A little bit of this and a little bit of that on this July Tuesday...First up, some accounts from Day 1 of Development Camp from Rink Reader KingClancyKolzig and others on the Caps Message Board, as well as OFB's first postcard from camp and Vogs, Corey and Katie Carrera of the WaPo.
Sticking with the Development Camp theme, here's an article on attendee Greg Burke, the Caps sixth round pick in this year's draft. The Portsmouth, New Hampshire native will be headed to the USHL next season, then it's off to the University of New Hampshire to join fellow Caps prospect Phil DeSimone (who's also in town for camp) in the Fall of 2009. Of course, Burke, DeSimone, Dan Dunn, Andrew Glass and any other current or future collegians who you see out at K-Plex this week are there on their own dime so as to maintain college eligibility. Karl Alzner? Not so much.
Moving on to the big boys, Rink Reader Rajeev has done a little number crunching on the Mike Green contract, and thinks the dollars are pretty fair for both sides.
Speaking of statistical analysis, Allan Ryder of HockeyAnalytics.com has a monsterous analysis of the past season that you can read here (warning: PDF; link via On The Forecheck). If you want my quick summary here it is: Alex Ovechkin had an incredible season, Mike Green was the most improved player in the game, Boyd Gordon was the sixth best defensive forward in hockey (and don't sleep on David Steckel there either), and the Caps defense is a whole hell of a lot better than anyone thinks it is (would you believe best in the Eastern Conference?), which is part of the reason I think Jose Theodore is in a position to surprise people.
In case you're wondering what Nicklas Backstrom's up to, he's playing on a touring charity all-star team with a roster that has more umlauts than Mötley Crüe downing a case of Löwenbräu.
Finally, despite the fact that anything involving both "ESPN" and "hockey" is inherently joke-worthy even before you add Justin Timberlake to the mix, be a good fan and go vote Ovechkin for the Best NHL Player ESPY (Henrik Zetterberg wasn't one of the five best players in the League this year? Really?).
25 comments:
Late addition:
“I’ll predict right now, Tampa Bay will win the division,” he said of the Southeast. “That’s how much we like our team.” - Tampa owner Len Barrie
First off, Lem Barrie should be selling used cars, he's that slimy. I hope Olie appreciates what he had here in DC because he has definitely gone from the fire to the frying pan in Tampa. Secondly, how come Burke, DeSimone, Dunn and Andrew Glass can pay their way to DC and Joe Finley can't. I'm beginning to wonder just how committed this guy is to the Caps and the NHL. If he wants to go back to college, that's fine. But when the team that used a #1 choice on you is holding a camp for prospects, you find a way to get yourself there. You take a bus, stay in a cheap hotel and eat McDonald's for a week, but you have your ass on the ice so the coaches can see you. I may be overreacting, but I'm just getting a bad vibe about him.
but he beats up furry animals.
I started reading that 50 page statistical analysis, but my head exploded somewhere around page 3.
@b.orr4--I think you are overreacting. Finley was at the camp last year, and looked like a man among boys. I honestly don't see any reason for him to be there this year, especially since he does have to pay his own way.
i think he should be here. maybe hes not improving and he knows it
“I’ll predict right now, Tampa Bay will win the division,” he said of the Southeast. “That’s how much we like our team.”
HAH!
I predict a 3.5 GAA for Kolzig with that swiss cheese defense they have in Tampa....
b.orr4 -
I read somewhere (OFB, Tarik, red skate?) that Finley wasn't invited - presumably so the kids didn't get too intimidated...
-d
off topic, but can someone confirm that Mike Green will still be an RFA at the end of his current deal? thanks
I can honestly say that the 'ESPY' is the one award I truly don't give a sh*t if Ovie wins. In fact if he didn't win it, that would further prove how lame those awards are.
Green only has 2 accrued seasons by my count. He only played 22 games in 05-06 with the Caps, not the 40 for an accrued season, and 56 for the Bears, which means he could have only been on the Caps roster for a max of 36 games. Then 70 games in 06-07 and 82 in 07-08. The end of this contract should be his 6th accrued season as best I can tell.
The ESPYs are a joke. No way Cindy Crosby can even sniff the top 5 NHLers this year
wittcap-thanks...that means that he will not have enough accrued seasons, nor will he be 27 (?) and contract expiration, correct?
anyone else feel free to wade in on this ... I still see conflicting reports
You're right, wittcap79. You need 40 games to have an accrued season, so his first year doesn't count. At the end of his contract he'll have six accrued seasons and he'll be 26. He doesn't turn 27 until October of 2012. So at least the Caps won't have that Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads as he approaches the end of this new contract.
I saw confirmations from Corey and Tarik that Green will indeed still be an RFA at the end of his current deal. initially Corey was told he would be a UFA but then corrected himself later. I think someone in the Caps gave him bad info, which led to the confusion.
RE: Accrued seasons
you don't need 40 games played, just 40 games of being on the roster. Green was sent down for good in early march of that season, presumably to keep him from accruing and also to help Hershey.
@ Daniel: "I read somewhere (OFB, Tarik, red skate?) that Finley wasn't invited - presumably so the kids didn't get too intimidated..."
That's ridiculous. Of course he was invited. Why he's not here, however, remains to be answered.
@ bot: Sorry to chime in late and when the Q's already answered, but I've also received confirmation from the team that Green will be an RFA when his new contract expires.
Here comes the rumor mill, folks, and maybe it's a little premature (Caps front office certainly thinks so), but we might just have a Federov.
KHL Expects Feds to Re-Sign in Washington
Way premature - it's the head of the KHL trying to pressure one of his country's biggest stars to come home and play there. It's not news - it's manipulation.
While I do expect Fedorov to end up here, the team has to get a few more pieces in place first.
Sergei Fedorov is a luxury. Shaone Morrisonn, for example, is not.
Finley would also have to pay his own way since he is an NCAA athlete. Maybe he just felt like saving a couple grand and having a week off
Come on, JP.
The Love Guru wasn't THAT bad a movie.
JP
Thanks for the mention. I have plans to go to tomorrow's scrimmage with video camera in hand.
Last year, I went to training camp with it and I was taping and who should walk right up to me? Why, GMGM of course. He had such a look of confusion and horror that I honestly thought he was going to kick me out of Kettler. I muttered something about it being a birthday present and immediately stopped taping. GMGM isn't that big but he scared the crap out of me!
While I wasn't taping, Olie had a CLASSIC meltdown. I looked directly at GMGM and said "Now, that's worth taping!"
No prob, KCK. Anything else you get, feel free to link to here - I know others are interested.
FYI re: Finley
He's not at camp at least in part because he's in summer school (and not for an eligibility-related reason).
thanks...really is a good deal for both sides.
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