When All Is Said and Done

As the dust settles from the 2007 NHL Draft, there are, as always, some people who think they could have done better than the man wearing the GM hat for the Caps.

As I've said many times, I know very little about this draft or any draft for that matter - but this much I know: this was, by all accounts, a weaker draft class than usual. The difference between a guy taken 15th and a guy taken 35th is not as vast as in previous years, making everything beyond the top 5 or 6 essentially a crap shoot.

I also know this - people who are complaining that GMGM made no trades for actual players should consider two things. One is the fact that no one was making trades for actual players this weekend. We had two goalies switching conferences and then...after that? Nada. The other is the fact that, although acquiring no warm bodies, GMGM wasn't completely stationary, either. The Caps made a few trades to move down in this year's draft while still managing to a) get the players they wanted and b) stockpile more picks for next year, a draft with potentially much more depth to it.

To build a successful franchise you need to create depth every year, meaning we can't just wait for our current Caps to grow into their roles and hope one Stanley Cup will tide us over, as amazing as it would be. We need a pipeline of continuous talent coming in, and if the Caps didn't see what they wanted this year I'm happy to wait until 2008 to see what else they can get.

Let's also not forget that it takes two to tango - McPhee can't simply go around to the other 29 teams and put whatever players he wants in a shopping cart. Someone else has to want to buy what we have to sell, and what they offer in return has to be a fair deal. Without having a wire tap on McPhee's phone (since none of us are close, personal friends with "President" Bush), to even assume we know what was offered and what was asked for is simply ridiculous. Who knows what kind of crazy offers were being floated, what names from our roster were being tossed around? No need to hurry into a trade just because the pundits thought there would be a lot of trades...it has to be right.

Yes, the Caps passed on Esposito. They passed on Cherepanov. They passed on Petrecki. Guess what - so did a lot of other teams. Why single out GMGM when numerous other GMs did the exact same thing? The reality is, the Caps didn't see what they wanted in any of those three players and whether or not that comes back to bite us in the ass remains to be seen. It's not like the Rangers and Penguins don't already have guys who like to score on the Caps - what's one more? And if Alzner pans out, it may not matter...imagine, a stay at home defenseman in a Caps uniform. It's a beautiful thing.

This summer is going to be about creating a team that can consistently contend for the playoffs, we all know that. Everyone, including McPhee, is aware that time is running out for GMGM to get this rebuild to pay off. Changes need to be made and results need to be seen or else you can bet we'll start shopping around for another GM come next summer. In the meantime we can only sit and utter the mantra that has been handed down through decades of Caps fandom: have a little patience, the best is yet to come.