus valde primoris pre se ferre venatus in validus EGO reputo vel procuratio’ rosiest forecast. Requiro him ut amplio mensis per mensis ut suus vegetus season progressio, quod pro him ut exsisto lodged in everybodys’ brevis album of Calder candidates adveho ver. Amo Caps’ caput capitis versus, alter, centered per Michael Nylander, est 66 sentio novus is autumn.

Versus three mos have a novus vultus pariter. Boyd Gordon mos center is, quod Res Pettinger mos latuseris him in left. Tamen alius Ipsa Gero, Dave Steckel, no verus loud sonitus ( singulariter in visio orbis) is palaestra castra. Is may optimus duco vir in universus norma, is lascivio a smart venatus, quod is consortio maxime puteus per Gordon. (Caps’ fans can tantum spes Gordon quod Steckel replicate in Lavatio suum duos- via opus ex Hersheys’ postseason run ut Calder glorior 2006.) Caput Sarcalogos Expedio videor futurus aliquantulus of utilitas infielder pro prothoplastus three versus — hes’ amo video vidi visum officium in totus three is season. Interdum is should skate in Gordons’ vox, procul alius — forsitan ut per is week, ut a teammate sursum caput capitis est vulnero — abyssus’ skate in caput capitis 6.

Ut Caps’ quartus versus, iustus 30 hora pro oris nox noctis rosters must exsisto summitto ut league, may etiam have quinque bodies vying pro assignment: Datum Procax, Res Bradley, Vepres Sutherby, Revolvo Laich, quod Ben Clymer. In repens seasons Caps’ roster has had vultus quod sentio of nimium muck quod grit quoque altus sursum frons. Is autumn, multus of is has been pulsus pessum, quod a logjam has emerged. Suus’ been utique quinquennis utpote Caps could probabilis vindicatum three versus idoneus of exhibitio cuspis per ullus reliability. Theyll’ polleo ut in 2007-08.

Illic’ aliquanto minor turnover quod templum in blueline: tantum Tom Venenum supervenio foris in caput capitis 6. Caps’ procuratio est vultus pro suus blueline somes ut subolesco quod blossom organically, quod is September, illic erant foveo subcribo of venalicium lenimentus e. Milan Jurcina reverto ut Lavatio brimming per bulging biceps; suus teammates lamnia lammina lamna pro him cognomen “Juice.” Is flebilis sicco dozens of frendo hits permaneo season secundum adventum ex Boston, quod 2007-08 could animadverto him talea a legitiums vindicatum ut an labefactum, caput capitis-2 physical vis.

Ut Caps sent Mike Viridis tergum ut Ipsa permaneo ver they instructed him ut vado obscoena. Is did. Ut burst of uber ex blueline persevero is preseason, ut pro ultum of is Viridis led Caps in ustulo. Is eram in nemo’ radar pro vox lascivio cuspis officium three weeks abhinc; iam is may exsisto secui of iunctum’ secundus iugum.

Permaneo season Vepres Pothier, ex necesse, eram vis in persona quod minutes is wasnt’ solitus quod consentaneus. Requiro him vigeo in a magis stabilis — quod intus an super magis ingeniosus — defensabiliter iunctum. Tamen sit quoque idoneus of tractare procul a altus campester — quisquam quisnam saw him skate pro Mike Sullivan quod Iunctus Civitas tandem ver’ Universitas Championships would congruo.

Illic erant haud questions super Caps in net caput capitis in castra. Illic es nullus recedo is.

Illic est valetudo. Illic est league- prolixus voluntas ut dum ceterus of Inferus scamnum pat, Caps upgraded. Illic est susurro. Illic est bene. Totus est bonus. Iam, suus’ vicis ut occumbo puck.

Suus’ a dies of sileo non tantum pro Lavatio Caput’ ludio ludius quod cogo — puteus, ludio ludius utique — tamen pro teams’ fanaticus communications baculus pariter. Res sicco procul Kettler quantus quantus EGO have been preteritus 10 dies, EGO lucrum a profundus appreciation pro commitment of Nate Ewell, Julie Petri, Paul Rovnak, quod Mike Vogel, inter alius. Suum dies per castra suscipio mane quod terminus tardus, quod nunc of annus theyre’ non tantum facilitating unus of graviter interventus flows subsequens castra in annus tamen quoque putting una in-season communications uber, talis ut Interventus Rector. Suus’ forecast futurus a attonitus tardus September Sunday hodie, quod Spero theyre’ totus sicco having fun in fun quod recharging suum batteries.

pause in in- glacies factum est a bonus vicis sumo prosapia of quis Caps have perficio eatenus in quis EGO puto est plurrimi maximus palaestra castra in norma’ history. EGO no punctum per meus saluto lustro hockey-savvy caput capitis quoque captus in cotidie effectus procul Kettler, ex procer quod broadcast opinio ut socius bloggers ut fans in sto, quod herewith Im’ misceo suum plumbum storylines of castra ut balanus per meus own.

• Superbus Papa. Ive’ ordine seen Erus Leonsis ut palaestra castra testis per preteritus 10 dies, quod dum suus’ verus hes’ haud diutius involved per dies- ut- dies operations of AOL, is somes a districtus communications vir. EGO reputo quis’ venio per suus palaestra castra penitus campester speculum ut of ceterus nostrum: species quod depth of norma in propono est sic infigo vos es iuste subigo facio trinus sicco illic quod simplex ostendo sum in verto angulus of teams’ competitiveness.

• Nylander ut versus 2. Duos annus abhinc Michael Nylander left Lavatio ut a valde bonus hockey ludio ludius. Is cado hes’ reverto tamen perfectus sic videor ut exsisto magis a astrum. Hes’ a dynamic playmaker, in confuto valetudo. Quod dum fere sulum in hockey is estas forecasted an Ovechkin-Nylander caput capitis- versus iugum, via tergum in July Caput capitis Cogo Glen Hanlon valde palam civitas suus intention of experimenting per caput capitis-6 porro iunctura, quod eatenus in castra, emineo chemistry videor habeo melded inter Alexander Semin, Michael Nylander, quod Nicklas Backstrom ut Hanlons’ secundus iunctum.

• Lubricus Swede Secui II. Narro of Backstrom, sit irrefutably questus levamentum in North American- amplitudo ovis of glacies — condita progressio “ in a cotidie basis,” ut laudo meus amicus Mike Vogel. Procul orbis terrarum Championships in Moscow in May, quondam Solio quod Swedish Populus Team Caput capitis Cogo Bengt Gustafsson told nos ut Backstrom would planto ut transitus successfully quod rationabiliter celeriter, quod is eram vox. Tim Leone sursum in Ipsa reputo is in Backstroms’, quod Caps’, optimus penitus pro him habeo a vas of capulus per Gero is season. Aint’ venio.

• Suus’ meus puck, quod Im’ servo is. Caps dont’ ( etiamnunc) have a dominor shut-down tutaminis, sic Glen Hanlons’ ars pro amplio defensabiliter lascivio is season sileo per suus stipes suscipio possessio of puck magis sepius quam in preteritus duos seasons, ut sepius they fugo is inter rink in futile formo. Si vos have puck magis sepius quam vestri contradictio, vestri calx isnt’ adepto apt ut visio 40 vel 50 offa sulum nox noctis, quod trado quinque vel six calx plurimus nox noctis. Eatenus, is ars videor futurus captus habitum. In palaestra castra’ scrimmages quod per Caps’ primoris three preseason venatus, vos can animadverto magis puck possessio quod fewer netminders collapsing ex fatigo.

• Caput, Meus Caput/ Filius of Kono-Dahlen-Halpern. Ive’ changed meus visum in cloning, propter Sarcalogos Expedio. Voluntas haud irreverens ut Dale quod suus secretum sudo, tamen should Expedio caput Caps ut a Sto Vas titulus una of tunc three seasons, is mos have futurus contemplor ut optimus quod plurimus maximus caput in team history, having rector team ex sterilis of an unprecedented solum sicco ut pollicitus terra. Quod sitting hic in September 2007, EGO wouldnt’ sto in versus ut beneficium obviam is. (animadverto Carolina ‘05-06, Tampa ‘03-04.)

Is est Sarcalogos Expedio’ team- primoris, duos- via versatility ut has Glen Hanlon fantasizing super a two-way, impact third line along the lines of the great Steve Konowalchuk, Jeff Halpern, Ulf Dahlen trio of a few years ago. That line, you’ll recall, was so dominant that Ron Wilson opened just about every game with it. It was also one that was a lynchpin to the Caps’ postseason participation. The coach has told the media that he’s looking for 60 goals from his third line this season, and given the defensive acumen of Clark and Boyd Gordon, and Matt Pettinger’s offensive pop, it’s natural to invoke the KDH comparison.

I’m also not wagering on Clark’s offensive production diminishing, dramatically, by virtue of his dropping down to line 3. As he noted himself on Media Day, he’s spent the past two seasons taking shifts against the likes of Zdeno Chara and top defensive pairings. Less so, it would appear, beginning this season.

• Deep Depth. The Caps this weekend have 35 players battling for spots on the opening night roster. It’s reasonably easy to forecast another five cuts, but the leap from about 30 to 23 is another matter. To put it charitably, the Caps’ are in uncharted territory, post-lockout, in terms of the skater quality they’ll be showcasing out at Kettler in week two of camp. This is the most basic and encouraging sign of the overall success of the rebuild.

• Three games, three leads. Through three exhibition games, the Caps have only once fielded a fairly veteran lineup — last Thursday night in Ottawa. They opened in Carolina, against a comparatively veteran Hurricanes’ lineup, dressing only John Erskine and Mike Green on the blueline as guys with significant NHL experience from last season (and with BJ in net). In all three games the Caps have played significant stretches with a lead (twice with two-goal leads). There remain mistakes (penalties) and concerns (penalties) aplenty, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Coach Hanlon’s strategy of playing a more puck possession game is abundantly evident. In order to win more often, a team must first establish competitiveness, then achieve leads in games. The Caps have accomplished both early in this preseason.

The next step is to close the deal once you have the lead.

• When did Toronto’s print media come to work in Washington? For the first time in my hockey life, I wake each day knowing that with my morning coffee I need to visit the web sites for both of Washington’s big newspapers in order to follow coverage there of Caps’ training camp. There are files there basically every day. And good ones. Additionally, blog files there. This is as it should be, but to our print guys — and most especially the Times’ Corey Masisak, who’s only taking on the beat of a departed legend — good on you.

• Sharp-dressed men. It’s not anywhere near as important as the talent upgrade, but in this the autumn of uniform mischief, the Caps have showcased the best-looking new threads in the entire league. And it’s not even close. I’ll be particularly grateful when those snazzy white uniform system tops are rightfully returned to wearing on home ice.

After practice Wednesday Glen Hanlon addressed the impact he believes his new high-priced free agent forwards will have on his team’s shootout prospects this season. On paper, it would appear to be a dramatic one. When you visit NHL.com’s stats page for shootouts from last season, you notice both Michael Nylander and Viktor Kozlov’s names on the first page of success. Through two seasons of shootout tally stats, that’s not a perch in which you’ve commonly found Caps.

It’s hard to imagine a team being worse in the shootout than the Caps were last season — they took 40 shootout shots and converted a grand total of 5 of them (that’s 12.5 percent) — but there actually was one, Carolina. The Hurricanes, however, only took 17 extra-extra session shots in 2006-07 (scoring on just one! Ouch!!). 

In shootouts, the Caps aren’t even Shaq at the free throw line.

Here’s how bad things shootout got for Glen Hanlon last season: on March 1, in a 10-rounder against Tampa at Verizon Center, the coach even had Ben Clymer, Matt Bradley, and Donald Brashear rush in from the red line. (All three missed of course. All 10 Caps’ shooters missed that night, if memory serves.) I was inside Verizon Center that night, and I left thinking I’d have to return with my gear bag when covering future games in case Hanlon wanted to summon me for shootout duty.

Whatever your views on the appropriateness of the shootout as a game-settler, they’re here to stay for the foreseeable future, and for most teams they determine an important number of standings points over the course of the season. It’s hard to fathom the Caps remaining grotesque in them this season and qualifying for the postseason.

The addition of a single quality shooter in the shootout lineup can make a world of difference, but it would appear that Hanlon will be adding two this season. Both Nylander and Kozlov converted just under 40 percent in the shootout a season ago. On a team of 10-percenters (and often worse), that’s a revolutionary success rate. In his remarks Wednesday, Hanlon indicated that for now, both newcomers would be penciled in for shootouts at season’s start. 

Which sets up an intriguing bit of personnel exclusion: in such a rotation one of the Alexanders necessarily would be excluded. Or . . . would both? Neither player — especially Ovechkin all last season long — looked particularly comfortable during shootouts, and after his dynamic success in them in the opening weeks of his NHL career in 2005-06, Ovechkin has been snakebit, stymied, and stoned, stoned, stoned ever since by all caliber of NHL netminder.

Hanlon on Wednesday actually acknowledged the novelty of sitting his magic-hands set of Russians during the team’s shootouts.

“Can you imagine if we had 15,000 in the seats and I sat those guys?”

He then suggested something about his fate involving a noose or a burning at a stake, I think. Even more interesting, according to the coach, is that apparently one of his most impressive performers in shootout-like drills in practice is defenseman Jeff Schultz. I don’t think we’re going to see him in the coach’s top 3 very often early on this season.

But if the shootout struggles continue, you never know.      

Check out this article in today’s Washington Post (yes, in the print edition) about Michael Nylander. Nice to hear that Bethesda, where half of OFB calls home, played a part in the Nylander family’s decision to return to the Capitals.

In addition, the Washington Times has a profile of Jeff Schultz and his efforts to stick with the club this year. Though competition for a defensive spot will be tight this year — and how long has it been since one could say that about the Capitals? — Schultz’s blueline grit and maturity makes him a strong candidate this year: “A couple of the guys [on the team] try and push me around kind of jokingly, but I’m not afraid to push back.” As Olie Kolzig said of Schultz, “He’s just a steady, smart defenseman out there. He makes a minimal amount of mistakes and plays with a lot of poise.”

Some dominant themes swiftly emerged at players’, coaches’, and the general manager’s media conferences this morning out at Kettler Capitals:

• What a difference a year makes in terms of training facilities. I asked Chris Clark what he thought were his responsibilities as captain to his teammates this summer, and quickly he noted how in past seasons “we didn’t have anything to come to,” but that this summer, with Kettler, “we had almost a full team skating here days ago.” He said that he wanted to get everybody settled in town, early, to get the off-ice distractions related to moving and adjusting to new surroundings out of the way, and Kettler and its amenities was an easy sell to his teammates early in the summer.

“This is the best facility in the league,” George McPhee said. “It’s a place players want to be . . . it makes everything that we do better. It helps [with] community relations, media relations . . . It helps you keep your players and it attracts free agents.”

A year ago in Ashburn, Va., training camp was conducted in makeshift and cramped quarters. “Last year we were vagabonds [out at Ashburn],” Olaf Kolzig said.

“What the [team’s] trainers went through last year is a story in itself,” Glen Hanlon said.

• “These are the better days.” This came straight from Kolzig’s mouth early on in his session with the media. The first thing out of Kolzig’s mouth, as he moved before cameras and microphones, was “This is the Caps [press event]?” Both he and Hanlon were struck by the size of the media contingent attending Media Day. As we’ve seen in recent days, there is an intensity of media interest in the Capitals, particularly among local mainstream media, relative to that of recent years at this time.

Some reporters were discussing a quote Jason Spezza gave the Canadian Press this week: ‘’I think Washington could be a darkhorse team that could get into the playoffs. They made some good acquisitions in the off-season and they had a pretty good base of young guys so they could be kind of a team that might sneak up and make the playoffs.'’

Cap after Cap came forward Thursday morning with the word “playoffs” on his lips. It’s not an entitlement, it’s something they must earn, but Captain Clark made the mission as plain as could be: “We have everything we need to get there.”

The good karma around this team now has had a clear impact on Kolzig. “My enthusiasm and energy level is at an all-time high,” he claimed.

• Yes the new guys are important, but don’t overlook our core. Hanlon noted that the Caps finished 25 points shy of the playoffs last season. “The free agents [by themselves] can’t make up 25 points,” he said. There is a tendency to overvalue high-priced, free agent newcomers as saviors swooping in to lead a surge in the standings. Hanlon pointed to the emergence last season of so many young players on Pittsburgh’s roster, guys who, like the young Caps of the past couple of seasons, played together through rough times. Like Therrien in Pittsburgh last season, Hanlon is looking to his core to come through this season. “Our remaining 16 or 17 players have advanced,” he said.

• It’s AO’s planet, we just share it with him. “Your English has gotten better,” one reporter observed after Alex answered the first question posed to him, and the reporter wondered if AO had worked on it during the summer.

“I practice in the [night] clubs,” he replied, sporting a devilish grin.

The starting goaltender offered a passing observation about the superstar left wing’s unkept hair. A reporter brought this to Ovechkin’s attention.

“It’s gangster style,” he responded, grinning again.

The general manager offered a number of insightful assessments related to the present and the recent past. He acknowledged that beyond the signings of the three big free agents, he added bodies with pro experience — guys like Boumedienne and Lepitso — in response to the experience that the team went through last December, when injuries and illness assailed an above-.500 club that was sniffing a playoff spot then. He also offered the view that chemistry with three significant new faces in the room is less an issue or concern than it was when the league was first experiencing significant free agent movement. Relatively few teams were making most of the significant acqusitions early on, he noted, but today “every team is acquiring [free agents].”

Where are the Capitals at the dawn of training camp 2007?

“A couple of years ago, we were looking [just] to fill boots. Now we have good players to fill a few number of [open] positions,” McPhee claimed.

As Training Camp slowly (so slowly) approaches, we decided to take a quick look at some of the new faces, returnees, hopefuls and last-chancers that will be vying for a spot in the Caps’ forward corps. Battles at many slots are expected, and this may be one of the most competitive camp in Caps’ history.

First, we’ll examine the forwards, a group that received an infusion of talent down the middle and added a veteran scoring winger:

Nicklas Backstrom – The youngster is seemingly a lock for the big squad. A slick-passing center with hockey sense and puck-control, the most impressive thing about his game at this point may be his attention to the other end of the ice. His awareness and positioning without the puck, coupled with his creativity and vision should be a boon to either of the Caps’ elite left wingers. Foot speed is a concern, and while he won’t arrive in North America to the same fanfare that Alex Ovechkin did, the “Next Great Swede” will have all the eyes of his country upon him.

(Continued)

Herewith, our attempt to devise a depth chart for the Caps to coincide with the recent completion of the team’s annual Rookie Development Camp. It’s important to note that with it we are not forecasting specific line combos but rather attempting to slot players by position according to their professional production and most recent performances in evaluative settings. It’s also important to note that a number of forwards in the Caps’ system play more than one position up front. The Russian elites and Matt Pettinger appear locks on the left side for well into the next decade, whereas the right side seems to carry many more question marks.

We’ve envisioned this as a file hopefully sparking spirited reaction and respectful challenge. We welcome your proposed modifications.

More news regarding the increasingly bizarre Nylander contract controversy. It seems to this admittedly untrained eye that the Oilers’ beef, while understandable, has little or no legal footing. I’d bet the farm that Nylander remains a Capital.

Nonetheless, the wounded tone heard from Edmonton makes this Canada.com article a compelling read — it’s not often in sports (particularly in hockey) that one hears management take such a personal affront to the business. Though given last year’s Chris Pronger departure, one can understand the Oil’s management having thinner skin than usual. Here’s an excerpt:

According to Lowe, Gillis said his client was exhausted and asked if he could sign [the contract] in the morning. Lowe agreed but says he never got a signed sheet back from the player. Instead, Nylander signed in Washington Monday afternoon.

Lowe said Nylander called, “with a sombre voice.”

“He said his wife was crying, that they had more friends in the east. I said, ‘Michael, this the first I’ve heard of this.’ I told him, ‘Michael, why don’t you take some time, come to Edmonton — I’m going down the path for a while — but after about 12, 15 minutes of that, I said, ‘Michael, have you agreed to a contract in Washington?’ He said yes. I said, ‘You have no idea the grief you’ve caused.’”

Off Wing Opinion and Japers’ Rink have more information on what’s becoming a mini hockey soap opera (complete with jilted bloggers).

[Update: Lowe now seems to be considering peppering other teams’ RFAs with offer sheets. How much of this bitterness is from the Nylander deal, and how much is regret over letting Ryan Smyth get away? After all, what they offered Nylander isn’t that much less than they would have needed to keep Oiler heart-and-soul Smyth on the roster last year.]

The Edmonton Oilers have released a statement indicating they received some word (though apparently not the signed contract) from Michael Nylander’s agent, Mike Gillis, in written form, that the Swedish center had agreed to a contract with the hockey club. The release states “The Oilers are examining and pursuing every course of action available in the best interest of the team and our fans.”

It’s difficult to gauge what legal grounds the Oilers are basing their complaint, and I am certainly the last person you’d want guessing the possible outcome. It appears the Washington Capitals organization isn’t involved in this issue, other than agreeing to a deal with Nylander.

A tough situation, as it seems Lowe and Caps’ GM George McPhee have at least a pleasant working relationship, and it’s safe to say that both the Caps’ organization and it’s fans were pleased at the Nylander signing.

We’ll be keeping an eye on this development, and we hope you’ll still have room for potato salad tomorrow. Fireworks, indeed.

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

Undeniably 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

Some 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

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.]

Somewhat idly I sent an instant message late yesterday afternoon to my good friend Eric McErlain, within which I pointed out that the ‘Net-wide consensus most of Monday that Rangers’ center Michael Nylander was off to shovel a ton of snow in Alberta for the next few years had yet to generate any tangible confirmation. Interestingly, there wasn’t a single voice on any Caps’ message board holding out hope that the last of the truly elite UFA centers could come home to the club most in need of help high up in the middle.

Taken together with Sunday’s free agent acquisitions, a good deal of Caps’ off-ice baggage was discarded late Monday afternoon, when General Manager George McPhee inked 80-pt. pivot Michael Nylander to a four-year pact. In a near instant an awful lot of the poison from the e-pens of the message board Doom and Gloom set was silenced. And should have been. A dispiriting set of mean-spirited mythology, ironically authored by the team’s “fans,” had been marginalized if not discarded.

This week’s talent influx at roster spot weak points ought to excite all Caps’ fans, and this morning, it’s entirely reasonable to posit that the ‘07-’08 Caps are, on paper, 18-25 points improved over last season’s 70-pt. cellar dwellers. Eighteen points means falling just shy of the NHL postseason; 25 and you’re in.

But there’s no need to worry about that in early July. Additional roster tinkering and architecture can and should take place in-season, as the team’s new components gell (or fail to). For now, we ought to reflect a bit on the indigenous bad-mouthing that frankly has contributed to this team’s stepchild status in local sports media’s coverage hierarchy . . . and celebrate its dismissal. (That’s optimistic thinking. More likely, it’ll recede through at least tomorrow evening’s fireworks.)

Myth no. 1: No free agent of name or notable game would ever deign to sign in D.C.

Nylander doesn’t possess a laser for a shot or blinding speed, but he is a Tier I offensive catalyst, clearly one of the three or four best centers available in this summer’s free agent market. And this week he was coveted. He had numerous offers, and he chose the Caps’. Hockey of course is far more than a one-man game, but the prospect of Nylander setting up AO has occasioned pages of praise across the ‘Net’s hockey spectrum. This signing once and for all ought to dispel the baseless claim that quality, impact hockey players necessarily bear an instinctive aversion to donning a Caps’ uniform system.

Myth no. 2: The Caps couldn’t possibly compete with genuine (and winning) hockey market clubs for the services of talented free agents.

Can and did. As in, with the case of Nylander, making a bridesmaid of the 2006 Stanley Cup finalist Edmonton Oilers. And, according to Mike Vogel, for less money. Tom Poti, too, had no shortage of suitors on Sunday afternoon. He was a no. 1 Dman for a playoff hockey club in ‘06-’07. At 30, he’s smack in the prime of his hockey career.

Myth no. 3: Caps’ management is all talk and no action, and its “summer of change” amounted to little more than new-colors-and-logos sloganeering.

Listen to that sweet sound of silenced Caps’ cynics. It’s about time for a Dave Fay “On Hockey” column, don’t you think?