The Toronto Sun reports that "[v]eteran Ukrainian-born Slovak NHLer Peter Bondra said in Slovakia the other day that all reports of him signing with a Russian team were incorrect. He plans to return to the NHL, preferably to Washington."That ship has sailed, Petey. We've all moved on - I suggest you do the same.
H/t to Off Wing Opinion on the link
19 comments:
True, that ship has sailed. We're content with Brooks Laich, Boyd Gordon, Eric Fehr, and Rico Fata. Our powerplay is fine, as is our shootout. And it's not like Semin is starting to act like a brat and needs someone to set him straight...
ha, i think that might have been bondra
Unbelievable. Someone still wants Bondra?
Our power play looks to be much improved, and the shootout is going to get better. Has BondraFan been in the closet for the past week?
I'd take Stevens back before Bondra. Caps could actually use Scotty.
Dear Anonymous The First:
It' been a very warm day hasn't it?
Perhaps you stayed out too long.
'We've all moved on' ?
I don't know about all that.
There aren't words enough to describe how sad that quote makes me...
We resigned Rico Fata?
Dude, old hockey players still can rule.
Just look at Roenick...
UM I MEAN NOT THAT ANYONE IS BITTER ABOUT IT OR ANYTHING HUH?
So what if we're bitter. Answer the question objectively, what use do we have for that guy now?
Is the answer different regardless of bitterness?
And I doubt a Russian guy is going to listen to a Czech, 'Mouse, any more than Clark, or Ovy, or whoever.
We don't have a place for him anymore, and with that and the bridges he burned here, he won't end his career here. And that makes me sad. Bondra was the highlight of some of the best years of my life as a Caps fan. It doesn't make sense for him to come back, and maybe it never did after the lockout, but the large sentimental portion of my heart wishes he'd spend his final, mildly unproductive days here in the place where he was once so magical.
As Peerless pointed out elsewhere:
45-39-30-26-21-5
No, those aren't this week's Powerball numbers (though if they turn out to be, I'll kick myself for not playing them). Those are the goal totals for Bondra over the past six NHL seasons.
And those 5 goals last year? He scored them in 37 games while getting 12:01 of ice time per game.
By comparison, Tomas Fleischmann scored 4 goals in 29 games while getting 11:38 of ice time and Eric Fehr score 2 goals in 14 games while getting 10:38 of ice time.
In whom would you rather invest those minutes next year - the 39-year-old Bondra or one of the early twentysomethings already on the roster?
You'd be hard-pressed to find a bigger Bondra fan than me back in the day. And I wish things had ended differently between the player and the team. But there simply is no place on this team for that player right now.
Amen JP - I'm done with nostalgia. I just want to win - and doing so will require an investment in developing talent internally. We need to pray Eric Fehr shakes off his injuries woes and starts to make some great strides in Washington.
I'm losing patience with Flash, but think Fehr has a whole lot of untapped potential that this team needs at the RW position. The only way to develop him is with NHL ice time.
Plain and simple, no matter how much you love Bondra - and believe me, I was heartbroken and outraged when he was traded - this team simply has no room for him, unless you want to dump the likes of Bradley and/or Clymer and play him on your fourth line (which makes no sense).
1) A year ago this time we were fine with a possible Bondra signing, now its time to move on. See ya on Bondra night, Peter when # 12 is raised to the rafters of VC!
Although I agree there's probably not a roster spot available for him at this point, I'm still a bit surprised that people are so bitter towards Bondra! Can someone fill me in on how he burned bridges here? Didn't WE trade HIM when he wanted to end his days a Cap? Didn't he CRY when we traded him?! What other Cap has EVER done that? So other than wanted to play for a competitive team in his last few years in the league, what did Bonsai do that was so horrible? Listen, I agree that we probably can't use his 40 year old wheels anymore, but come on! This guy is the consumate professional, and one of the greatest Washington Capitals ever. A little respect, please.
As noted above, I was always a huge Bondra fan and have had tremendous respect for him as a player and as a person.
But here's the backstory - after the lockout, the Caps made Bondra a very generous offer (including a post-career position with the organization) to return to the team. Instead, he took less money to go to a division rival that he thought (incorrectly) was a contender.
After getting spurned by Bondra, the team moved on and understandably harbored some ill feelings towards him. I'm sure things will be smoothed out once Bonzai's playing days are through, but I'd be very surprised to see him in a Caps' jersey before then.
Ovechkin-Bondra-Bondra
Bondra-Bondra-Bondra
Semin-Backstrom-Bondra
Brashear-Bondra-Bondra
Bondra-Bondra
Bondra-Bondra
Bondra-Bondra
Kolzig-Bondra
As they used to say in days of old, when leprosy was rampant "Give up your dead, give up your old dead"
Time to move on methinks
Bondra as a scout one day? I'd be cool with that.
As one of Bondra's bigger fans, I think he ought to retire. He really looked miles behind the game last season, and just doesn't have the juice to produce any longer. Last season, it would have been a good move. Now? No...the Caps need to let their young guns get the ice time. If the Caps spend money, it should be to improve their woeful defense.
'Woeful' is such an ugly word - we prefer "suckass" here in DC.
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