Erasure Lives

I try to discover
A little something to make me sweeter
Oh baby refrain from breaking my heart
I'm so in love with you

I'll be forever blue

That you give me no reason
Why you're making me work so hard

That you give me no
That you give me no
That you give me no
That you give me no

Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby, please give a little respect to me

"A Little Respect" by Erasure

Don't look now, but the Caps are starting to get grumblings of respect from the rest of the NHL as under GMGM's guidance they have quietly improved their roster in a span of a few short weeks. (Take that, Dave Fay.) The latest admirer is none other than the Great Mullet himself, Barry Melrose - in today's Post, George Solomon quotes Melrose:

"The Capitals are much improved -- without breaking the bank [...] Nylander had a great year for the Rangers, Poti is a solid addition on defense and Kozlov gives them depth. I think they've signed three of the top nine free agents available."

This of course comes right on the heels of Scott Burnside's analysis calling the Caps a team on the rise:

"Slowly, quietly, GM George McPhee is building the Caps into a dangerous team in the east. Hard-working and tough already, the Caps added some offensive juice down the middle in the form of Viktor Kozlov and Michael Nylander (now Public Enemy #1 in Edmonton, not that anyone in Washington cares) who combined for 51 goals and 134 points a year ago. Tom Poti, another New York Islander ex-pat should help out a power play that ranked 24th. The Caps hung around the playoff race for two-thirds of a season a year ago -- look for them to be in it until the end this coming season."

To quote Winnie the Pooh's friend Eeyore: thanks for noticing us.

Now I'm just waiting for that flashy NHL.com cover story and I'll be happy. You know, like the other teams that did less. (Hello, Detroit, I'm looking at you - signing two geriatrics does not a spectacular offseason make...)