There's Been A Jakub Klepis Sighting

There he is, second from the right, standing next to some curly redhead. Not surprisingly, Klepis was scoreless in the Czech Republic's 5-2 win (though he did lead the team in shots on goal with six). The redhead had an assist and was plus-3.

Monday Roundup

The Caps are off until Friday night when they'll visit the Devils at their new home, The Prudential Center in Newark (which, by the way, looks pretty badass, the icing on the cake being the Devs' logo on the bolt heads atop the urinals).

The time off between now and then is a godsend to Bruce Boudreau and the Caps because it will allow some players time to get healthy and, perhaps more importantly, it will allow the team the chance to continue to work on implementing Gabby's system.

But some things are working well already since the regime change in D.C. Here are a handful of them:

• The power play has gone 6-for-24 (25.0%), which is a better efficiency than every power play in the League on the season, other than Montreal's (of course, throw out that first Carolina game and the 15% efficiency doesn't look so hot).
• The penalty kill has gone 25-for-27 (92.6%), which is a better efficiency than every single penalty kill in the League on the season. In fact, since Boudreau took over, the Caps have allowed two power play goals and scored one shorty.
  
• The Caps are averaging 35 shots per game, which would be leading the League and are allowing 27.17 shots against per game, which would rank them ninth overall.
  
• The team is giving up 2.33 goals per game, which would be good for fifth in the League on the season.
• They have seven points in six games - a 95-point pace, which would be good enough for a playoff spot if they had been on that pace all season.
  

It's an admittedly small sample, and it certainly remains to be seen whether the season can be salvaged, but encouraging stats are encouraging stats. Now, if these days off could only get someone other than Alex Ovechkin scoring - AO has 37.5% of the team's 16 goals since the coaching change - the Caps could really be in business.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

The Caps have sent Quintin Laing back to Hershey (though I'd imagine he's back for Friday's game if Chris Clark isn't ready to go), Josef Boumedienne has been sent to the IR and Jakub Klepis has sent himself back to Europe (where he'll play in the Euro Hockey Tour Tourney in Moscow - h/t to Vakfan on that link).... Brian Sutherby didn't know why he wasn't playing early in the season. Two words, Suts: David Steckel.... Bruce Garrioch says that "[i]f George McPhee remains as GM of the Caps -- and that's a big if -- there's a chance he could hire London Knights coach Dale Hunter to take over behind the Washington bench." Isn't there a limit on how many qualifiers a reporter can use in a sentence and still maintain a shred of credibility? Oh, wait. Garrioch also notes former Stars GM Doug Armstrong as a potential replacement for GMGM, but it isn't just an idea that Garrioch dreamt up over his morning latte - Doug's is "a name being mentioned." Of course it is. Good stuff, as always, Bruce.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Aaron Voros (Game-winning goal, 3 SOG, 2 hits, 1 fight)
• Ross: Sergei Brylin, John Madden, Shawn Horcoff, Jarret Stoll (2 points each)
  
• Norris: Joni Pitkanen (G, +1, 3 SOG)
  
• Vezina: Mathieu Garon (25-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: 11 players tied with 1G apiece
  
• Calder: Aaron Voros (Game-winning goal, 3 SOG, 2 hits, 1 fight)
  
• Aiken: J.-S. Giguere (L, 4 goals allowed on 21 shots against)
  

Klepis On Klepis

Per Jakub Klepis, "I think the plan is I'll be traded, hopefully to some other NHL team. Right now, a trade isn't in progress and I just have to wait and I need to play some games, so I come [to Hershey].... For now, the goal is to get traded and try to play NHL this year."

Semin Still Out; Checking In On Zubie

Another day, another absence from practice for Alex Semin. Granted, this is practice we're talking about, but it's still very much a concern.

In less concerning news, the New Jersey Star Ledger reports that Dainius Zubrus has been dropped to the second line in Jersey. The phrase "look out below" comes to mind (as does the far less-widely used "you paid $20.4 million for that?").

UPDATE (12:28): Semin is out for the weekend and Jakub Klepis is on the verge of signing with Hershey.

Flash And Klepis On Notice; Seabrook: Out

A couple of interesting bits from Tarik on this sweltering September afternoon. First, regarding the statuses of unsigned forwards Tomas Fleischmann and Jakub Klepis, GMGM had this to say (emphasis added):

"They'll probably start camp without contracts. It provides flexibility for them and for us. They're at the point where they believe they are NHL players. And we do, too. If they make our club, good for them and good for us. If they don't, they want the opportunity to play somewhere else. They are concerned they may end up in the American Hockey League again. Europe would be more desirable for them."

"We don't have an issue with that. We'll insure them to make sure they are protected, see how camp goes and how things shake out. If they make the club, everything is fine. If they can't, and there's an opportunity with another NHL club, we can do something that way. And if that doesn't work out, then they can go to Europe and we'll still have their rights."

In other words, it's getting close to fish-or-cut-bait time on the two young Czechs, at least for the time being. Given the glut of forwards on the roster already, it's going to be tough for either to make the team out of camp (especially assuming that the bottom two lines will be filled with players who play a different style than either of those two - read: bangers and checkers - and that the top six forwards are more or less set), so if they aren't moved via trade, they're likely heading back over the pond.

If Flash really impresses, I could see him lining up on the second line right wing (with Viktor Kozlov on the top line and Chris Clark landing on the third) or he could make the team if Nicklas Backstrom isn't quite ready for a top-six spot. Klepis, on the other hand, has a very slim chance of making the squad, though anything is possible, I suppose.

[For more on some of what Jake and Tom did with the minutes they were given last season, check out this post.]

The second note that Tarik passes along is that Keith Seabrook will not be attending rookie camp due to a shoulder injury, which is too bad, considering it sounded as if he was looking forward to it.

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.

Found On Jakub Klepis's Bookshelf...

This explains a lot:

Wednesday Roundup: Where'd You Come From?

I saw this on Capitol Punishment the other day and decided I needed to rip off Chris ripping off Ducksnorts ripping off Will Young (jeez, we could do a rip-off tree just as easily). Basically, it traces how (a somewhat arbitrary list of) the 2006-07 Caps came to be Caps, and is pretty self-explanatory if you typically read left-to-right. Without further ado, here it is (click on it to enlarge, and then click again, depending on browser, to see it full size):

I didn't note where draft picks had been acquired via trade, but might at some point. Also, there may be some mistakes on there, and I'd happily correct 'em if you point 'em out.

What I found interesting is that of the ten players acquired via trade, Jakub Klepis and Tomas Fleischmann are the only ones who were acquired for players that weren't orginally Caps draft picks. I'm not sure exactly what that means - maybe that the organization (mostly thanks to the prior regime) has been able to draft and move a bunch of quality NHLers. Or that they've been reluctant to bring in quality players from outside the organization, even pre-dating the Jaromir Jagr experiment. Or that they've been conservative in the frequency of moves they've made. One thing clearly shows is that they didn't get jack squat for Jagr (other than a season so awful they had the chance to win the draft lottery and draft Alex Ovechkin, which ain't bad but sure ain't thanks to any managerial skill).

Also noteworthy is that little is left (and nothing on this list) from the great Adam Oates coup at 2002's trade deadline (you'll recall that the Caps sent Oates to the Flyers for Maxime Ouellet, a 1st (later traded to Dallas which became Martin Vagner), a 2nd (Maxime Daigneault) and a 3rd (Derek Krestanovich) round selections in 2002), save a mid-level goaltending prospect in Daigneault. Oh well - it looked great at the time and was a move you'd make every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

The larger point is that Caps fans need to remember that this team is still very much rebuilding and nowhere close to rebuilt (OFB has a must-read that really hammers home this point). Most of the free agent signings are stop-gaps and placeholders, and once this team is rebuilt, it will be built to last, not just to make one or two runs at success.

Elsewhere 'Round The Rinks

• Mirtle has a blurb on GMGM's trip to Sweden to sweet talk the "very shy and reserved" Nick Bäckström. Luckily, AO has enough personality (and talent) to carry his future teammate a bit.
• Speaking of the World Juniors, through four games, Caps prospect Semen Varlamov is 4-0-0 with a .964 save percentage and a 0.75 GAA. Fellow future Cap (fourth-round find), Finnish forward Oskar Osala has five goals and two assists in five games. High five!
• This Saturday night's game against the Thrashers is the Caps second annual Autism Awareness Night. Spread the word and give until you can't give any more, then give a little more. Just a little.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Sidney Crosby (2G, including game-winner, A, +2)
  
• Ross: P.-M. Bouchard (4 points)
  
• Norris: Francis Boullion (2A, +1, 1 SOG, 2 hits)
  
• Vezina: Nikolai Khabibulin (W, 38 saves on 39 shots against)
  
• Richard: Sidney Crosby, Matthew Lombardi, P.-M. Bouchard, Tomas Plekanec, Mark Parrish (2G each)
  
• Calder: Ryan Potulny (GWG on his only shot of the game in 3:48 of ice time)
  
• Aiken: Kari Lehtonen (L, 5 goals allowed on 35 shots against)