- The Caps announced the roster for this week's development camp out at Kettler, including a lot of familiar names such as super Swede Niklas Backstrom and newly drafted defenseman Karl Alzner.
All on-ice sessions are open to the public free of charge, just another in a long line of things this organization has done to provide access to its grateful, hockey-starved fans this summer. And while all eyes will likely be on the Caps' top picks from the last two years, Backstrom and Alzner, I will be looking forward to getting my first glimpse of a few others that have been floating around the system.
Want to see how the Caps' blue line corps looks for the future? Check out Patrick McNeill, Sami Lepisto, Viktor Dovgan and the twin towers, Sasha Pokoluk and Joe Finley (6'5", 220 lbs and 6'7", 233 lbs respectively...those are big boys). How about the next generation of flashy wingers? Oskar Osala, Andrew Gordon, and local boy Steve Werner should provide plenty of killer dekes and blazing slapshots for anyone in attendance. Up the middle is looking pretty promising, as well, with new Cap Kyle Wilson leading the way.
And let's not forget the anchor of the team, the man between the pipes - the Caps will have their eyes peeled for the heir apparent to Olie's throne, and this is the first chance for many of us to see highly touted prospects Simeon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth.
As if that wasn't enough, George McPhee went on SportsTalk 980 this morning and apparently provided a little teaser for fans still on the fence about checking out this year's camp, implying that the tone will be much more competitive than in the past to see how the players perform in gamelike situations - so there will be contact. (h/t to OrderedChaos for paraphrasing...)
Sounds good to me!
- Mark your calendars for September 25th - that's the only confirmed preseason home game I've seen for the Caps as they take on the Carolina Hurricanes, 7:00 pm at Verizon Center. Two other games on the schedule (and there may be others confirmed, this is just what I've pieced together) will be September 16th in Raleigh and September 22nd in Tampa. More as the dates trickle in...
September, eh? A little over 2 months and counting.
Day 1 of the "Free Agent Frenzy" has come and gone, and we've all had time to process the moves that were made or not made as the case may be around the NHL.
Some thoughts...
- Let's deal with the biggest issue on everyone's mind - no, we didn't sign Gomez or the gruesome twosome from Buffalo. Uh...did people actually think we were going to? The prices and length of term for those three guys who, I'm sorry, are grossly overrated, would have put the Caps in a financial and contractual bind and prevented them from moving forward with extensions for our youngsters in the coming years. They're good players, sure. Are they worth $6-7 million a year until the end of time? Absolutely not.
What's more, we all knew those were the kinds of dollars and contract lengths being tossed around for any one of those centers, and had we signed any of them there would have been cries of "overpaid!" coming from every corner of CapsNation. Now I'm well aware that I've repeated time and time again how much I love Chris Drury and wanted him here. But not for five years at just over $7 million a year, no thank you. And now that he's donning the hated blueshirt, my love and respect for him has just taken a serious hit. Sorry, Chris, but you can't be the heart and soul player for a team that has neither heart nor soul. Good luck with Satan Jagr...
- As always I took a spin around the Caps online world to get a feel for the verdict on yesterday's action, and while I was pretty impressed (and frankly surprised) with how positive many people seemed to be, to the rest of you I have to say one thing: quit your whining. Look around at the deals being made all day yesterday, huge dollar amounts flying left and right, lifetime contracts being doled out...then look at the fantastic job that GMGM did.
He got us a puck-moving defenseman who can, wait for it, quarterback the power play. He locked him up for four years at $3.5 million per year, maybe a tad overpaying but definitely low considering the market. Maybe not a number one defenseman, but still top four and all in all a good pickup. Then he went out and got a guy who has played with Ovechkin, who put up career numbers last year, who at just 30 is still in his prime, and who can fill the need for a skilled right winger. Price tag? Two years, $2.5 million. Voila.
That's filling two holes that needed to be filled with relatively little risk involved, particularly with Kozlov. If either doesn't work out, a 2 or 4 year deal is much easier to move than a 6-8 year contract...we know that all too well. So that's $6 million tied up in two pretty decent players, leaving tons of cash left over to go after one sexy center, whoever that may be...I know who I want.
- Back to the Poti deal - this is a guy that I actually wanted to see here the last time he was available and the more I think about it the better I feel about this signing. People are complaining that he's sometimes prone to defensive mistakes. Guess what? He wasn't brought in to be a Scott Stevens or even a Brendan Witt. He was brought in to do exactly what he does, play the point, boost the offense, and occasionally shut down the other team's scoring.
The organization has quite a few youngsters who will, in time, fill that stay at home d-man position. Jeff Schultz leaps immediately to mind, as does Shaone Morrisonn. Big bodies, young players who will grow into their role, and the only way to let them do that is to actually give them experience doing just that. It may continue to be a little bumpy along the way, but let's face it - how much worse could it really be? And in the meantime you get a guy with playoff experience, a guy who knows a few of his new teammates, a guy who can pick up some badly needed points on the power play...I say well done, McPhee.
- The Rangers are really bugging the crap out of me, I'll say it right now. It's not that I thought Drury or Gomez would come here because I honestly didn't, as I mentioned before. It's the sheer audacity they have in resuming the game I like to call "New York big bucks franchise tries to buy a championship" (See Steinbrenner, George.) Last season I found myself occasionally praising the team I loathed for getting away from all that crap and trying to build through the draft and acquisitions based more on character and ability than on name alone (around Jagr, sure, but still...) Flash forward to yesterday: they sign Drury and Gomez, the two biggest names of the UFA frenzy. They're going to lose Nylander, they just lost Ortmeyer...and they're back to square one. Of course, they still don't have any defense to back up their "firepower", so at least we can hang on to that lovely thought.
- What the hell are the Flyers doing? I'm no expert in the ways of building a winning team, but to me it doesn't seem wise to lock up a handful of second-tier players to huge long-term contracts the year after your worst season in franchise history. To me this looks like the desperate act of a franchise trying to quickly win back their fans. Newsflash to Snider and Holmgren: Philly fans are fickle. Sure, the trades and signings that got done yesterday may make the Flyers an infinitely better team...it could also blow up in their face. As a former division rival, am I the only one who is hoping it's the latter? If that makes me a bad person, I don't care. Too many long nights surrounded by fans in orange and black will make a person bitter.
(I will say that I do like the idea of Briere going somewhere I already hate - makes it easier to continue my own personal loathing of the evil little hobbit.)
- Winners of the first day: Colorado. Wow. Locking up Smyth and Hannan (who went for a lot less than I thought he would) augments what already was a pretty decent team...hey, any team that can make Andrew Brunette into a consistent scorer gets my vote. With Joe Sakic continuing to produce and lead in a way that only he can and now these two new additions, this Avs team is going to look pretty darn scary come the fall.
- Bizarre Award: Pittsburgh. They've already locked up their geriatric duo, Roberts and Recchi. So what's next? Go find a 35 year old defenseman whose best days are behind him to...to what? Increase the average age in the locker room? Okay, sure. Then they pick up Petr Sykora (you know, the "good" one), who has never really lived up to the hype that surrounds him. Just ask Devils fans. Throw in the addition of a new backup goalie after spending this year praising the hell out of Thibault's performance, and rightly so, and you've got one strange, strange day on the market for the Pens.
- The Caps really were the best team in the division at improving their roster after their moves yesterday. Granted, they had more work to do than the other four teams who all either made the playoffs or really sat just on the cusp at the end of last season, but still. No Cup winner out of the Southeast Division this season? What's that all about? Let's take a brief gander around the Southeast:
So now we sit and wait for the rest of the UFAs to go their separate ways, with many eyes suddenly and bizarrely on the Michael Nylander situation but also focused on *shudder* Alexei Yashin. The Caps are still looking for a top line center and I'll bet GMGM has been very busy today trying to lock one up as soon as possible...stay tuned.
Update: Per Japers' Rink (and courtesy of an alert commenter) it looks like my Nylander dream, like so many of my Caps-related dreams, has come crashing back to earth with a resounding thud. A second radio station is claiming Nylander has signed a 4 year deal with the Oilers. No confirmation from TSN as yet, but this is twice now that we're hearing word out of Edmonton of a deal - three times and I say we move on to...*sigh*...Yashin. I guess. Sure.
I don't think I have any Rangers' fans who read what I write on a regular basis, so I feel pretty comfortable in saying this:
Here's the scoop - the free agent "frenzy" kicks off in exactly two hours. There are rumblings that this could be quite the crazy, action-packed day. Throughout the day I'll be taking my Red Bull and PowerBars, doing my best to update the most recent signings and roster moves here, but I'm sure in the meantime everyone has something to say.
So here in the Cheap Seats I'm taking a page from my superior colleague and kicking off an open thread to discuss what you want, when you want. I know its Sunday and most people have lives, but if you're kicking around waiting for the contract news to trickle in like me and you stumble through here, feel free to make your voice heard.
Discuss...
Update: Pascal Dupuis signs 1 year, $880K contract w/ Atlanta; Joe Thornton signs 3-year contract extension w/ San Jose
(Mental) Update: For some reason I have that Tom Petty song running on a loop through my head...you know, "The waiting is the hardest part / Every day you see one more card / You take it on faith, you take it to the heart / The waiting is the hardest part..."
Update: Iginla is on the verge of signing a long-term contract with Calgary, reported to keep him there through either 2010-11 or 2011-12. As you all know Calgary is my third team (anyone keeping track of how many there are? I've lost count), so as a sort-of Flames fan I say YAY! That was one of the issues facing Calgary next year at this time - glad to see they got Iggy tied up; he's definitely the heart and soul of that Flames team.
Update: Todd White signs with the Thrashers, 4 years at just over $2 million/year. And may I just say...Todd who? Big, exciting day so far, folks.
Update: The excitement continues as RFA Ryan Whitney has agreed to a contract extension w/ the Penguins, terms as yet unannounced. Woo.
Update: The Caps have signed Tom Poti to a 4 year, $3.5 mil/year deal. Huh. Not sure how I feel about that, although it adds veteran presence to the blueline and gives us a stay at home d-man...more later after I've processed.
Update: Florida has signed Brett Mclean to a 3-year deal and Richard Zednik to a 2-year deal, thus continuing a long line of confusing moves by the kitty cats.
Update Mathieu Schneider has signed a 2-yr, $11.25 million deal with the Ducks - looks like Niedermeyer is hanging them up, although I don't know the value of overpaying someone just as old and not as skilled to take his place...
Update: I'm hearing (unconfirmed) rumblings that Briere is officially a Flyer and Gomez has signed with the Rangers...updates to come, stay tuned. Update to the update, per TSN.ca: Daniel Briere has signed with the Philadelphia Flyers for eight years and $52 million. The deal includes a no movement clause.
Update: Calgary signs defenceman Cory Sarich to a five year, $18 million deal. Good upgrade for a team that will probably lose Hamrlik to free agency in the next few days.
Update: (coming fast and furious now, eh?) Brian Rafalski agrees to a five year, $30 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings.
Update: Forward Yanic Perreault agrees to terms with the Chicago Blackhawks on a one-year, $1.5 million contract. Poor Yanic...not really sure why he keeps bouncing around so much, he's always been a favorite of mine. Can you imagine him here? Picture 82 games of Locker calling him "No Panic Yanic". Too bad.
Update: A quick check of Tom Poti's Wikipedia entry informs us that he has a number of assorted allergies, including chocolate, peanuts and MSG. Huh. MSG? Didn't he used to play for the Rangers at Madison Square Garden? (Oh, I crack myself up...). He's also a Yankees fan...wonder what Clark will think about that!
Update: (More semi-interesting deals)
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed right winger Michel Ouellet to a two-year deal worth $1.2 and $1.3 million. [At least he didn't come to the Caps.]
- The Carolina Hurricanes agree to a two-year contract worth $800,000 per year with forward Jeff Hamilton. [Who?]
- Florida Panthers have signed forward Radek Dvorak to a two-year contract. [Panthers have been busy the last few days, that doesn't bode well if any of their dealings pan out...this division is getting a little scarier.]
- The Boston Bruins have signed free-agent right winger Shawn Thornton to a multi-year contract. [Another bizarre and uninteresting Boston pick-up, along with Manny Fernandez last night.]
Update: The Atlanta Thrashers have signed forward Eric Perrin to a two year deal worth $1.5 million. The Southeast shuffle continues.
Okay, I'm out. For updated free agent signings check some of the other blogs or the source everyone is already using, TSN.ca's real time Free Agent Tracker. If the Caps do anything else I'm sure I'll be back on to discuss it - if they sign Yashin, you can count on it.
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.
