Per TSN.ca, the Caps have acquired defenseman Milan Jurcina from the Bruins for conditional pick in 2008 (read Vogs' recap of the conditions here).More later, but my first question is will he continue to wear #68 in D.C.?
UPDATE: Here's TSN's scouting report on him:
Assets: Is a natural when shooting the puck from the point. Owns a huge frame, sound two-way instincts and all-around upside.Here's what the natives (our natives, that is) are saying, as well as what some of their natives are saying (spoiler: they hate the deal).
Flaws: Must play with more passion and utilize his tremendous size to his advantage.
Career potential: Top four defenseman.
My first reaction is that this is a low risk, medium reward move and a good stop gap - why not? My second reaction is that we probably shouldn't expect Brian Pothier back any time soon.
UPDATE: Vogel adds more, as does Spector.
UPDATE: Jurcina himself chimes in:
"I'm disappointed," said Jurcina. "I like it here in Boston, a great city, I love everything, and the fans. It's disappointing to go, but it's probably good. Washington has young defensemen, not the older, experienced guys. It'll be a great group of young guys and it'll be fun on the ice."UPDATE: Here's The Score's take (and I think I may change the name of this blog to Jurcina's Rink... lordy):
When asked if it bothered him that he was dealt for a reported fourth-round pick, Jurcina said: "It doesn't matter to me. I could have gone for nothing to somewhere else, the main thing for me is to get a new opportunity."
"It's all about ice time," said Jurcina, who showed up at the Garden around 3:45 to collect his things. "If you don't get the ice time you can't show what you can do, so that's probably the main thing. The coaches were great, the system was great, it's just when things are not going well [it's time for change]."
In Washington, Jurcina will be reunited with fellow blueliner Shaone Morrisonn. The pair played together for the P-Bruins during the 2003-2004 season.
What does it give the Washington Capitals?
In Jurcina, the Capitals add a towering presence for their future blueline. Still raw, Jurcina may not see a lot of ice time in the second half with Washington. That's because the team is still in the thick of the playoff chase in the Eastern Conference, and also because Jurcina has struggled badly in Boston this season. However, the Caps should benefit from having Jurcina on their blueline down the road. An excellent value trade by Washington.
What does it give the Boston Bruins?
This move is a little puzzling from a Boston perspective, since Jurcina was perceived to be a building block along the Bruins blueline. However, he regressed badly over the course of the 2006-07 season and was seeing little ice time in his final days as a Bruin. That said, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli should have been able to get greater value than a fourth rounder for a 23-year-old hulking defenseman with loads of untapped potential. Bad move by Boston.
14 comments:
Jurcina rocks...ok, he's still young and makes mistakes (and I think he misses Slegr somewhat as an influence), but this is just classic Bruins stupidity. D00d is young and the Capitals will get the best of him as he continues to develop. good move for the Crapitals.
1) VERY nice pick up by the Caps. Jurcina is huge. Why not wear # 68? LOL Can't think of who wore that last. Hmmm?
2) Can't have enough defensemen. This should allow the caps to return Schultz back to Hershey. It may also mean Heward's and/or Muir's days are numbered in D.C. once Erskine and Pothier return
I'm taking this as an indication that either Pothier, Erskine, or Muir is going to be out longer than has been previously indicated. A lot longer.
That said: The kid is 23 or something. So....
1) You may be correct in your assessment about Pothier. If its a concussion as some have written that would/could be ominous
But can the new kid keep a puck in the offensive zone at the point, or connect on a pass out of the defensive zone without turning it over?
If the answer to either of those is "yes", then I'd say he's one up on Mike Green. If the answer to both is "yes", then I see Mikey on a bus heading north pretty soon.
Oh puhleeze. That's ridiculous.
suggesting mike green is going to get sent down because of this trade makes absolutely no sense, and im surprised anyone that cares enough to be talking about it on a message board would even think that is an option
Y'all haven't been paying much attention to Green's play for, say, the last two months?
J.P., it's official: Your blog has jumped the shark.
Crap. Why?
Any time you get a member of a National team, it's a winner. Maybe he is a poor man's Chara, but he still played for a team that beat Ovechkin's Russia.
Awesome trade. I wish it could happened at least a week earlier.
JP: I think (perhaps I'm wrong?) that tyler is blaming my comments for your site having jumped the shark. I apologize for the following...
tyler: I assure you, I am not a troll. Email me at swampxiix--at--mindspring--dot--com if you'd like to debate the value of Mike Green on the blue line.
Gary's definitely one of The Rink's long-time readers, and if it's his opinion that is in question, it's certainly not a shark-jumping.
Oh, and Ovetjkin - Ivan Majesky was also a national team member, so I'd hardly hold that out as much of an indicator.
Bad news for anyone with a #68 jersey that was ready to take the "Jagr" nameplate off in favor of "Jurcina" - the newest Cap will wear #23.
Post a Comment