First and foremost, that "Yippee!" sound you just heard was the collective cry of joy of Matt Bradley fans everywhere - including yours truly. The gritty RW inked a three year, $3 million contract that will keep him in DC and avoid the whole messy becoming a UFA thing July 1.
It's just another one of those great signings - keeping a key piece of the team in place, making sure the team chemistry is stable (Brads is unquestionably one of the leaders and favored goofballs in the locker room), and not breaking the bank to do it. Bradley definitely earned the raise, about $300K more per year, with his play this past season and during the playoffs. He's a fast skater, a hard hitter, a great shutdown guy and someone you love to have on your side.
It's hard to say what this means for a guy like Matt Cooke, the one person who could be impacted the most by this signing. There's money left right now and it's obvious he enjoyed playing here, just as we enjoyed having him on our team. It's possible we hang on to him as well - but whether we need another gritty winger is the question, especially with some young guys in Hershey who could be ready to make the leap. Plus there's the little matter of re-signing Mike Green, Shaone Morrisonn, Brooks Laich, Boyd Gordon...and oh yeah, we still need a goalie.
Now about those pesky playoffs...
Gee, I'm almost fainting with surprise at the fact that the NHL/media hype machine missed the target yet again. I'm sure no one who has followed hockey this year could have called the fact that, for all their talent, the Penguins are still not quite in the same league as the mighty Red Wings.
The series isn't over yet - you have to win four games, last time I checked. But Sid the Kid and his little friends haven't scored a goal in 120 minutes of play. Fleury the Wonder Goalie has been average at best. And the Detroit defense is absolutely smothering the high-flying Penguins O, including rent-a-jackass Hossa and Mr. Invisible, Evgeni Malkin. Do we expect all that much to change just because they go back to the Igloo?
(And don't even get me started on the irony of Crosby complaining about someone else diving. Just don't.)
You know, as Caps fans this was the matchup we were all dreading. The team that just has our number, a team we all love to hate, against the team that broke our hearts ten years ago by lifting the Cup on our home turf.
But you have to admit, it's not that bad rooting for Detroit. Sure, they've won a lot and rooting for a team like that is a little painful - but give them credit. Their scouts are among the best in the league at digging out hidden gems, the system they play works for everyone, and half the team is homegrown. It's self-perpetuating success, a cycle that invokes envy among the 29 other fan bases and that 29 other teams try to emulate. You think Ted and GMGM didn't have this model in mind when they stripped the team down and stockpiled prospects and picks?
If we're lucky, we'll see the Caps hoisting the Cup in the next few years - just once would be incredible. If we're really lucky, if the team knows what it's doing and sticks to the plan, that "just once" could become "just the first".
In other words...Go Wings.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Brads is Sticking Around
Monday, January 14, 2008
Word is Spreading
In one of his daily dialogues recently Coach Bruce Boudreau joked that he almost wished Mike Green wasn't getting so much attention - it's easier to burn teams with his talent when they're not keeping a close eye on him.
Well, if other teams are noticing either they don't care or they're simply not able to shut him down. Safe money is on the latter, as Green has rocketed to the top of the goal-scoring defensemen despite continuing to be the subject of national discussion.
...someone explain to me how he wasn't picked as an All-Star again?
The spotlight continues today for Green as he's featured in the New York Times (swanky), where he put into words what it seems a lot of fans and players alike are starting to feel:
“I see a bright future for this organization,” Green said. “We have the right foundation as far as players and direction. It feels like we’re really starting to put things together.”Then there's the massively long piece on NHL.com, Green's "In the Spotlight" moment. Of course we've read a lot about him in recent weeks, but there's some good stuff in there from the coaching staff and Green himself that's new to any fan. In the piece he talks about everything from good eating habits to modelling his game after some of the greats to working on his game in his own end:
"Offense comes a lot more naturally than the defensive game for me," Green said. When there is offense to be created as the fourth guy jumping up into the play, that's what I want to do, and continue working the power play. It has taken some time for me to come into my own and I finally feel ready to fill that role. But I really try to work on my defensive game. I don't want to be known as just an offensive guy, though I think over the course of my junior career and AHL experience I have developed that (reputation), but I want to be a guy that can play solid minutes and play against top lines."Sounds good to me.
So now that the Ovechkin deal is done there's talk that negotiations will begin with Green shortly if they haven't already. The way Green has been talking about the team, the coaching staff and the organization lately, it's likely that the Caps can lock up Green long-term and keep this team in very good hands for a very long time.
Just nobody give that kid keys to a segway ever again, okay?
Friday, January 11, 2008
The 124 Million Dollar Man
Photo courtesy of WashingtonCaps.comLast night at a Meet the Team party for season ticketholders Ted Leonsis made public what many of us already assumed - that Alex had signed a contract extension. What we didn't know was that the length of time was something beyond even our wildest dreams. Thirteen years. Thirteen years of Ovechkin's grins, his goal celebrations, his joyous tackling of teammates. Thirteen more years of his ever-evolving talent, his leadership, and his presence on and off the ice.
There are some - in fact there already have been some - who will sneer at the length or the amount, claim he's not worth the bucks or he's handcuffed himself to a team that can never really fully appreciate the great talent that he is. Ovechkin is insane. The Caps are insane. This is a horrible idea.
...is it? $124 million is a lot of money, yes. 13 years is a long time, absolutely. But the way the contract is designed, it will pay him $9 million a year for the first half (that's only $300,000 more than Crosby gets with his new "hometown discount" contract, by the way) and $10 million in the second half. Anyone thinking that Ovechkin wouldn't be making that kind of money anywhere he goes has underestimated his value severely - it just sounds like a more insane amount because it's over 13 years.
As for that number...the Caps have said time and time again that Ovechkin is the cornerstone, the building block of this team. He is the face of the franchise and we want him to continue to be the face for as long as possible. All this does is remove the burden of having to renegotiate with Alex every few years - it removes the pressure from the team and removes the distraction from Ovechkin.
It's also a statement. A statement by ownership and management that all their rhetoric about wanting to keep Ovechkin and build around him was not just a bunch of words but a true belief in his ability to lead this team to a championship. A statement by Ovechkin that he may like playing in Montreal or Toronto for the hockey atmosphere - but he loves being a Cap. He could have signed a shorter deal and still said he loved being here...maybe somewhere in the, oh, I don't know, five year range? But he didn't. He jumped in with both feet and proclaimed to fans, ownership, and the rest of the league that DC is where he wants to play.
There are two arguments likely to crop up in the coming days from those bitter journalists and analysts who hate seeing successful players in anything short of a hockey mecca. It's not hard to predict - we've heard them all before.
The first is that Washington is a horrible hockey town, a place where good players go to fade away from the spotlight and waste their talents on a team going nowhere. I'm not even sure where this stigma came from, but after years of following Washington hockey I can tell you it's not true.
Yes, the excitement has dwindled slightly - but anyone who attended games back in the late 80s, the heyday of the Caps and their consistent playoff appearances, knows that there was once a passion for this team that rivaled the best hockey cities in the league. And anyone who was at the Meet the Team event last night knows that the passion has never really faded away. There's still a buzz of excitement around this team and someone like Ovechkin is helping to fuel it - it may be moving slower than we'd like but it's happening and it's only a matter of time before this team is back in the spotlight where it deserves to be.
Furthermore, in recent years we have seen four or five players give up the chance to play for a so-called "contender" or to earn more money by staying in DC. Alexander Semin, coming off a 38-goal year, signed a two year contract extension to stay here. Kolzig has continually turned down the option of trades or free agency to stay here. Chris Clark, also coming off a career year, chose to ink four more years with the team. Michael Nylander turned down more money to come here. And now Ovechkin has made the biggest statement of all - he never wants to leave.
So on to the second argument. It's too many years, too much money, and the Caps will find themselves burned like they were with Jagr.
I almost don't know how to respond to that except to say that, luckily, Ovechkin is no Jagr. Good ol' JJ showed signs of being a temperamental diva and an underachiever long before he signed that big money longterm deal with the Caps. Ovechkin, on the other hand, never seems to take a shift off. He never phones it in. He hates not scoring but hates losing more; his celebrations when his teammates score is just as big if not bigger than if he had scored the goal himself. The guys so obviously love him just as we all love him - and that makes him worth every penny.
If you haven't seen it yet, take a look at the video from last night of Ted announcing the deal, courtesy of the wonderful people at OnFrozenBlog. Watch the looks on the team's faces; listen to the sound of the crowd. It was an amazing moment and one I'll probably never forget. Check it out:
Thursday, January 10, 2008
You Like Us! You Really Like Us!
Yeah, I guess he really did want to play in Montreal or New York, right?
More later, plus (hopefully) pictures from tonight's Meet the Team party. Until then, raise your glasses and drink a toast to Alex Ovechkin - a Capital until at least 2021!
Big News?
We're hearing rumors, murmurings and whispers that a deal has been struck between the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin...no official confirmation yet and an earlier report from TSN has been pulled down, but stay tuned!
Monday, November 26, 2007
No Time to Panic
Since this summer there has been a lot of hand-wringing among the Caps faithful on the subject of Alex Ovechkin's contract. The second the Caps were allowed to negotiate with the Russian superstar people have been waiting for news that we've locked him up for twenty years, an anticipatory stance that only intensified after a number of big names signed long-term deals with their current clubs. I think some kid in Steeltown was in that group, but I could be wrong...
Now on the heels of the world's most obnoxious column (written by the world's most obnoxious columnist, Larry Brooks) the anxiety has reached a fever pitch. When are we going to sign him? Why haven't we signed him? Are we just biding our time until Alex, too, departs our fair city?? Are we going to lose OVIE???
I'm starting to feel like the yoga instructor for the DC Metro area. At the risk of repeating myself, I'm going to ask everyone once more to take a deeeeep breath.
First of all, Alex will be a restricted free agent. Restricted. Meaning as of July 1, he can receive offer sheets from other teams but the Caps always have the option of matching it. Let's put this into perspective - Kevin Lowe offered Thomas Vanek a huge, long-term contract. Buffalo matched. Vanek remains a Sabre. Ovechkin is just as much a cornerstone of our team as Vanek is for the Sabres, if not more - do people honestly think the Caps wouldn't match?
For that matter, what makes people think that whatever the Caps offer him wouldn't be upwards of the maximum he'd be able to get from anyone else anyway? Ovie is worth $10 million a year in my mind, more so than Vanek will be for Buffalo on his best day...and Vanek is a pretty decent player. The Caps have been saying for the last few years that they are building this team around Alex. So it would look pretty silly to let him walk after spending time and money to make this team Ovechkin-friendly.
The thing that is making people antsy is the timeline. As soon as Crosby signed his big "hometown discount" contract (oh, seriously, gag me) with the Pens, all eyes turned to Ovechkin to follow suit.
The problem there is that Ovie, for whatever reason, fired his agent this summer and is currently without representation. And no, his mother is not his agent and can't be - she's not licensed to do so. The fact that there is no contract yet and hardly even a whisper about negotiations for a contract makes me think Ovechkin is simply choosing not to deal with it right now. There's nothing wrong with that. He has until July...and it's November. We've only just cleared the turkey and stuffing from the table; if we get to March and there's no deal, then we'll talk.
So why is he waiting? Maybe, and this is just a theory, he's waiting to see what happens this year. And I'm not just referring to the team, although getting a winning record under their belts would certainly help the Caps in their bids to woo him into a long-term deal.
Ovie is coming off a somewhat disappointing season - yes, I know it sounds ridiculous to say that a 92-point season is disappointing, but frankly after his rookie year it wasn't what we expected and it definitely wasn't up to his standards. Last year at this time Ovie had 25 points; he was also a -6.
This season he is quietly putting together the best stretch of games we've seen out of him in his young career, with one more point through the same number of games and a surprising +1 rating on the year. And as the team starts to play better, so will Ovie (which has to be terrifying for the other 29 teams who have to play him).
Beyond that he's starting to grow into his leadership role and has taken it upon himself to be a mentor of sorts for both Semin and Backstrom while pushing himself and the team on the ice every night. I've said it so many times this season - he continues to be one of the best players on the ice night in and night out, and that's something I don't think we could always say about him in the past.
I don't think it is so hard to believe that maybe he wants his new contract to be based on his best performance and not on a year that he likely wants to forget. When all is said and done, sport is a business like anything else and if he's as smart as I think he is, the delay has less to do with him wanting out of DC and more to do with him simply wanting to be rewarded for and judged by his best work.
I think that's something we can all appreciate.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Does McPhee Speak Russian?
Nervous about a certain Russian's contract status in the wake of Sid the Kid's megabucks deal earlier this summer? Don't be. The Hockey News (by way of Japers' Rink) informs us that Ovie is currently in talks, without an agent and directly with McPhee, to hash out an extension.
Not that there was ever any doubt the Caps would do everything they could to keep this kid around as long as possible, but its still nice to get the official word that things are, at the very least, starting.
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Just a quick administrative note - I'll be in and out a little less frequently for at least the next week to attend to some serious lemonade making. Should a major story break I'm sure I'll pop by for my thoughts, but until then please, as usual, visit any of my much more talented cohorts in the links along the righthand side for your daily dose of Caps news, opinions and sarcasm.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Jurcina Re-Signed
Big, exciting news out of Capsville - the Caps have avoided arbitration with defenseman Milan Jurcina, signing him to a two-year deal that will pay him $850,000 next season and $912,500 the season after. That's a significant raise over the $500,000 he made last year, a price at which I think we all can agree was a steal for the steady, gritty blueliner.
Good news for the team and for Jurcina, great news for fans, and the best news? No more arbitration! That just leaves a few RFAs to sign - Fleischmann, Klepis and Erskine. If Kevin Lowe happens to come sniffing around Flash and/or Klepis, he's welcome to them...
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Captain Clark, the Extended Edition
In a move that I'm pretty sure no one can find fault with, the Caps have signed captain and all-around heart and soul Chris Clark to a three year extension. Read about it here - I have nothing more to add except to merely say thank...god.
Clarkie, we love you here in the Cheap Seats!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Sutherby and Eminger Sticking Around
Sutherby and Eminger re-signed with the Caps, inking one year deals to keep them in the District and in the mix for another season. It's nice...now they don't have to look for new roommates!
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Lock Him Up and Throw Away the Key
Sidney Crosby has just been inked to a five year, $43 million contract extension that will keep him in Pittsburgh through the 2012-13 season. Tap of the stick to my super junior reporter Chris...
$43 million dollars - for you math geniuses out there, that shakes out to about $9 million a year. That's a lot of shiny red lip gloss, folks.
(Okay, I can be serious and mature, I swear.)
I'll admit that I'm not the biggest fan of Crosby, although I hide it really well. And $9 million a year is a lot of money, an amount that a lot of players are not worth. Briere? Please. Jagr? Don't make me laugh. But as much as I hate to admit it, other than Ovechkin there is no one more deserving of this contract for what he has added to his team than Crosby. The kid is a darn good player despite my best efforts to point out his shortcomings and will be for years to come.
As Caps fans, this actually does effect us - if as it has been hinted Ovie is in negotiations for a contract extension of his own, this pretty much cements the asking price. The Caps really can't offer him any less than $9 million a year...although if anyone's worth it, it's Ovechkin. Anyone here in DC not willing to give that kid as much as he wants if it means he stays in a Caps uniform until he's old and gray? Exactly.
It's really an interesting deal on the Penguins' part. You have to think that five years for their golden boy compared with some of these life sentences being handed out across the NHL is a little strange. To me its just a sign that, like many native Pittsburghians, Sidney has no interest in spending the rest of his life there. (If he continues to act like native Pittsburghians, we may even see him here in DC.)
There's no way that, given the chance, the Pens don't give him the maximum salary they can if they can also lock him up for as long as possible. Under this deal Crosby will just have to wait one more year to test the free agent market at the ripe old age of 26 (?), and in the meantime he'll have a nice fat wallet and job security (like that was ever in doubt). Pretty sweet deal for Sid.
Serious, mature time done.
Insert requisite "now he can afford to get his own place" joke...here.
Update: Eternally ten steps ahead of the rest of us thanks to their fabulous connections, the boys over at OFB have Ovechkin's reaction to the contract. He's pretty smart, that Ovie.
