As you already know, the Caps signed free agent forward Keith Aucoin to a two-year deal today (details here). Whether the move is simply a depth move or a harbinger of things to come remains to be seen, but in Aucoin the Caps get "a hard-skating, hustler who always gives 100%" and who "has proven he can rack up impressive point totals at lower levels" (he was second in the AHL in scoring in 2006-07) but "[n]eeds to work on his defensive-zone coverage."All that aside, my main question is whether or not Aucoin, if he ever plays for the Caps, will ask for, receive and wear the number he's worn in his previous NHL stints. If so, it might look a little strange (though not unprecedented)...
14 comments:
1) Regardless of how things finished, Kolzig's number should be set aside until its permanently retired (when he does). He's earned that respect.
I say start him on opening night to get that outcry out of the way. OR Give him his first start of the season against Tampa Bay, and give him 25 minutes of ice. :-)
Sacrilege? Not to me. I personally don't think the number should be retired.
Faux rumors, I halfway agree with you, but if Bondra's number wasn't "set aside," I don't see why Olie's should.
And Mark, I have to respectfully disagree. Olie's number has to be retired once he retires.
1) Sean: Bondra's number should have been set aside, but understand your point that the 'precident' has been set in a way.
Kolzig and Bondra both deserve to have their numbers retired. I can't understand anyone arguing against that. How many guys played for the Cap's more years than Kolzig? I'm not saying you get the honor on term alone, but he wouldn't have been here all that time without being fairly good.
I absolutely agree that #12 and #37 should each be retired in due time.
I love the Caps, but there's been some criticism for the fact that the team has retired three numbers already, only one of whom is in the HOF, and none of whom won a Cup. Retiring Kolzig and Bondra would do nothing to stifle that criticism. I'm just sayin'. (I'm on the fence re Olie, leaning towards retiring it.)
Labre's #7 should be unretired. Seriously. And frankly, I'm not so sure Dale's should've ever been put up there either.
Langway absolutely should be up there. And when you're talking about a 30+ year history and the two guys who between them own just about every single skater and goalie record there is, they should be up there too.
I'd love a "ring of honor" type thing for guys like Johansson, Kelly Miller, etc., and while #7 and #32 might have been prematurely retired, that shouldn't preclude Bondra and Kolzig from being appropriately honored.
Huselius is off the board, and even half-decent guys like Ryder and Metropolit have already been snagged. Same crap, different year.
The Caps have a team that will make the playoffs, but I guess management has no drive to take it to the next level. For those who say "Well, Washington isn't a big-market team and can't go after a lot of players", then why try? Seriously, why bother pulling for a team if they don't even want to get better as an organization? I'm not asking that they compete with the Wings to give a Hossa 7 million, but some nice moves like last year at the deadline would be great. When's Brian Burke going to be available? He always likes a challenge....
Check out the Hawks, Isles and Oilers. Seems to me like they want to improve - and just might leapfrog the Caps if our "same ol' same ol' will get us by" philosophy stays intact. Big-time stars like Green, Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, and maybe Theodore can only do so much. We need more depth like the Fedorovs, Kozlovs and Laichs. Keith Aucoin is too far down any chart to qualify as that.
I do agree btw, the #5 is the only jersey that should be in the rafters. The Caps tend to do a little reaching when it comes to retiring jerseys. I'm surprised Alan May's #16 isn't up there.
How can you retire jerseys when there are no Cup banners in the rafters. Let's get a couple of those first and then talk about retiring numbers.
I'll argue Dale Hunter being up there to the grave. Until Alex got here, who epitomized the Washington Capitals since I started watching (1992)? Hunter.
The fact that other teams care and criticize us for our choices is stupid and we shouldn't even give a shit about what they think.
Labre? Ok. Langway? Must be up there. Hunter? I'll fight you.
Bondra is a must have up there. Franchise record holder in many regards. I hope in time we forget about Olie kinda turning coats.
I don't give a shit about how many cups our guys have won (When it comes to retiring their numbers).
The league's not retiring the numbers, WE are. Fucking deal with it, it's our team, and I don't care if your team's criteria are "They have to have won cups."
If that's the case, Pittsburgh should fucking retire Pascal Dupuis's number when he retires.
And I don't give a shit if he wears 37. If it's not retired yet, it's not retired. Bourque wore 7 until they retired Espo's number in Boston.
(Sorry for the racy post~)
If you like looking at other teams - the New Jersey Devils (who entered the league the same year as us, as the Scouts) have two numbers retired.
4 - Scott Stevens
3 - Ken Danyko
Yeah, cause Ken Danyko's a hall of famer, right?
If they can retire their cheap shot artist, can't we?
Kudos to Ogre for getting a head start on the holiday weekend. ;)
What's scary is I was stone-cold sober at the time - just my girlfriend was upstairs showing my mother the pictures from Israel she took on Birthrite or however it's spelled.
I've had a jump-start on the holiday weekend, one could say. I'm unemployed, and no one's hiring =(
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