Sabres 5, Caps 0

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Event Summary]

I didn't get a chance to see much of tonight's game, but figured you all might need a place to vent, so have at it.

Oh, and in case you missed it, Shaone Morrisonn is hurt.

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.

This Week In Corsi

I didn't catch enough of last night's game to comment on it, so if you've got any observations you'd like to make, let 'em rip in the comments. Otherwise, we'll take a look at the week (and year-to-date, or YTD) in Corsi. First off, here's the YTD Corsi Rating for each skater on the team on a per game, per sixty minutes rate (click to enlarge):
The big movers from last week include Shaone Morrisonn (who dropped from around +25 to just over +1) and Sergei Fedorov (who jumped from +20 to around +38) and Michael Nylander and Milan Jurcina (leaps from approximately -10 to +10).

In terms of raw numbers, Fedorov lead the team this week (at +51) and had the best Corsi Rating of any skater in each of the team's three games (Alex Semin, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Jurcina/Nylander round out the top five for the week). Morrisonn and Boyd Gordon (happy 25th birthday, by the way) were each -12 on the week, and Jeff Schultz (-4) was the only other Cap in the red for the period.

How do these numbers mesh with what you've been seeing on the ice at even strength? Do you buy John Erskine as being that productive or Flash as being that unproductive so far? Does anything else jump out at you?

McPhee On The Fan, Green And Mo At The Zone

A few media hits to pass along - first off, George McPhee on Toronto's The FAN 590 from earlier today.

Second (and third), Mike Green and Shaone Morrisonn were up at ESPN Zone Baltimore on Wednesday, and WNST caught up with the duo for a couple of quick interviews:

Monday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Devils

The Caps will be in Jersey tonight to take on the Devils and their new tough guy (and if you're a N.Y. area Caps fan planning on attending, make sure to check in with Pepper), but rather than attempt to preview the relatively meaningless game, I thought I'd run a few numbers by you from last season, namely a break down of home and road plus/minus.

While plus/minus may be a somewhat silly stat to begin with, it's nevertheless interesting to take a look at some anomalous results in the home/road splits of last year's Caps. For example, both Alex Ovechkin and Viktor Kozlov were both plus-28 overall, with much of that coming on the road (+18 for Ovi, +19 for Kozlov). Is it odd that they'd be so much more successful in buildings in which opponents could more easily get their top defensive forwards out against the Caps' top line? Perhaps (though it should be noted that among the NHL's top ten scorers, half of them had a better plus/minus on the road, including Ilya Kovalchuk, who was somehow a plus player away from home). And is it odd that the center on that Ovechkin-Kozlov line for most of the season, Nicklas Backstrom, has a much better home plus/minus (+11 to +2)? Under Glen Hanlon (i.e. before being promoted to the top line), Backstrom was minus-four on the road and minus-one at home. Not a single member of the Caps' top trio had a home/road point differential greater than Kozlov's four.

How about a glance at defensive pivots? David Steckel and Boyd Gordon had similar roles for most of last season, and yet Steckel was plus-seven better at home and Gordon was plus-seven better on the road. Gordon's split makes sense - at home he'd often match up against opponents' top offensive threats, whereas on the road, he'd often face lesser talent - and so does Stecks', I think - as the fourth-line center on most nights, he was used more sparingly and in favorable spots at home, while teams could more easily take advantage of Steckel and his wingers on the road (though Gordo actually had lower quality linemates on the year).

On the blueline, the splits that stand out are Shaone Morrisonn's and Tom Poti's. The two played the 3rd and 4th most even strength minutes on the team last year, but had opposite splits, with Mo posting being plus-ten better at home and Poti finishing plus-13 better on the road (and each man's partner had a similar, albeit less drastic, split). Perhaps Morrisonn's differential can be explained by the desire to get Mike Green out against lesser talent at home and to utilize the Poti-Jeff Schultz pairing against opponents' top threats... but if that were the case, you'd expect the latter duo to have a higher quality of competition than the former pair, which was not the case (though it's close). Or perhaps the numbers were just a fluke.

The bottom line here is... well, there isn't one. It's a lot of correlation with little in the way of causation. You can come up with a theory to explain any of these splits and convince yourself of their validity, but, at the end of the day, plus-minus is still somewhat devoid of rhyme or reason. How else to explain that of the top 31 plus/minuses in the NHL last season, 15 players had a better number at home and 15 were better on the road (Ryan Getzlaf was +16 both home and on the road)?

All that said, who's got a theory on any of these that they want to throw out there?

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Vogs has the translation of an interview with Simeon Varlamov that's worth checking out.... TSN.ca's Caps preview might be garbage, but at least you could remove the team and player names and still know which of the NHL's 30 squads was being previewed, unlike with this turd.... Speaking of lazy writing, Yahoo! (Ross McKeon, I presume) offers up the following analysis: "Viktor Kozlov was a crucial late season pickup by GM George McPhee. Kozlov served as a great team leader, especially for the Russian kids, and he’ll do more of the same this year." Sergei Fedorov had a similar impact.... Apparently everyone seems to think that winning the Southeast Division is the Caps' "divine right." And here I thought they were the favorites because they've put together the best roster, have the best coach and the best player in the SED.... Add Justin Taylor to the list of players sent back to juniors who had a hell of a time at rookie camp (and he's just about the only London Knight scoring these days).... And add another chapter in the Boudreau storybook.... Finally, a question for the group based on this article (and h/t to PPP) - would you rather the team you follow win one Cup and then stink for a decade or be consistently competitive with the possibility (but no guarantee) of a Cup over the same time period?

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.

Mirtle On Mo

Today's must-read comes from North of the border, and it's our buddy Mirtle reporting on Shaone Morrisonn's arbitration hearing and the negotiations leading up to it.

Caps Sign Morrisonn: One Year, $1.975 Million

Per the team: "The Washington Capitals have signed defenseman Shaone Morrisonn to a one-year contract, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. In keeping with club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed."

Per Vogs (who, of course, works for said club): "The arbitrator has ruled that the 25-year-old blueliner will receive a one-year contract for $1.975 million for the upcoming 2008-09 NHL season."

That's a decent deal for the Caps (and a very good deal for Mo), but, at least by my math, the new contract will necessitate some roster juggling in order to get under the cap.

UPDATE: Just a reminder that "[p]er league rules, [and arbitrator] must render his salary decision within 48 hours of the hearing. Once the award has been made, the [team] then [has] a 48-hour window to reconsider the structure, and payroll, of their 2008-'09 roster.

Among the considerations the CBA allows: the possibility of a club to buy out up to three players on the roster." [Link]

A Little Bit Mo' On Mo

As you know by now, Brooks Laich and Shaone Morrisonn filed for salary arbitration ahead of the Saturday deadline for doing so, removing the possibility of either Restricted Free Agent signing an offer sheet with another team (I guess GMGM's threat worked).

Should either case actually go before an arbitrator, here's what you need to know about the process, here's a more detailed look (including a truly interesting read - the Dmitri Khristich/Boston Bruins arbitration decision), and, as another interesting point of historical perspective, here's Vogs on Laich's arbitration hearing from last year. But most of the time when a player files for arb (24 of 31 times last year, in fact) the team and the player reach an agreement before the scheduled hearing date and the parties avoid the often awkward and contentious meeting (recall, for example, the Rangers' description of Sean Avery in their brief).

We've talked a bit about Laich lately (as has Corey), but there hasn't been much chatter on Mo, so let's put him under the microscope. Here are "The Good" and "The Bad" from his Rink Wrap:

The Good: Morrisonn was tied for third among Caps blueliners in hits and tied for second in takeaways. He skated the second most shifts per game on the team, was fourth in average ice time and still managed to cut his penalty minutes by more than 40% from last year, despite playing against opponents' top lines. As tough as they come, Mo played all seven games in the playoffs with a broken jaw and a separated shoulder. Oh, and he tied for the regular season team lead in percentage of faceoffs won.

The Bad: Morrisonn had only 47 shots on goal and an atrocious 2.1 shooting percentage, but when you're Mike Green's partner, it's not your job to score - it's your job to cover his butt. Still, Mo's offensive numbers declined for the second consecutive season on a team whose goal totals have risen at even strength (but declined on the power play) over that span, and he had the fewest points per minute of ice time on the team, as well as his personal career low in points per game (not including his 11-game 2002-03). Mo was second on the team in minor penalties, and got jumped by Vinny Lecavalier in his one fight of the year (which isn't necessarily bad on Mo, but I wanted to mention it, so there it is).

So what's Morrisonn worth? Arbitrators use a pretty narrow definition of "comparables," but we're going to assume that no arbitrator will ever hear this case and so we'll be a little more liberal in our comparables. We'll also only use guys who have signed this year.

One guy that jumps out is Kurt Sauer, who recently signed with the Phoenix Coyotes. Keep in mind that Sauer was an unrestricted free agent, so his situation was a bit different than Mo's, but let's look at some numbers anyway:

• Drafted: Sauer (3rd round, 2000); Morrisonn (1st round, 2001)
  
• Sauer, Career: 288 games played, 4 goals, 22 assists, -15, 214 PIMs, 170 SOG
• Morrisonn, Career: 278 games played, 6 goals, 39 assists, +24, 278 PIMs, 167 SOG
• Sauer, 2007-08: 54 games played, 1 goal, 5 assists, +17, 41 PIMs, 28 SOG, 18:41 average TOI per game
  
• Morrisonn, 2007-08: 76 games played, 1 goal, 9 assists, +4, 63 PIMs, 47 SOG, 20:16 average TOI per game
  

Morrisonn has a higher all-around upside than Sauer, is nearly two years younger than the 'Yotes blueliner, and even though numbers alone don't tell you much about guys like Mo and Sauer, the latter provides a decent example of what those numbers might fetch on the open market. Sauer signed with Phoenix last week for four years at $1.75 million per year (a steal in Mirtle's eyes).

Looking strictly at RFAs, here are two more names that provide a couple more points of reference when thinking about putting a dollar number on Morrisonn's value:

• Mark Stuart (BOS) - Has 5 goals, 6 assists, a +8 rating and 105 PIMs in 114 NHL games... had 4 goals, 4 assists, +2, 81 PIMs, 60 SOG in 15:22 average TOI per game in 2007-08... signed a two-year deal worth $1.3 million per season as an RFA.
• Tim Gleason (CAR) - Has 7 goals, 46 assists, a -4 rating and 239 PIMs in 262 NHL games... had 3 goals, 16 assists, +5, 84 PIMs, 98 SOG in 18:38 average TOI per game in 2007-08... signed a four-year deal worth $2.75 million per season as an RFA.

Of the three players listed here, Gleason is probably the best fit as a comparable, given that he's forty days younger than Morrisonn, was drafted four picks after Mo, and signed his new deal as an RFA. His offensive and defensive numbers (including hits and blocked shots) are somewhat better than Morrisonn's to date, but Mo played tougher minutes and more of them.

So did the 'Canes overpay on Gleason? My guess is that in four years, that deal's going to look very good for Carolina. More importantly, though, one wonders how (if at all) that deal might impact the Caps' negotiations with Morrisonn. Mo is probably not worth $2.75 million per season right now (Jeff Finger deal aside). But if the team takes a "wait and see" approach by either letting an arbitrator decide on a one-year deal for Mo or signing him short-term themselves, they'll find themselves in a similar position one year from now and they run the risk of missing out on potentially large savings in the out-years to save a few bones in the present.

Shaone Morrisonn is 25 years old. He's steadily getting better defensively and is the franchise defenseman's security blanket. And while I think that his defensive abilities are a little over-rated by many Caps fans, there's a very low risk at this point that he flops (much lower, you'd think, than the chance that Laich does). It's not my money, but if it were, I'd lock him up to a three- or four-year deal at up to, say, $2.5 million per year - the value in three or four years would likely be worth the present day investment.

If this Capitals team is going to compete for a Cup in the next few years, they'll likely need a handful of favorable contracts to go along with the mega deals handed out to guys like Green and Alex Ovechkin. Morrisonn could - and should - be one of those deals, and the time to pull the trigger on it is now.

Green With And Without Morrisonn

As Woody Allen's genius pairing of Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson in his new flick demonstrates, sometimes the right partner makes all the difference, and for Bruce Boudreau's top defensive duo, that seemed to be the case this year (albeit in a thoroughly different relationship than Allen's on-screen vixens).

Answering a question from the comments to this morning's post, here are Mike Green's post-Hanlon stats with and without Shaone Morrisonn in the lineup (the Caps, incidentally, were 5-1 without Mo):

• With Mo: 55 games played, 15 goals, 29 assists, +13 rating (which pro-rates to 22 goals, 43 assists and a +19 rating over 82 games)
  
• Without Mo: 6 games played, 0 goals, 5 assists, +1 rating (which pro-rates to 0 goals, 68 assists and a +13 rating over 82 games)
  

So there you have it - statistical proof that Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson are hot. Or something.

2007-08 Rink Wrap: Shaone Morrisonn

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, Shaone Morrisonn.

Contract Status: RFA; 2007-08 salary of $900,000
Age (as of October 1, 2008): 25
NHL Seasons (including 2007-08): 4+
2007-08 Regular Season Stats: 76 games played, 1 goal, 9 assists, +4, 63 PIMs
Key Stat: In 55 games under Bruce Boudreau, Morrisonn had a plus-14 rating.
Interesting Stat: Morrisonn had his best month, point-wise (4), in November, but it was also his worst month in plus/minus (-5).

The Good: Morrisonn was tied for third among Caps blueliners in hits and tied for second in takeaways. He skated the second most shifts per game on the team, was fourth in average ice time and still managed to cut his penalty minutes by more than 40% from last year, despite playing against opponents' top lines. As tough as they come, Mo played all seven games in the playoffs with a broken jaw and a separated shoulder. Oh, and he tied for the regular season team lead in percentage of faceoffs won.

The Bad: Morrisonn had only 47 shots on goal and an atrocious 2.1 shooting percentage, but when you're Mike Green's partner, it's not your job to score - it's your job to cover his butt. Still, Mo's offensive numbers declined for the second consecutive season on a team whose goal totals have risen at even strength (but declined on the power play) over that span, and he had the fewest points per minute of ice time on the team, as well as his personal career low in points per game (not including his 11-game 2002-03). Mo was second on the team in minor penalties, and got jumped by Vinny Lecavalier in his one fight of the year (which isn't necessarily bad on Mo, but I wanted to mention it, so there it is).

The Interview: Be sure to check out Garrett's post-season interview with Mo (parts I and II) over at Puckhead's Thoughts.

The Vote: Rate Morrisonn 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: Is Morrisonn a legitimate number one shutdown defenseman? 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.

Monday Roundup/Gamenight: B's @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

It certainly wasn't the primary motivation for acquiring goaltender Cristobal Huet at the trade deadline last week, but with three of the Caps' last 16 games against the Boston Bruins, it doesn't hurt that Cristo has dominated the B's throughout his career. In three games against the Bruins so far this season, Huet is 3-0-0 with a 1.67 goals against average and .943 save percentage, and for his career he is 8-2-0/1.93/.940 with three shutouts (the most wins and shutouts he has against any opponent).

In fact, Huet has great career numbers against a handful of the Caps' remaining opponents: his best career GAA (1.08) and save percentage (.964) are against Florida, who Washington will face twice more; he's 2-0-1/1.73/.947 against Nashville (who the Caps play on March 18); he's 4-2-2/2.05/.932 against Atlanta, 6-3-0/2.24/.931 against Tampa and 3-2-1-0/2.37/.931 against the 'Canes (each of whom Washington will play two more times before the regular season wraps up); and he's 3-2-0/2.13/.915 against Pitt, who the Caps face at home next Sunday.

Sure, Huet is no longer playing behind Mike Komisarek, Andrei Markov et. al., but the fact that he has a career 29-13-1-4 record with a 1.97 GAA, .937 SV% and nine shutouts against the teams the Caps will play in 13 of their last 16 games has to count for something. Oh, and against those other three teams - Buffalo, Calgary and Chicago - Huet is 8-9-1-3/2.73/.909... maybe Olie Kolzig can get some work in in those games - he's 26-19-6-1/2.42/.914 against that trio of teams.

The flip side of the "Huet vs. the Bruins" coin is "Tim Thomas vs. the Caps." The B's netminder is 8-0-1 with a 1.82 GAA and .940 SV% in his career against Washington, thanks in large part to Zdeno Chara's ability to shut down Alex Ovechkin. For his career, the Great Eight has only five points - and only two goals - in nine games against Big Z's teams (Boston for this year and last, Ottawa in '05-'06) and three goals and four helpers in nine tilts against Boston.

So even though the Bruins come into tonight's game 7-0-1 in their last eight and the Caps have been playing around .500 hockey for the past month-and-a-half (8-6-3 since January 22), expect another tight game - since the lockout, only one of the nine games between these two teams (of which the Caps have won only one, by the way) was decided by more than one goal (this season's only meeting, January 3rd's 2-0 Boston win). Oh, and for those of you revenge seekers, a reminder that this will be the first time the Caps have seen Milan Lucic since he quite possibly ended Brian Pothier's career.

The Caps should have no trouble getting up for this game. Maintaining that intensity will be the challenge.

Why The Bruins Will Win:

"The Bruins will beat the Caps tonight because Tim Thomas does yoga. All bets on the Bs are off if Huet wears his old Canadiens helmet, though." - The Hockey (and Donut) Blog

"Right now, the Bruins are flat out clicking. Everything that can go right is going right, and Boston has six straight wins. Between the pipes, Tim Thomas has allowed just one goal in his last two outings. This alone is not a good sign for Washington, as Thomas is 8-0-1 in his career against the Capitals. A solid performance from Thomas and the rest of the B's could lead to seven wins in a row." - The Bear Cave

"The Bruins will win because they're on a 6-game win streak. Besides, the only quality players on the Caps' roster are Ovechkin and ...uh....that other....hmm. Well, at least they have Ovechkin." - The Spoked B

"The Bruins will win because they have won their last six games, and are planning to make it seven tonight to keep the streak alive." - WickedBruinsFan

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Happy 24th Birthday to Alex Semin and Happy 45th to Kelly Miller... H/t to Ted Leonsis for digging out this GMGM gem.... On this date in 1996, Jim Carey set the franchise mark with his sixth shutout of the season (and second in two days). He'd add another three before his Vezina-winning campaign was over, and the nine shutouts remain a Caps single season record.... On this date in 2004, the Caps sent Sergei Gonchar to Boston for Shaone Morrisonn and the picks that were used to draft Jeff Schultz and Mikhail Yunkov.... On this date in 1895, according to the HHOF, "The earliest recorded ice hockey game was played, with McGill University going against the Victoria skating club, at the Victoria Rink in Montreal. The two teams played with nine men on a side, and used a flat disk as a puck." Chris Chelios finished the game with a plus-two rating.... Finally, one year ago today, we wished Semin a Happy Birthday with some of his personal highlights and started our offseason free agent wish list by looking at the available centers.

Daily Awards

• Hart: Craig Anderson (53-save shutout win)
• Ross: Patrick Kane (3 points)
  
• Norris: Niklas Kronvall (2A, +3)
  
• Vezina: Craig Anderson (53-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Patrick Kane, Jeff Carter (2G each)
  
• Calder: Patrick Kane (2G, including the game-winner, A, +2)
  
• Aiken: Henrik Lundqvist (3 goals allowed on 8 shots against in just 19:40 (!) of work)
  

Saturday Open Thread

Photo: AP

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.

Justice Is Swift

According to Tarik's blog, Colton Orr got a five game suspension for cross-checking AO in the face and Donald Brashear gets one game for punching Aaron Ward. Shaone Morrisonn and Glen Hanlon apparently escape fine/suspension-free.

Frankly, I think Brashear deserved more, but agree wholeheartedly with how the League handled Orr, Mo and Hugs. As League disciplinarian Colin Campbell put it, "(Orr's) actions with his stick were reckless and dangerous. Although no injury resulted, the action is unacceptable."

The million dollar question now is, "What did Ward say that makes a sucker punch worth only a one game suspension?"

Sunday Roundup/Rangers 4, Caps 1

[NHL.com Recap]

The depleted Caps dropped another game to finish the 2006 calendar year portion of the season at 16-16-7 (recaps galore here). But tomorrow is a new day and a new year. Clean slate. Tabula rasa. We all know that this past week has been brutal on the Caps health- and schedule-wise, so the losses are easily explained away, but the standings points foregone are not so easily parted with. Get healthy and get back to playing Caps hockey - there's plenty of time to right the ship and make the playoffs.

I don't want to spend too much time on last night's game, but did want to take a second to discuss the role Donald Brashear has taken on this team. He has become a fan favorite and undoubtedly a favorite of the guys in the locker room as well for his willingness to keep order at times when games might get out of hand (of course, that is supposed to be the referees' job, but their gross incompetence lately makes me question their ability to do so), and to try to provide a momentum-changing spark with his fists. He has five fights in the last five games, including a couple of absolutely punishing KO's.

But where was he last night when the Caps needed him? In the locker room after being excused for sucker-punching Aaron Ward. He'll likely be suspended for the hit, so there will be a couple more games where The Donald's intimidation won't be available to the Caps (and with John Erskine and Matt Bradley also injured, it leaves the team quite short-handed on the pugilism front).

Now, if the Brashear/Ward incident was sparked, as some are speculating, by Ward's use of a racial epithet, the Ranger defenseman is lucky that he didn't get more from Brash. That is, in many ways, even less excusable than most of the cheap shots thrown around the League on a given night. But if Brashear was incited by a little stickwork or run-of-the-mill trash-talking, he failed his team last night, for as soon as he was tossed from the game, Ranger "tough guy" Colton Orr started running around the ice like an idiot, knowing there would be no reprecussions for his actions; not from the referees and not from the Caps' bruiser.

Eventually, Orr cross-checked Alex Ovechkin across the lower jaw (when AO hadn't even been near the puck in ages), prompting flu-ridden Caps blueliner Shaone Morrisonn to jump Orr despite the knowledge that he would (and did) get his ass kicked. For his effort, Morrisonn got an instigator and a game misconduct in addition to his fighting major, while Orr got the fighting major and a charging minor. And since this incident occurred in the last five minutes of the game, guess what? Morrisonn could be suspended and Coach Glen Hanlon may receive the automatic $10,000 fine that goes with it. As Hanlon accurately summed it up, "Ovechkin gets his teeth loosened with a cross check and we get the instigator. I'm still trying to figure that one out."

I would strenuously argue (from precedent) that Morrisonn should not be suspended and that Hanlon should not be fined for Mo sticking up for his teammate in this instance, but the larger point is that it probably doesn't even come to this if Brashear had kept his cool and stayed in the game.

I like The Donald and think he's been a tremendous addition to this Caps team. But last night he didn't do his job and it's no different than a defenseman who blows his coverage or a goalie who lets in a soft goal - everyone on the team has a role and has to play that role to the best of his ability every night. Brash provides protection and a measure of security for the team's skill players. Can you imagine the liberties that other teams might have been taken without him in the lineup? No need to - you saw one last night and will likely get the chance to see more over the next few games.

UPDATE: Here's the video of the Brashear/Brendan Shanahan fight and the subsequent sucker punch. I didn't mention it above, but kudos to Shanny for challenging the big guy (and for having more guts than the rest of the Ranger roster combined):



Daily Awards

• Hart: Shane Doan (G, 4A, +3)
  
• Ross: Shane Doan (5 points)
  
• Norris: Mattias Ohlund (2G, +3, 2 SOG, 3 hits... though maybe Brian Rafalski deserves it more)
  
• Vezina: Curtis Joseph (40-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Jeremy Roenick (3G)
  
• Calder: Marc-Antoine Pouliot (G, +1 in 6-2 loss)
  
• Aiken: Evgeni Nabokov (L, 3 goals allowed on 6 shots against in just 15:11 minutes of work)

A Capital Christmas

As hockey fans all over the world celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus today, I'd like to send belated Happy Hannukah wishes to Jeff Halpern, Mike Cammalleri, Mathieu Schneider and, of course, Gary Bettman.

But I have Christmas wishes to pass along as well. I have gifts, too. Well, not really, but if I could, I'd hand out the following gifts to each member of the 2006-07 Washington Capitals:

Beech, Kris - Passion to match his raw skills
Bradley, Matt - A comfortable seat in the press box
Brashear, Donald - Someone to dance with every night
Clark, Chris - His two front teeth
Clymer, Ben - plus-14
Eminger, Steve - Confidence and a healthy John Erskine
Erskine, John - Better skating ability
Giroux, Alexandre - A bus ticket back to Hershey
Gordon, Boyd - Fewer penalties to kill
Green, Mike - More shots on goal
Heward, Jamie - Better defensive-zone coverage
Johnson, Brent - A few more starts
Klepis, Jakub - Kris Beech's ice time (and faceoff ability)
Kolzig, Olaf - Five more years in the League
Laich, Brooks - Skills to match his hockey sense
Morrisonn, Shaone - Better passing ability
Muir, Bryan - More effective use of his size
Nycholat, Lawrence - A flight back to Hershey (hey, he's older than Giroux)
Ovechkin, Alex - A playoff game (can you imagine how good he'll be once he makes the playoffs?!)
Pettinger, Matt - Alex Semin's shot total
Pothier, Brian - The broadside of a barn at which to practice shooting
Schultz, Jeff - Zdeno Chara's career path for a big man
Semin, Alexander - More effective play without the puck
Sutherby, Brian - A second goal for the year (we'll work on the third, etc., from there)
Zednik, Richard - Good health so the Caps can get something for him at the trade deadline
Zubrus, Dainius - Nothing (he's got Ovechkin - what more does he need?)

There you have it. Merry Xmas to the Caps and their fans and more importantly, to my readers and friends.

J.P.

Scott Stevens: The Most Effective Draft Choice In Caps History?

Eric Duhatschek has a great post up over at the Globe and Mail posing the question "What was the single most effective draft choice in NHL history?" He asserts that "it was the Atlanta Flames’ decision to select Kent Nilsson in the fourth round, 64th overall, in the 1976 entry draft." Why? Basically because Nilsson was a highly-effective player (in the regular season) who was eventually traded for the picks that became Joe Nieuwendyk and Stephane Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!. Nieuwendyk, in turn, was later traded for a young Jarome Iginla. Now that's getting some mileage out of a single pick.

The question got me to thinking about who was the single most effective pick in Capitals history. Off the top of my head, I'd have to say it was Scott Stevens, selected in the first round, fifth overall in 1982. Stevens' arrival in D.C. helped to usher in the greatest era of Capitals hockey to date (zip it), as the Caps didn't miss the playoffs once in Stevens' time in D.C. and three times topped 100 points in the standings. Stevens averaged .71 points per game for the Caps and is still second on the team in career points by a defenseman (Calle Johansson is first).

Whether or not St. Louis's offer to then-restricted free agent Stevens should have been matched is open to debate, but it was not matched and the Caps received five picks as compensation in return. Two of those picks - Sergei Gonchar and Brendan Witt - became mainstays on the Caps' blueline for nearly a decade, and were instrumental in the team's Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 1998. Another - Miika Elomo - was traded along with a fourth round pick to Calgary for the second round pick that became 20-goal-scoring winger Matt Pettinger.

Gonchar was traded to Boston in the great player dump of '03 and in return the Caps received Shaone Morrisonn (who is arguably their steadiest defenseman right now) and first and second round picks in 2004 that have turned into prospects Jeff Schultz and Michael Yunkov.

Witt was traded to Nashville at last year's trade deadline for the Caps' current second-line center, Kris Beech, and the first round pick last summer that became top goaltending prospect Semen Varlamov.

There's still a lot of upside to be had from that initial pick, and there is no doubt that Scott Stevens is the gift that keeps on giving for the Caps.

(cross-posted at SeSo)

Stat Of The Day

Per NHLPA.com, Bruin defenseman Zdeno Chara will make $7.5 million in 2006-07, whereas the Capitals top seven defensemen - Brian Pothier, Shaone Morrisonn, Steve Eminger, Mike Green, Jamie Heward, Bryan Muir and John Erskine - will make a combined $7,067,912.

For the record, Chara has 3 goals, 7 assists and a -5 plus/minus in 14 games for the 5-7-2 Bruins, while the seven Caps listed above have combined for 5 goals, 26 assists and a +13 plus/minus for the 8-5-4 Capitals.

(Hat tip to the folks in this thread)

Sunday Roundup/Caps 3, Rangers 1

[NHL.com Recap - WashingtonCaps.com Postgame Coverage - Official Scoresheet - Official Super Stats]

Last night's crowd of 16,263 - a legitimate 16,263, the largest crowd of the season - saw the Caps take care of business by playing a physical and up-tempo game against a team that had played a similar game the night before. Despite being 0-for-7 on the power play before the Rangers even got a man advantage of their own, the Caps got an early goal from Boyd Gordon, a couple of softies from Alex Ovechkin and Matt Pettinger that went through Henrik Lundqvist's gaping five-hole, and phenomenal goaltending from Olie Kolzig en route to the 3-1 win. For those of you keeping score at home, the last four Capitals wins have come against teams that had 100 or more points last year (New York, Ottawa, Philly and Calgary).

The WaPo has their recap here, the WTimes here, but there were a couple other points from last night that deserve mention:

• Besides scoring his first goal since Christ was in diapers (Oct. 11, 2003 to be precise), Gordon was 9-for-11 (82%) in the faceoff circle. In fact, the Caps dominated the night in the dot, winning 34 of the 56 draws (61%). Dainius Zubrus was a very impressive 17-of-25 (68%).
• The defensive pairing of Brian Pothier and Shaone Morrisonn did a fantastic job containing the Jaromir Jagr line, and Morrisonn was acknowledged for his efforts with the game's third star, despite being held off the score sheet. Pothier logged an NHL-high 30:35 last night.
• The Donald finally dropped the gloves for the first time this season, and he made quick work of Colton Orr. When my wife asked why it took him so long to get into a fight this year, I told her that when you're that good a fighter, you don't need to fight very often. Certainly the case with Brash. UPDATE: Video, via OWO:
  

• John Erskine looked pretty good and even picked up a helper on the Ovechkin goal. It was only the third sixth point of Erskine's career (all assists) in 143 NHL games.

Stat of the Day

• The Caps have five regulation losses so far on the 2006-07 season and each of those has been followed with a win in the next game.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• On October 28, Secondary Sid netted a hat trick against the AHL Philadelphia Flyers. Since then, he has taken 8 shots on goal in six games and hasn't scored a goal. He does, however, have seven assists over that stretch - three primary and four secondary. Must be nice having Evgeni Malkin to carry your water, eh, Sid? Perhaps not coincidentally, Pittsburgh is 1-3-2 over the six game span.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Daniel Briere (Game-tying and OT-winning goals, +2, 6 SOG)
  
• Ross: Bryan McCabe, Tomas Kaberle, Kyle Wellwood, Petr Nedved, Slava Kozlov (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Bryan McCabe (2G, A, 3 SOG, 3 hits, 1 takeaway, 0 giveaways, 1 blocked shot)
  
• Vezina: Olie Kolzig (W, 41 saves on 42 shots against)
  
• Richard: Marian Hossa, Glen Murray, Daniel Briere, Chris Neil, Randy Robitaille, Bryan McCabe (2G each)
  
• Calder: Drew Stafford (G, 3 SOG)
  
• Aiken: David Aebischer (L, 4 goals allowed on 28 shots in 37:33 of work)