Caps Extend Erskine: Mo Than Meets The Eye?

Per Tarik, the Caps have signed John Erskine to a two-year extension that will keep him in D.C. (should they so decide) through the 2010-11 season. We can debate the wisdom of the signing, but first, let's take a look at what it means to the blueline corps in the medium-to-long-term.

To begin with, the Caps already have Mike Green and Tom Poti locked up for the next couple of years or more, so add Erskine and that's three NHL rearguards (insert joke here) under contract for the next two years.

Beyond that trio, the Caps obviously have high hopes for Karl Alzner, and have shown differing degrees of faith in 2004 draftees Jeff Schultz and Sami Lepisto. You'd expect all three to at least get a fair chance at a spot within the next two years (Schultz obviously already has one), and Tyler Sloan is currently getting an audition in The Show. Other prospects (John Carlson and Josh Godfrey, for example) are a little further off, time-wise.

Which brings us to Shaone Morrisonn and Milan Jurcina. It's pretty clear that this is a fish-or-cut-bait season for Juice, but I wouldn't be so sure that Mo has a spot sewn up yet. He's more than twice as expensive as Jurcina, and, frankly, still needs to prove that he's worth it. Yes, he's tough. Yes, he plays big minutes against top competition. And yes, he covers Mike Green's backside. But he's also just a couple of months removed from beating the team in arbitration (after a contentious hearing) and if the Caps had full confidence in him (there are indications that GMGM might not even consider him a top four guy), they'd have signed him to a long-term deal by now, no? I'm not saying they won't, I'm just saying they haven't.

The point is that the Caps look to carry seven defensemen for the foreseeable future, and with Erskine signing an extension, the number of spots up for grabs (barring a trade or a relatively cheap buyout) is reduced by one. You do the math and tell me who the odd man out is.

Tuesday Roundup/Caps 5, Canucks 1

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Event Summary - WashingtonCaps.com Recap]

Whether or not Sergei Fedorov's move to the blueline is permanent or semi-permanent, one thing is clear - he was awesome back there, and raised partner Milan Jurcina's game considerably (though he did take two penalties). The obvious manifestations of that latter point was Jurcina's goal, four shots on goal and plus-two rating. A little less obvious was Juice's huge +20 Corsi rating for the game.

So perhaps Jurcina's got his groove back thanks to Fedorov. And perhaps the Caps gave up the fewest shots on goal in a game in team history thanks to Fedorov. And perhaps he's actually worth $4 million for the year.

[Due to a post-game commitment, that's all you're getting in terms of a recap. But feel free to discuss anything about the game (line combos, Alex Semin and Mike Green continuing their early dominant play, Nicklas Backstrom snagging the red hard hat, etc.), the season so far or whatever you like in the comments.]

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Mike Chen weighs in on Ovechkin and/vs. Crosby for Versus.... The Caps move up a spot (from 8 to 7) in CBS's power rankings.... Caps prospect Dmitri Kugryshev is hot. In fact, the "hot teams" in the three major Canadian Junior Leagues are all lead by 2008 Caps draftees - Kugryshev's Quebec Remparts, Stefan Della Rovere's Barrie Colts and Braden Holtby's Saskatoon Blades.

Don't Forget Shaone Morrisonn...

Stanley Cup of Chowder (via Puck Daddy) brings us the following quote straight from the mouth of Boston Bruins billionaire owner Jeremy Jacobs boasting yesterday about a couple of his team's up-and-comers:

"The biggest thing is you know you look at some of these kids coming on. We know that next year a lot of them will be out of ...will not be restricted and you have to accommodate them if you want to grow your organization. You got the Kessels of the world and other guys that are within their... Jur...Jurcina and those that are coming on that you got to save room for as they grow."

You know, I'm sure the Caps would be happy to help reunite Jacobs and Jurcina should, the B's want to swap Milans.

2007-08 Rink Wrap: Milan Jurcina

From Backstrom to Steckel, we're taking a quick look at and grading the 2007-08 season for every player* who laced 'em up for the Caps during the campaign (and is still with the team) with an eye towards 2008-09. Next up, Milan Jurcina.

Contract Status: 2008-09 salary of $912,500 ($881,250 cap hit); RFA following 2008-09 season
Age (as of October 1, 2008): 25
NHL Seasons (including 2007-08): 3
2007-08 Regular Season Stats: 75 games played, 1 goals, 8 assists, +4, 30 PIMs
Key Stat: Jurcina finished with the best single-season plus-minus of his career.
Surprising Stat: Jurcina had 18-, 12- and 10-game stretches during which he didn't commit a single penalty.

The Good: Jurcina didn't miss a game due to injury all year, led all Cap defensemen in hits (by a country mile), finished second on the team in blocked shots and set a career high for average ice time per game with 16:38. Despite the increased ice time, Jurcina cut his penalty minutes for the second straight season, and the team blocked more shots on goal per sixty minutes of ice time when he was on the ice than when any other player was. After a February 16 benching, Jurcina played in every game the rest of the way and finished the season with a plus-11 rating in 22 games.

The Bad: Jurcina posted the worst points-per-game ratio of his career (0.12, a drop of .05 for the second consecutive season). His one goal came in the second game of the campaign (meaning he's currently riding a 73-game goal-less streak), and he had pointless streaks of 16, 14 and 10 games during the campaign (and that 14-gamer is current and 21 games long if you include the playoffs). Only one of his assists all season was a primary helper (think about that for a second - 75 games played, 16:38 of ice time per game... one goal, one primary assist). His 1.7 shooting percentage was the worst of anyone on the team who had at least 15 shots on goal and marked the second straight season in which his percentage has dropped by nearly 4% (his shots on goal total for the season was also a career low). He had the worst takeaway-to-giveaway ratio on the team (by far) and his inconsistent play resulted in seven healthy scratches over the course of the year.

The Vote: Rate Jurcina on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential for the season - if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.

The Questions: What role do you see Jurcina playing on the 2008-09 Caps? What will it take for him to earn a 10 rating next year?

If you've missed any of the previous 2007-08 Rink Wraps, click here, get caught up, and vote - polls will stay open for a while.

* And by "every," we mean every one who played more than just a handful of games.

Friday Roundup/Caps 2, Leafs 1

Photo: kb

A visibly tired Caps team did all of the little things right Thursday night, beating the Leafs 2-1. Heading in to the All-Star break, the Caps are now just three points away from the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and one point behind Carolina for the Southeast Division lead. (Curiously, the Caps were in a similar position at the break last season: three points out of the eight spot and behind first place Carolina, by nine points.)

• David Steckel's boarding penalty with just over two minutes remaining in a 2-1 game was the cause of great agita. With no Steckel available on the PK and facing a 6-4 man advantage, Brent Johnson came up big with several stops in those final two minutes, earning him the #1 star of the game. (It's fuzzy, but I remember once hearing Chico Resch claim that, "a goalie is your best penalty killer.")
• Once again, the Caps defensemen took it to the Leafs. Steve Eminger got things going five minutes in to the first period with a crushing check on Tomas Kaberle. Then Poti on Blake. And Green on Tucker. (Shaone Morrison, a healthy scratch, was quite probably checking Kyle Wellwood, somewhere in the press box.) The Caps registered 22 hits, with Milan Jurcina responsible for six.
• Jurcina has become a monster of late. The hesitancy which marked his play not so long ago is now gone. Winning breeds..., a rising tide..., and all that.
  
• Have yet to crunch the numbers to verify this, but it seems that in the last few weeks Caps defensemen [Mike Green, aside] are taking more shots and getting more shots on net. Stats, to come. As will comparative numbers on blocked shots. The Caps added 17 more Thursday night, Jurcina and Quintin Laing (Q!) each with four.
  

And in your daily update on Capitals-related grooming habits, Olie Kolzig's beard is no more. You were dead-on, anonymous commentor from yesterday. Or should we call you Nostradamus?

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

The 2008-09 NHL season to open in Stockholm and Prague....And play an 84-game schedule?....Brian Burke to the Leafs?...Sid's Winter Classic jersey sold for $45,000 at auction. His game-worn jersey for the Hockey Fights Cancer fundraiser is a bargain at $14,100. And Ovechkin's is a steal at $7500. Bid early and often....Happy 46th, Cheli.

Sunday Roundup

It looks as if Alex Semin will be back in the lineup for tomorrow night's game against Florida, which is quite obviously a good thing for a team in desperate need of scoring. Semin's return and Milan Jurcina's crappy play of late have caused a bit of a ripple effect of line juggling, leaving the forward and defense combos at this morning's practice as follows (per Tarik):

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Clark
Semin-Gordon-Pettinger
Fleischmann-Nylander-Kozlov
Brashear-Steckel-Laich

Erskine-Morrisonn
Schultz-Pothier
Poti-Green
Jurcina-Eminger

I guess the thinking there is that you might as well play Semin with two guys who could barely score into an empty net, since they won't be passed the puck anyway.

Here's the question of the day, though - is Glen Hanlon's discipline applied consistently and/or should it be? My point here is that Milan Jurcina is far from the only Cap to make a mistake in the past month, but he seems to be punished for his screw-ups more openly, whereas other players seem to get free pass after free pass. Thoughts?

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

The Caps passed on claiming Ilya Bryzgalov off waivers, allowing the Coyotes to claim the Russian netminder, who promptly went out and shut out the Kings in his Phoenix debut.... Chris Bourque had a pair of goals in Hershey's win over Bridgeport last night, but the interesting note in the Lancaster Online summary is that Bears coach Bruce Boudreau "is rumored to be a possible replacement if management decides to fire Caps coach Glen Hanlon." Not that that's news, I just hadn't seen it in print.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Patrick Sharp (3G, including the game-winner, A, +4, 7 SOG)
  
• Ross: Patrick Sharp (4 points)
  
• Norris: Michal Rozsival (2G)
  
• Vezina: Ilya Bryzgalov (28-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Patrick Sharp (3G)
  
• Calder: Eric Nystrom (2A, +1)
  
• Aiken: Antero Niittymaki (2 goals allowed on 2 shots against in just 20 minutes of work)
  

Caps Sign Jurcina

The Caps have signed Milan Jurcina to a 2-year deal. According to Tarik, Jurcina will earn $850,000 next season and $912,500 in 2008-09.

I think we can all agree that this is a great deal for the Caps.

Milan Jurcina And Arbitration (Or Not)

If Milan Jurcina ends up going to arbitration on Monday, perhaps GMGM can ask Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli to argue the case against Jurcina, as Chiarelli obviously didn't think much of the hulking blueliner, who he traded to D.C. for a fourth round pick this past February (a pick, by the way, that the B's later lost when Brad Stuart didn't resign with the Flames, in essence meaning that Boston traded away Jurcina for nothing). Whether or not the Caps and Jurcina actually end up in arbitration, let's take a look at the arguments for and against Jurcina getting a big pay day (relative to the $500,000 he made last year, at least).

Show me the money: Jerky played at around a 25-point, +14 pace once he arrived in Washington, and while neither number is quite Pronger-esque, only 14 NHL blueliners had both 25 points and a plus/minus rating of +14 or better (Sean Hill only had 25 points and he was on steroids). For the season (including his time in Boston), Jurcina was second (behind John Erskine) on the Caps in hits per minute of ice time. Speaking of big Slovak rearguards, in case you're wondering what Zdeno Chara's second NHL season looked like, Big Z had 2 goals, 7 assists and was -27 (Jerky had 4 goals, 8 assists and was even this past season). Oh, and Vinny Lecavalier called Jurcina one of the toughest defensemen he's had to play against.

Not so fast: While Jurcina certainly played well for the Caps, his overall numbers were still mediocre (136th in points and 124th in plus/minus). In fact, for the season, Jurcina had fewer points per minutes of ice time than every Caps blueliner (minimum 25 games played) with the exceptions of Shaone Morrisonn and Jeff Schultz (yes, even Erskine had more points per minute). Jurcina's shooting percentage has dropped from 9.38% in his rookie year to 6.90% with Boston and 4.76% with the Caps last year (still a Top 50 percentage for the year, though). Perhaps most importantly, Jurcina let Daniel Briere live after spearing him in the last game of the season. Weak.

With some of the two sides' arguments out of the way, let's look at some comparables. As Vogs notes:

One common misnomer in the process is the concept of “comparables.” Yes, both sides will present comparable players in their cases, but those comparables are looked at from the standpoint of when they signed the contract that made them comparable. In other words, you can’t just look at [the player]’s stats from 2006-07 and find other players with similar numbers and see what their earnings are.

For the purposes of comparables, “platform years” are used. A platform year is the year in which a player “earned” his subsequent contract. Anyone signing a (non-entry level and non-UFA) contract this summer for 2007-08 would have a platform year of 2006-07. So “comparable” contracts basically include those negotiated by other Group II (restricted) free agents. For the sake of comparables, the players’ age and position should also be similar, if not exact. Any comparables in the [Jurcina] case are almost certain to have 2005-06 or 2006-07 as their platform season.

That said, who fits the bill? One guy that might is Ottawa's Christoph Schubert. Schubert is about a year-and-a-half older than Jurcina, but, like Milan, has two NHL seasons under his belt. He has played in 15 more regular season games, has scored 2 more goals and tallied 10 more assists, nearly identical PIMs and a handful more shots on goal (though it should be noted that he played many nights as a forward/seventh defenseman). His career plus/minus dwarfs Jurcina's, but that has more to do with the quality of his team than the quality of his play. Schubert's versatility and how he's been used makes him an imperfect comparison, but given that he signed earlier this week for $833,333.33 per year for three years, he's worth noting.

Closer to home, when the Caps re-signed Morrisonn last July, he was six months younger than Jurcina is now, had played 23 more games, scored eight fewer goals, had seven more assists, a better career plus/minus and around the same number of PIMs. Mo resigned for two years at $900,000 per year.

Another hometown guy who's not a perfect point of reference (but who I'll still mention) is Steve Eminger. When Emmy signed his one-year deal last year, he was a year and change younger than Jerky is now, but had played in just three more games, had five fewer goals, six more assists and a much worse career plus/minus. That deal for Eminger was for one year at $993,000.

Want more comparables? Of course you do. But I don't have an intern, so you'll get snapshots of a few of last year's somewhat similar blueliner signings:

• Mike Commodore (career stats prior to signing in July, 2006): Three years older than Jurcina is now, 26 more games played, six fewer goals, three more assists, far more PIMs, same plus/minus, two more Cup Finals appearances. Signed for... two years at $1.25m per.
• Branislav Mezei (career stats prior to signing in July, 2006): Two years older than Jurcina is now, 17 more games played, three fewer goals, one more assist, far more PIMs, similar plus/minus. Signed for... two years at $850,000 per.
• Tim Gleason (career stats prior to signing in September, 2006): Same age as Jurcina is now, four more games played, eight fewer goals, 13 more assists, identical PIMs, worse plus/minus. Signed for... two years at $1.175m per.
• Mike Komisarek (career stats prior to signing in July, 2006): Same age as Jurcina is now, 17 more games played, eight fewer goals, four fewer assists, worse plus/minus, more PIMs. Signed for... one year at $946,827.
• Fedor Tyutin (career stats prior to signing in August, 2006): One year younger than Jurcina is now, 19 fewer games played, two fewer goals, 11 more assists, worse plus/minus, fewer PIMs. Signed for... two years at $987,500 per.
• Brooks Orpik (career stats prior to signing in July, 2006): Two years older than Jurcina is now, 28 more games played, seven fewer goals, three more assists, far worse plus/minus, far more PIMs. Signed for... two years at $1,037,500 per.
• Christian Backman (career stats prior to signing in July, 2006): Two years older than Jurcina is now, one more game played, one more goal scored, 12 more assists, far worse plus/minus, far fewer PIMS. Signed for... three years at $2.3m per (overpay much?).
  

You can pick and choose who you think the real comparables in that group are, but the point is that you see a pretty clear range developing, and the middle of that range is probably right around $950,000, give or take a nice sports car.

At this point, this post has dragged on long enough and it's time for some of your thoughts. Given that Brooks Laich is still the only case to actually go to arbitration (16 have settled prior to the hearing), do you think that Jurcina's will? Whether it does or not, what do you think is a fair deal for the guy?

Jurcina, Laich Elect Arbitration

Milan Jurcina and Brooks Laich, both restricted free agents, have elected to take the team to arbitration, meaning that in each case, both sides will lay out their case before an impartial third party who will then decide the compensation for the player (that is, of course, unless the team and the player agree to a deal beforehand).

Given the salaries we've seen this past week and what Jerky and Laich have accomplished to date as NHLers, what do you think they're worth?

Update: About.com has a great explainer on how the process works, including this:

The evidence that can be used in arbitration cases:

• The player's "overall performance" including statistics in all previous seasons.
• Injuries, illnesses and the number of games played.
• The player's length of service with the team and in the NHL.
• The player's "overall contribution" to the team's success or failure.
• The player's "special qualities of leadership or public appeal."
• The performance and salary of any player alleged to be "comparable" to the player in the dispute.

Evidence that is not admissible:

• The salary and performance of a player who signed a contract as an unrestricted free agent.
• Testimonials, video and media reports.
• The financial state of the team.
• The salary cap and the state of the team's payroll.

No Qualifying Offer For Novotny

In a move that's a bit surprising to me, the Caps have decided not to extend a qualifying offer to Jiri Novotny, meaning that the Czech pivot will become an unrestricted free agent on Sunday. The decision is surprising in part because it would have been relatively cheap to qualify Novoflop ("only" $495,000), and in part because the former first-rounder is still only 23-years-old (24 in August). Novotny certainly did nothing to impress in his brief stint in D.C., but hopefully letting him go means that the team will be adding some depth at the center position (especially on the top two lines) in the near future. And for those keeping score at home, the Caps end up trading Dainius Zubrus for San Jose's second round pick in 2007 (which they flipped to Philly, I believe) and the Sharks' (likely very late) second round pick in 2008 - not exactly a king's ransom. But kudos to GMGM and the team for not just signing Novotny for the sake of trying to save some face on the Zubrus trade.

Another surprise (to me at least) was that the team didn't qualify goaltender Maxime Daigneault. "Max II" was 23-6 with a .910 save percentage and a 2.64 goals against average in his first season in the AHL. If it was purely a talent-based decision, I can live with it (though as a 23-year-old and a former second-round pick, I'm not sure how that decision can be made at this point). But when Tim Leone (via Tarik) pointed out that Frederic Cassivi was going to be back in Chocolatetown next year and questioned whether there was room in the organization for Daigneault, I asked the following:

Shouldn't the question be whether there's room in the organization for Cassivi? I know they're trying to win games down there, but if the Caps are forced to let go of a goalie with potential upside (there's only one way to find out how much) so that Hershey can keep playing a guy that offers no such long-term benefit to the big club, I'm not sure I see the point of the affiliation.

That question - and the implication that goes along with it - is gnawing at me again today. At the very least, the release of Max II shows the team's confidence in youngsters Simeon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth.

Also not receiving QOs were defenseman Trevor Byrne, and forwards Kris Beech, Jonas Johansson, Louis Robitaille, Matt Stefanishion and Joey Tenute. No huge losses there.

So who was qualified? Blueliners Steve Eminger, John Erskine, Jamie Hunt and Milan Jurcina and forwards Tomas Fleischmann, Jakub Klepis, Brooks Laich, Dave Steckel and Brian Sutherby.

Per the Caps' site:

Players who receive qualifying offers have until July 15 to notify the club as to whether or not they accept the offer. Players with arbitration rights (that list includes Eminger, Erskine, Jurcina, Laich and Sutherby) have until July 5 to notify the club of their desire to exercise those rights.

Players who are tendered qualifying offers can still get offers from other NHL teams, too. Any restricted free agent who is given an offer sheet at $773,442 or below for 2007-08 can sign without his original club receiving any compensation in return. The player’s original club does retain the right to match that offer, however.

...

Negotiations are already ongoing with Washington’s restricted free agents, a process that will play itself out over the next six weeks or so. Players who choose arbitration may never get to arbitration, and just because all nine players were given two-way qualifying offers does not preclude them from signing one-way deals when it’s all said and done.

The Other Free Agent Discussion

As the NHL prepares for the Mid-Summer Classic Stanley Cup Finals, many of us hockey fans find our minds turning (if they haven't already) to the off-season. Trades. The Draft. New uniforms. Free agency. Rookie camp. Ice Girls. Heck, the season ended on Tuesday night for 99.8 percent of us anyway, so the off-season is upon us.

And while we've spent a lot of time talking about which free agents we'd like to see in Capitals red, white and blue next fall, we haven't spent as much time discussing those who may not be a part of the Caps' future.

With all of that in mind, then, let's take a look at the Caps who will become free agents on July 1.

First, there are the unrestricted free agents (UFAs). These are the guys who can go anywhere they can find work and for whom the Caps would receive no compensation should it be somewhere other than D.C.:

• Bryan Muir (2006-07 salary: $600,000)

That's it (of any significance whatsoever). Before bidding farewell to Muir, I must note that he did finish the season with a plus-3 rating and had more points per game than any full-time Caps blueliner not named Brian Pothier. That said, I can't see Muir fitting into the team's plans next season, but imagine he'll find work somewhere as a 7th or 8th defenseman.

Now come the Restricted Free Agents (RFAs). These are the guys who, because of tenure in the League or NHL games played aren't free to just sign with whomever they please (unless the Caps don't tender the player a qualifying offer, which is basically an offer sheet with a five or ten percent raise, depending on the player's 2006-07 salary). Once the Caps qualify a player, if he signs with another team, the Caps would have the right to match that offer OR receive compensation from that team for poaching their player, as follows:

$773,442 or less - None
$773,442 to $1,171,882 - 3rd round pick
$1,171,882 to $2,343,764 - 2nd round pick
$2,343,764 to $3,515,645 - 1st and 3rd round pick
$3,515,645 to $4,687,527 - 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick
$4,687,527 to $5,859,412 - Two 1st's, one 2nd, one 3rd round pick
$5,859,412 or more - Four 1st round picks

In other words, when Buffalo, seeking to replace Daniel Briere, signs Brian Sutherby to a 5-year, $30 million contract, the Caps will get four first round picks from the Sabres. This is pretty much what happened when St. Louis signed Scott Stevens away from the Caps - Stevens was an RFA, the Caps qualified him, the Blues made him an offer that the Caps chose not to match (a decision that likely will be debated forever in CapsNation), and the Caps got five picks in return (the compensation schedule was a bit different under that Collective Bargaining Agreement).

Who are the Caps RFAs this year (and while you're at it, take a sneak peek, if you dare, at next year's RFA class)?

• Steve Eminger (2006-07 salary: $993,000; Minimum qualifying offer for 2007-08: $1,042,650)
• Brian Sutherby (2006-07 salary: $800,000; Minimum qualifying offer for 2007-08: $840,000)
• Jakub Klepis (2006-07 salary: $722,000; Minimum qualifying offer for 2007-08: $758,100)
• Kris Beech (2006-07 salary: $700,000; Minimum qualifying offer for 2007-08: $735,000)
• Jonas Johansson (2006-07 salary: $646,000; Minimum qualifying offer for 2007-08: $710,600)
• Jamie Hunt (2006-07 salary: $635,000; Minimum qualifying offer for 2007-08: $698,500)
• Matt Stefanishion (2006-07 salary: $635,000; Minimum qualifying offer for 2007-08: $698,500)
• Brooks Laich (2006-07 salary: $606,000; Minimum qualifying offer for 2007-08: $666,600)
• Tomas Fleischmann (2006-07 salary: $602,000; Minimum qualifying offer for 2007-08: $662,200)
• John Erskine (2006-07 salary: $575,000; Minimum qualifying offer for 2007-08: $632,500)
• Alexandre Giroux (2006-07 salary: $550,000; Minimum qualifying offer for 2007-08: $605,000)
• Maxime Daigneault (2006-07 salary: $507,000; Minimum qualifying offer for 2007-08: $557,700)
• Dave Steckel (2006-07 salary: $500,000; Minimum qualifying offer for 2007-08: $550,000)
• Milan Jurcina (2006-07 salary: $500,000; Minimum qualifying offer for 2007-08: $550,000)
• Jiri Novotny (2006-07 salary: $450,000; Minimum qualifying offer for 2007-08: $495,000)

Easy enough - qualify everyone (even Johansson, who seems to be a total stiff, despite "having the tools"). If these guys don't play in the NHL, it doesn't count against the cap, if they're not qualified and they walk, the Caps get nothing, and hey, it ain't my money. For historical perspective, the Caps qualified all of their RFAs last year. And the year before that. And the year before that. You get the point - qualifying these guys is pretty much routine and a given. The tougher part will be signing some of them.

We can assume that most of the players above will accept their qualifying offers because, frankly, it's as good as it's gonna get right now. This includes all the guys who have no shot at making the big club next year, as well as some who will.

For example, Laich signed his qualifying offer last year, but may feel he's due a bit more than a 10% raise this time around. But considering that he posted nearly identical numbers as he had the previous season, he should sign his QO (or something similar in annual salary). The same goes for Eminger and Sutherby - neither did anything last year that made me say, "Man, that dude deserves a big raise."

The one player that sticks out in my mind as deserving more than the minimum bump is Jurcina. Jerky really impressed over the course of his "tryout" in D.C., pairing wonderfully with Shaone Morrisonn and finishing with a plus-5 rating in those 30 games despite usually being sent out against opponents' top offensive lines. He has a booming shot, is a big hitter and, at just 23, has loads of potential (as a point of comparison, Zdeno Chara had 2 goals, 9 assists and a minus-27 rating as a 23-year-old).

So how much is Jurcina worth? If you've been reading this blog for a while, you know that I'm a big believer in the importance of a team salary structure. Pothier will make $2.5 million next year, Morrisonn $900,000 and Mike Green $850,000 (those last two will be RFAs next year). In addition, at least one yet-to-be-named free agent defenseman will make more than Pothier (presumably in the vast $3-$6m range). To me, then, Jurcina is worth a deal in the neighborhood of $1.25 million. But if he asked for $1.5m, I'd much rather pay that than take a second round pick to compensate my loss.

UPDATE: I've been corrected - Brian Willsie was NOT qualified last year. I guess rooming with Alex Ovechkin for a year was compensation enough.

Monday Roundup/Caps 2, Isles 1 (OT)

[NHL.com Recap - WashingtonCaps.com Postgame Coverage]

Man, that was one long game. Countless turnovers resulted in little or no flow and conditions were, to put it kindly, less than ideal. But, in the end, the veteran leader that you thought would come through for his team did and the Colts beat the Bears Caps beat the Islanders on Sunday. Some thoughts:

• A goalie shouldn't have to gor 3-for-3 in the shootout in order for his team to win. Luckily, Olie Kolzig did.
• For the second straight game, Milan Jurcina led all Caps' defensemen in ice time and looked good doing it with five shots on goal, three blocked shots and a plus-one rating. Obviously it's a small sample size, but so far, so good.
• "Hits" is a notoriously subjective stat category, but objectively, the fact that defensemen Jurcina, Shaone Morrisonn, Jamie Heward and Jeff Schultz combined for zero of them isn't terribly impressive.
• The Caps' power-play is still broken, with little in the way of puck possession in the offensive zone and no quality scoring chances being generated (other than those for the opposition).
• Alex Semin had the game-winning shootout goal but his stat of the day is four takeaways and zero giveaways. It was good to see him play a more responsible game after his awful game in Pitt a day earlier, but it would be nice to see him share the puck a bit more.
• The third line of Matt Pettinger, Boyd Gordon and Richard Zednik was by far the Caps' best line, and if they can keep producing at a reasonable level, the Caps would, on paper at leat, have three lines contributing down the stretch.
• With Matt Bradley back in the lineup, Kris Beech and Ben Clymer sat, as predicted by some.
• Former Caps Brenda Witt and Chris Simon got chippy with Brian Sutherby on a number of occassions. I wonder what that's all about.
• Isles' blueliner Sean Hill did a good job containing Alex Ovechkin, clearly familiarizing himself with AO's "go to" moves prior to the game. With nothing to show for his efforts on Saturday either, AO is now scoreless in back-to-back games for the first time all season.
• Rick DiPietro looked great for New York. They should think about locking him up with a long-term deal.
• There were at least three (four? five?) stoppages in the game for glass-related repairs. Add that to the numerous offsides, icings, penalties, etc., and I'm not sure but this may have been the second-longest Caps-Islanders game of all-time.

The Caps will welcome Boston to the VC on Tuesday night as the top-pairing of Jurcina and Morrisonn will get a chance to show their old team what they gave up on. Hopefully the B's will leave town drooling the drool of remorse on the pillow of regret.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Sheldon Souray (Game-winning OT goal, 2A, +1, 2 SOG, 3 blocked shots)
• Ross: Sheldon Souray, Tomas Plekanec (3 points each)
• Norris: Sheldon Souray (see above)
• Vezina: Olaf Kolzig (31 saves on 32 shots against through OT, 3 saves on 3 shots against in shootout)
• Richard: Tomas Plekanec (2G)
• Calder: Jordan Staal (G, 2 SOG)
• Aiken: Brooks Orpik (0 points, -2, on ice for last three Montreal goals in 4-3 OT loss)

BREAKING: Caps Acquire Jurcina

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.
Flaws: Must play with more passion and utilize his tremendous size to his advantage.
Career potential: Top four defenseman.

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).

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."

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.

UPDATE: Here's The Score's take (and I think I may change the name of this blog to Jurcina's Rink... lordy):

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.