Tuesday Roundup

A little more than a week ago, Caps Assistant GM Don Fishman (a.k.a. possessor of perhaps my safest-for-work dream job) sat down with a group of season ticket holders for some "Chalk Talk," a team-hosted Q&A with a member of the organization.

Fishman was surprisingly candid about the team's salary cap situation - the Caps, at that point, were $190,000 below the $56.7 million ceiling. Not $305,000 below or $668,899 below, but $190,000 below.

So what does $190,000 get you in the NHL these days? Well, it'll get you about 55 days (not games, but days) of Chris Bourque or 50 days of Sami Lepisto or or 43 days of Simeon Varlamov or 21 days of Karl Alzner (or three days of Alex Ovechkin).

It'll also get you saving money wherever you can. For example, perusing the AHL transactions page, I noticed this:

Click to enlarge

A couple of paper transactions and $5,107.53 saved? Perhaps - every penny counts (note, too, that the team wasn't exactly broadcasting their moves either - the October 31 press release on Sloan's demotion noted that "Sloan, 27, returns to Hershey after being recalled by the Caps on Oct. 20."). [Update: see the comments for why the cap probably isn't why this was going on, though the underlying point remains]

So things are tight. Damn tight. And remember, teams have to leave some room for short-term injury replacements (i.e. if another defenseman goes down with a day-to-day injury and the team calls up Lepisto, they do so at $3,763.44 per day against the cap while the guy he's replacing is also still counting against the cap).

In other words, barring some serious salary cap shedding, this is the team the Caps will be going with the rest of the way. That $4 million right wing or blueliner you were hoping for at the deadline for a prospect and a pick? Don't count on it - if the Caps are at $190k below the cap at the deadline, they'll only be able to afford about nine days of a player at that salary.

Which brings us to King Karl. To make it easy, let's assume the Caps stay where they are vis a vis the cap and team health, and that they're going to send down Tyler Sloan to make room for Alzner and that they're willing to bump right up against the cap (which is unrealistic because of injuries, as noted before). The earliest it could possibly happen? March 13, give or take a day.

Like I said, these are your 2008-09 Caps - hope you like 'em.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

If you didn't catch this story on former Caps prospect Robert Mueller yesterday, make sure to now.... At least the Caps made Ryan Getzlaf's day suck a little more back in 2003 (and look - an article about that 2003 Entry Draft that mentions Eric Fehr, though not in the context of "impact players").... Somehow Alex Semin is losing All-Star votes. You can't pin this one on Sarah Palin, elitist liberal media!... A couple of power rankings from yesterday, where the Caps are up two to seventh at CBSSports.com and up three to sixth at The Hockey News (where they refer to Jose Theodore as either an emergency contraceptive pill or a Huey Lewis & The News album - and I'm not sure which is worse).... Wait, I thought it was Ovechkin, not Nicklas Backstrom, who folks thought resembled the Geico caveman.... Thanks to sk8 for passing along this article on John Erskine.... Want to know how Ben Clymer ended up in Minsk? I mean, other than by being a sub-NHL caliber hockey player? He's happy to tell you.... Finally, for the fan who needs all of his (or her) Carrie Milbank pictures in one place, there's this (thanks, Phil, from all of us).

Thursday Roundup/Caps 5, 'Canes 1

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

On a night when the Caps faced off against the Hurricanes in Raleigh with first place in the Southeast Division on the line and utterly trounced their gracious hosts, one was left with a singular and somewhat frightening impression: this Caps team can be better.

In fact, outside of the top line and d-pairing, nary a Cap had a point, or even a plus. The third defensive pairing took four minor penalties. The power play took only seven shots in 7:49 of time with the extra man. And so on.

As thorough a beating as the Caps handed the 'Canes, it wasn't a sharp, 60-minute effort, and it wasn't this team at its best. Granted, the score (and Carolina's desire to roll over and play dead rather than put up any sort of fight) allowed the visitors to ease up a bit, but what we saw last night was still just a (rather large) handful of glimpses of what the Caps can be - and what we're all waiting on.

A few quick thoughts on the game:

• As good as the top line was on the scoresheet, they were again guilty of being overly cute at times and guilty of poor defensive coverage often (and throw in a couple of "vintage" Alex Semin hooking penalties for good measure). For as dominant as the line appeared to be (and, as far as finishing goes, was), would you believe the line had the second-worse Corsi Rating of any of the Caps' threesomes? I would. And while I'd take that on any night if they're going to finish with a combined plus-12 rating and a dozen points, that's not going to happen every night. A bit of a curious night, statistically, to say the least.
• Alright, that last point came off a bit negative. Here's the positive - three Semins and a Malkin. Don Cherry just crapped his Depends. By the way, check out the League's top five in plus/minus, but make sure you didn't just take a sip of coffee.
  
• Back to the negative, Semin's "tribute to Richard Simmons" goal celebration was awkwardly wonderful.
  
• I don't think I've ever seen a "superstar" have a worse period than Eric Staal did in the first. He botched tap-ins on an extended 5-on-3, lost a key defensive zone draw that led to the Caps' second goal, and just flat out stunk the building up. It's probably a different game if he has a better opening stanza.
• Sticking with picking on the 'Canes, Niclas Wallin's attempt at defensing Alex Ovechkin on his goal was shameful.
  
• "Secondary" Nicklas Backstrom had a trio of other-than-primary assists and a lay-up of a goal. Suddenly he's not off to that bad a start, with 10 points in 15 games.
• Milan Jurcina's game went from bad to worse, as he had three penalties (though the refs were whistle-happy all night) and little confidence by the time the final buzzer sounded. If Shaone Morrisonn can go Friday, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Juice in the press box.
• Back to everyone's favorite stat, Chris Clark, at minus-three, had the Caps' worse CR (and only negative rating), and Mike Green's plus-17 was best on the squad. He was stellar.
• Brent Johnson came up huge late in the first period before exiting with a hip injury, and Jose Theodore did a great job in relief, especially considering he hadn't played in ten days.
• Memo to Fox Sports Carolina: The Caps haven't used the eagle logo since Rod Brind'Amour was good. If you want to be taken seriously by the rest of the League, you've got to be within a year or so of current on your graphics, mmm'kay?
  

And so we'll wait. We'll wait for a home-and-home series with a shaky Devils team that commences tomorrow night. We'll wait for Morrisonn and Sergei Fedorov (and perhaps Johnson) to get healthy, and we'll wait for the power play to click. We'll wait for the other number one goalie to get hot and we'll wait for the MVP to be the MVP. We'll wait to see what this team can do when they're firing on all cylinders.

But in the meantime, this ain't so bad, is it?

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Go vote for All-Stars if you're into that sort of thing.... Your weekly Power Rankings find the Caps up three spots to 12th at SportingNews.com, up seven to 9th at The Hockey News, up five to 9th at CBSSports.com, up four to 13th at Sportsnet.ca, up 14 to 4th (?!) at CBCSports.ca, up ten to 13th at TSN.ca, and up six to 9th at The Detroit News. Are the still a "bad team," Kelly?... The Caps collected more than a ton of food at their annual canned food drive on Saturday. No word yet on how much of that made it to the intended charity and how much was intercepted and eaten by Nick Backstrom along the way.... Via CapsChick, a hearty welcome to the 21st Century blogosphere to the Caps Media Staff.... Finally, via the Caps Message Board, if you're headed to the VC for Friday night's game, check out Dr. Gridlock for street and Metro closures.

Saturday Roundup/Gamenight: Rangers @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

No more Jagr. No more Avery. Can you really still hate the Rangers?

You're damn right you can (and if you need a new reason why, here are a couple).

The Rangers come into tonight's game with the most wins in the Eastern Conference, a 4-1-1 record on the road, a miserly 2.12 team goals against average (thanks to an eye-popping 90.3% effective penalty kill), a born-again Nikolai Zherdev and a brick wall named Henrik Lundqvist (who is 5-1-0/1.82/.936 in his last six games).

Against that stout team defense, the Caps will ice a squad that has scored four goals in its last three games (three of which came Thursday night) and has scored one goal or less in four of its last seven outings, partially the result of a sputtering power play that has gone 4-for-39 (10.3%) over the last nine games (the Rangers power play, by the way, had gone five-for-50 over the ten game span leading up to their last match, in which they lit the lamp three times with the extra man).

But as the Caps' power play efficiency has tanked, the penalty killing has excelled, to the tune of 89.7% effective over the last seven games (35-for-39). Put another way, over the last 65:47 of shorthanded ice time (slightly more than a full game plus a full overtime session), the Caps have only surrendered four goals - the team has a .931 save percentage and a 3.65 GAA (which is 0.21 higher than Jose Theodore's overall GAA on the season) while down a man (or two) over the past seven games.

That's some pretty impressive penalty killing. Perhaps even more impressive? Tonight's likely Caps starting netminder's numbers as a starter this season - Brent Johnson is 2-0-2/1.93/.936 in the games for which he's been on the ice at the opening puck drop.

So, on paper at least, we're looking at what should be a defensive battle where a single mistake can be the difference between two points and a night wasted... which means the game will be anything but low-scoring. Bet the over and hope for two points.

Random Nicklas Backstrom Thought:

Last season, Nicklas Backstrom played 15 games before finally scoring his first NHL goal in game number 16. During those first 15 games (playing mostly on the wing), he fired just thirteen shots on goal.

This season, through a dozen games, Nick has no goals, but has taken 28 shots on goal (including four in each of his past two games). It's only a matter of time before he finds the back of the net, of course, but even if he was scoring at the same shooting percentage rate as he did under Bruce Boudreau last year, he'd only have 2.78 goals so far. So really, even with that goose egg, he's not that far off where we might reasonably expect him to be in terms of goals (assists are another story - he "should" have at least nine by now based on last year's post-Hanlon rate, but there's another significant factor impacting that equation at present).

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Per NHL Director of Corporate Communications Michael DiLorenzo's Twittering, the Caps experienced a 74% year-over-year increase in merchandise sales at NHL.com in October, which was the fifth-largest increase in the League (Chicago was up a whopping 234%!). Alex Ovechkin had the second-best selling jersey for the month (behind Alex Semin's buddy), with Mike Richards, Henrik Lundqvist and Evgeni Malkin rounding out the top five. Good stuff, and h/t to KK to tipping me off to DiLorenzo's feed.... Speaking of Ovechkin and Malkin, with weeks having passed since their last meeting and months to go before they meet again, you'd think their rivalry wouldn't be a hot topic for Steel City journos. You'd be wrong.... Down on the farm, Simeon Varlamov picked up his first pro shutout (and Oskar Osala scored yet another goal) for Hershey and Joel Broda had a natural hat trick for Moose Jaw.... For those of you wondering about Jamie Heward, here's an update.

Thursday Roundup

Back in late July, we posted the translation of an article from a Swedish paper regarding Nicklas Backstrom's summer, but the most commented upon aspect of the story needed no translating - for some, the pictures spoke for themselves.

Fast forward a few months to Backstrom's slow start (he's still looking for that first goal and even strength point) and Lisa Hillary's ice-level report during a recent game that casually mentioned that Backstrom had put on twenty pounds in the off-season, and one could easily waddle jump to a conclusion as to the cause of Nick's early season struggles (though his preseason injury, no doubt, has contributed).

Now, I haven't seen Hillary's report corroborated elsewhere, but here's what I do know - Backstrom was listed at 183 pounds in last year's media guide and 210 pounds this year (though he's still at 183 on the team's website):


It should be noted that Nick has apparently grown an inch over the year, and that he's still just 20 years old and filling out thanks to a weight training regimen that is probably unlike what you'd find over in Europe... but 27 pounds in one year?

Perhaps it's not as obscene as it sounds. After all, from Backstrom's draft class, Simeon Varlamov and Mathieu Perreault had weight gains of 18 and 24 pounds, respectively, over the same span, and Alex Semin gained 19 pounds from 2005-06 to 2006-07 (per the media guides). Still, 27 pounds...

You can draw your own conclusions as to whether or not there's any causation here. And this isn't to say that Backstrom is "fat" or out of shape - it may very well be the case that a bigger Backstrom may be a better hockey player in the long run and that his coordination needs time to catch up to his changed (changing?) physique. But the bottom line is that if Backstrom looks a little slower or less nimble than he did last season, there may be a reason for that.

Beefcake. Beefcake!

Update: As Empty points out, 183 pounds was also Backstrom's draft weight, a number that apparently wasn't updated until this year. So it's 27 pounds over two years, not one.

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

Some love for Alex Semin from up north.... Vogs and Brett apparently mentioned this on Capitals Report yesterday (and if this is Mr. Hanlon's Club, what does Mr. Cassidy's look like?)... Daren Machesney: pretty in pink (via Stack the Pads).... Forbes has some "Best Hockey Fighters For The Buck" silliness posted.... Finally, why don't you guys show this kind of dedication?

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?

Photographic Evidence

Via the AP, proof that Alex Semin is, indeed, in the house:

Who Made Who?

In an article spotlighting ten of the League's top second-year players, NHL.com's Dan Rosen asks a simple rhetorical question: "Some critics believe [Nicklas] Backstrom's 55 assists, the most of any rookie last season, were a direct result of him playing with Alexander Ovechkin. While that may be true, why can't at least a percentage of Ovechkin's League-high 65 goals be a result of him playing with Backstrom?"

I think it's rather obvious to anyone who watched the Caps last year that Backstrom probably wouldn't have racked up 55 assists if he wasn't playing with Ovechkin from Thanksgiving on, and Ovechkin probably wouldn't have lit the lamp 65 times if he didn't play with Backstrom for three-quarters of the season. But here's a hypothetical question going forward - in 2008-09, which of these two players would be more likely to repeat his numbers from last year playing on a line without the other?

Ovechkin "The Premier Asset In The Game Today"

At least so says TSN.ca's Scott Cullen (and Mike Green and Nick Backstrom ain't bad either).

Backstrom: We Are A Good And Hungry Team

Innumerable thanks to Gavlegirl for stalking, err, tracking down Nicklas Backstrom for an interview earlier this month in his hometown of Gavle, translating and transcribing the chat, and sending it along to us for publication.

Name: Lars Nicklas Bäckström
Nickname: Nick, Bäckis
Born: November 23, 1987
Family: Dad Anders, mum Catrin and brother Kristoffer
Reads: Golf magazines
Favorite TV Show: The Swedish TV show "I en annan del av Köping"
Listens to: Almost everything
Last Concert: Mary J. Blige and Jay Z
Last Movie: "What Happens In Vegas"
Favorite Food: Pasta and chicken, barbeque
Favorite Drink: Coca-Cola
Idol: Tiger Woods
Drive: Audi TT
Wants to visit: Thailand (never been there)
Golf handicap: 7
Favorite Spots in D.C.: Capitol Grille, Play Lounge, Starbucks (for a latte)

Q. What has your practice schedule been like this summer?

A. Well, the team and Bruce [Boudreau] give us players alot of responsibility when it comes to training - “freedom under responsibility” - and if I would let myself go... I don’t think George [McPhee], Ted [Leonsis] or Bruce would appreciate it if I didn’t practice on my own. I have spent hours with the guys from Brynäs working out in the gym and since the beginning of August we have been practicing on the ice too. I think I will be in good shape when training camp come and I can’t wait until I see the guys in Washington again.

In the beginning of August Nick played with the Swedish charity team "Icebreakers" and was on a line with Peter Forsberg and Fredrik Sjöström (New York Rangers). They played two games, the first against the Swedish Elite League team Luleå (who they beat 11-4, with Nick getting three assists), and the second against the Finnish charity team "Läkerol Dark Stars/TPS Åbo" (which ended in a 5-5 tie). He has also been practicing with his former team, Brynäs IF (pictured), mostly working on strength and endurance.


Q. You won gold in the 2006 World Championships with Sweden. What are your thoughts about it?

A. Amazing... It was like a dream come true.

Q. What would be the next dream for you?

A. Winning the Stanley with Washington. We are a good and hungry team on the rise and we are still young. But it is a long way to go and you need some luck on the way too.

Q. Do you think Washington Capitals has a chance to win Stanley Cup, or would you want to switch to any other club with a better chance to do so?

A. I DON’T want to play anywhere else in the NHL. Washington is my team. [Ed. note: emphasis in the transcription... sounds like a forceful answer.]

Q. Would you like to play in the KHL?

A. No.

Q. Last question, do you have any girlfriend?

A. No, I am single. You know, I am only twenty so that can wait. I want to focus on improving my hockey skills for now.

More Backstrom (And That's Not A Fat Joke)

We all know that dark colors and vertical stripes are slimming (but they can only do so much, Mick McGeough). What about horizontal stripes of black and white?

Judging from the comments on yesterday's post about Nicklas Backstrom's summer so far, there's concern that the Caps' baby-faced Swede has let himself go a bit. But thanks to a link via our buddy Gavlegirl, those worries can probably be put to rest by this video interview, in which there is no evidence of moobs/mits (but raise your hand if you were expecting him to reach into the ice cream chest. And is that a Redskins hat he's wearing? Oh, and Rafael Nadal called... he wants his capris back).

On to more important things (i.e. substance), here's what Nick had to say, per Gavlegirl:

His summer vacation has been nice, he has been spending time with family and friends and trained.... He states that the first months of the season were tough, but that it changed when Bruce Boudreau came onboard.... He thinks his first season was good with 69 points and the playoffs, but it can be better.... He enjoys his time in Washington, but it is a lot of traveling with 82 games plus.... When comparing his game with his old team Brynäs and Washington he says it is a big difference.... He wants to continue be better and become stronger with his skating.... During the world cup he got the "C" for Sweden and it surprised him, but it was fun and interesting.... Next season he wants to have a good level in his game, he wants the team to reach the playoffs and go further.... It is a long way to have the Stanley Cup on display, but he thinks Caps will have it in a few years.... He mentions that playing with Ovie and Kozlov made him a better player and he wants to continue with it for many years more.

But wait, there's more... GG has translated some of this interview with Backis for you all to devour:

OFF-SEASON - Nicklas Bäckström

Nicklas Bäckström, a 20-year-old center from Washington Capitals in the NHL, is spending his summer in Gavle before returning to USA and a new season. After 3 seasons with Brynäs in the SEL he left Sweden for NHL. And during his rookie season in the NHL he made 69 points (14-55) in 82 games and got nominated for the rookie award and he has shown that he is the center that Washington was hoping for. Even though he is only 20, he has already played in 3 World Cup tournaments and won the gold with Sweden in 2006.

When asked if he was dissapointed over not winning the rookie award he stated, "I am proud that I got nominated and Patrick Kane is a great winner for it. Before I went to NHL my primary goal was to take a spot in the Capitals roster and everything else a bonus."

He was also asked what is the difference between playing in NHL and SEL and replied the game is much faster in the NHL and all the best players in the world play in it, that it is a very good league to play in.

His father Anders was a defensemen in Brynäs until 1988 and he has had a great impact for Nick's game.

"My dad and the rest of the family has always supported me and he has given me alot of advice from his level of experience. They are very loving parents and has helped me alot."

What is your favorite spot you would recommend in Gavle?

Going out to "Bönan", a peaceful place where it is quiet and you can sit close to the water.

What is your goal with the upcomming season?

Capitals will be in the playoffs and we are gonna go further than losing in the first round.

Give us your all-star NHL team.

Left wing, Alexander Ovechkin; center, Evgeni Malki; Pavel Datsyuk as a right wing; Nicklas Lidström and Mike Green as defense; in goal "Lunkan" (Henrik Lundqvist).

Translated freely by Gavlegirl for Japers' Rink

Backstrom Goes Camping

Earlier in the summer, Nicklas Backstrom declared, "I want to be a better hockey player. I have to work hard this summer. You want to be better every year, so you have to have a good summer."

Well, so far it seems his summer has included hooking onto Peter Forsberg's charity hockey tour, hanging out with buddies at the beach and stopping by a hockey camp (as even the biggest stars tend to do). But I'm sure the hard work is in there somewhere.

Anyway, as far as that hockey camp goes, here's a bit of the story (the relatively interesting parts), with translation courtesy of our good friend Gavlegirl:

Hockey Camp for Youngsters - Visiting NHL Star and Practicing Slap Shots

Nicklas Backstrom was this week's special guest. He brought along his awards and medals (from the SEL and his World Cup medal from 2006) and other hockey-related stuff. This young boy had his first World Cup medal around his neck, but we can't know for sure if it will be his last.

Bengt "Fisken" Olsson and Lasse Hedlund founded the camp and it is in its 28th year. This week it was visited by 140 youths, all here to practice hockey. This summer about 1,400 kids will attend from Sweden, Norway and even USA and Canada. Through the years, about 30,000 boys and girls have been here.

Every one of the kids are divided into groups that are named after the great teams in NHL like New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. They will practice hockey on the ice and off the ice, some fun and play.

"It's hard" says a player who takes a short pause and drinks some water before he goes out there again shouting, "But it is very fun to play".

Outside the rink at the Lidas Slap Shot Range (of course named after defensemen Nicklas Lidström of the Detroit Red Wings) is 12-year old Gustav Forslund practicing his slap shot. He has traveled from the north of Sweden(Umeå) just so he can be here. He says, "This is the best and funniest camp, you get a lot of friends and the coaches are great."

He has already decided what he would be when he gets older. "I want to be a pro and play in NHL." Then he proudly shows his Foppa shoe with Nick's autograph on.

Bengt "Fisken" Olsson presents their guest for the week with these words - "This is a magician with the puck and he has played one season in the NHL and it was superb. He will be a superstar!"

As Nick makes his entrance on the stage, everyone in the audience is loud and applauds. Nick tells them about his hockey career so far and gives some advice to the crowd. "You have to be stubborn, love the game but not rush into anything. You have to be patient and let it take how long it takes to reach your goals. You need to train, train and train but don't forget to have fun either."

Translated freely from an article by Linnea Kallberg by Gavlegirl for Japers' Rink

I'll Take "Potpourri" For $200, Alex

A few links have been sitting around, undeserving of their own posts (and even a mention for one of 'em), but in my never-ending effort to keep you well-informed, here they are, in descending order of importance:

• Rookie and Training Camp opening dates are set.
• Did Nicklas Backstrom nearly die at sea? Probably not, but it still sounds as if he had a relatively harrowing experience.
• I'm not sure which is easier to read - "Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Olie Kolzig" or "former Capitals goalie Olie Kolzig." Either way, Olie's off doin' good for a change.
  
• Last week it was Steve Poapst, today it's Chris Hajt's turn on "Where Is That Crappy Former Caps Blueliner Now?"

Thursday Grab Bag

We've got a handful of miscellaneous quick hitters today, but feel free to chat about whatever's on your mind in the comments.

First up is a great read over at McKeen's on Nicklas Backstrom, who isn't taking it easy after a fantastic rookie year: "I want to be a better hockey player. I have to work hard this summer. You want to be better every year, so you have to have a good summer." (h/t to SCruzer on the link).

On to YorkRegion.com for a piece on 2008 Caps draftee Stefan Della Rovere, who takes pride in what he does: "They told me I was a good pick for them in the seventh round because I’m a hard-nosed power forward type of pest. It was nice to hear that."

Next, a quick word of thanks to The Hockey News' Sam McCaig for writing an article about where Ray Emery might end up and not including the Caps in his list of possibilities. My eyes bleed every time I see "Emery" and "Washington" in the same sentence.

Finally, I noticed that the Caps are trying to keep tabs on your summer Red Rocking, so send in your pics - I'm sure they'd be happy to receive something like this Phoebe Cates classic, or perhaps something a bit more modern like this (possibly NSFW).

The Final Numbers Are In...

OK, one last post on awards voting, I promise.

In addition to the numbers I told you about last night, here are a few more vote totals:

• Alexander Ovechkin finished ninth (8-4-1-0-2) in voting for the Lady Byng Trophy and 29th (0-0-2-1-1) in Selke Trophy voting;
• Nicklas Backstrom finished 72nd (0-0-0-1-0) in voting for the Lady Byng Trophy and 66th (0-0-0-0-1) in Selke Trophy voting;
• Viktor Kozlov finished 26th (0-0-3-0-0) in voting for the Lady Byng Trophy and 25th (1-0-0-2-0) in Selke Trophy voting;
• Boyd Gordon finished 49th (0-0-1-0-0) in Selke Trophy voting; and
• Sergei Fedorov finished 66th (0-0-0-0-1) in Selke Trophy voting.

Mirtle promises to have much more on the voting breakdown later, but this shows how silly open ballot/write-in voting can be.

An argument can be made (maybe not a strong one) that Ovechkin is one of the top 29 defensive forwards in hockey. He was, after all, fifth among all forwards in plus/minus, ninth in takeaways and sixth in hits. Might Backstrom be the 66th-best defensive forward in the game? Sure. He was sixth in takeaways and had fewer giveaways than Pavel Datsyuk or Henrik Zetterberg.

But while the end result may not be completely outlandish (ok, Kozlov at 25th is), the more ridiculous part is not where they finished in the voting as much as the fact that multiple voters had a guy like Ovechkin - who got all of nine seconds of shorthanded time per game - in their top five. One writer thought that Viktor Kozlov was the best defensive forward in hockey this past season... or at least voted that way (and there are plenty of examples League-wide of this silliness, of course, but these are the handful I happen to give a crap about).

Bottom line: the NHL needs to come up with a list of, say, ten players for each award, mail out ballots with those names on them and force voters to select from that list. It'll make the final results more meaningful and the awards more reflective of the individual accomplishments they're intended to reward. But if the NHL is cool with a voter ostensibly thinking that Jiri Hudler was the fifth best defensive forward in hockey in 2007-08, they might as well leave things the way they are.

Award Voting Breakdown

Alex Ovechkin received 128 of 134 first-place votes for the Hart and a total of 1,313 points. Evgeni Malkin finished second with one first-place vote and 659 total points.

Bruce Boudreau received 31 of 74 first-place votes for the Adams and 208 points. Guy Carbonneau was second with 24 first-place votes and 196 points.

Patrick Kane received 71 of 133 first-place votes for the Calder and 1,078 points. Nicklas Backstrom was second with 30 first-place votes and 872 points.

Oh, and Ovechkin was named to his third consecutive NHL First All-Star Team, becoming the first player since Terry Sawchuk in the early 1950s to accomplish that feat in his first three seasons in the League (he received 133 of a possible 134 first-team votes in the balloting by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, presumably because some Detroit writer has a man-crush on Henrik Zetterberg).

For what it's worth, Cristobal Huet finished eighth in Vezina voting and Mike Green finished seventh in Norris voting.

CP Calls For A Sweep

If the Canadian Press is right, the Caps will be checking a lot of hardware at Customs on Friday, as the news service has predicted a clean sweep of the four awards for which employees of the organization are nominated. Let's take a look:

Hart Memorial Trophy (most valuable player to his team) - Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames was dynamite and Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins saved his team's season when Sidney Crosby was out. But this is a no-brainer. Alex Ovechkin's NHL-leading 65 goals, the most in 12 years, is the single-biggest reason the Washington Capitals made the playoffs. His year typified what the award is about - most valuable to his team.

Winner: Ovechkin.

Lester B. Pearson Award (most outstanding player as voted by fellow players) - Same finalists as the Hart. The players don't always see it the same way as the writers, often because the voting begins in mid-March for the NHLPA while the writers mostly wait until the end of the regular season. Still, it seems pretty obvious this year.

Winner: Ovechkin.

Calder Memorial Trophy (outstanding rookie) - The Chicago Blackhawks have a 66 per cent chance of winning it. Hawks centre Patrick Kane led all rookies with 72 points (21-51) in 82 games while linemate Jonathan Toews led rookies with 24 goals despite missing more than a month with a knee injury. Washington's Nicklas Backstrom was second in rookie scoring with 69 points in 82 games, his 55 assists leading all rookies. This is the toughest of them all to call, with all three fully deserving of the award. But it should be noted that Backstrom had a huge second half while helping his team make the playoffs.

Winner: Backstrom.

Jack Adams Award (outstanding coach) - Detroit's Mike Babcock posted his third consecutive 50-win season with the Wings, leading his team to the best record in the NHL. Bruce Boudreau stepped behind the Washington bench in late November and led his club to a 37-17-7 record the rest of the way while winning the Southeast Division. Guy Carbonneau of the Montreal Canadiens coached a young and rising team to the Eastern Confererence title. There is no wrong choice here.

Winner: Boudreau.

If They Win...

Kudos to the Caps PR staff for putting together a great list of the historical significances of the various outcomes when the League hands out the rest of its hardware on Thursday night. Impress your friends by dropping some knowledge on 'em and acting like it's no big thing:

If Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Bruce Boudreau all win the awards for which they're finalists...

• The Capitals would be the first team ever to have the League's most valuable player, rookie of the year and coach of the year in the same season (the Jack Adams Award was first handed out in 1974).

If Ovechkin and Backstrom win...

• It would be the second consecutive year and only the second time since 1963-64 that one team had the MVP and RoY (you know who pulled it off last year, but may not know that back in 1964 it was Montreal's Jean Beliveau (Hart) and Jacques Laperriere (Calder)).
  

If Ovechkin and Boudreau win...

• It would be the seventh time that the Adams winner was the Hart winner's bench boss (John Tortorella and Martin St. Louis were the most recent duo to fit the bill back in 2004)
  

If Ovechkin wins the Hart (if?) or the Lester B. Pearson Award (the player-voted best player)...

• He'll be the Caps' first recipient of either award;
• He'll be the first professional athlete for a Washington, D.C. team to win an MVP award in 25 years (Joe Theismann was the NFL's MVP back in 1983); and
  
• He'll be the second Russian to win either award and the first since Sergei Fedorov won both for the 1993-94 Red Wings.
  

If When Ovechkin wins the Hart...

• He'll be the first player ever to win the Hart and the Calder Trophy within a three-season span. [read that one again before proceeding]; and
  
• He'll be only the fourth player ever to have won both the Calder and Hart Trophies (Bobby Orr, Bryan Trottier and Mario Lemieux are the others).
  

If Ovechkin wins the Hart and the Pearson...

• He'll be the fourth player this decade to win both in the same season (Sidney Crosby, Martin St. Louis and Joe Sakic are the others);
• He'll be the first player since the inception of the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy to win the Hart, Pearson, Art Ross and Richard; and
  
• He'll be just the fifth player and first since Mario Lemieux in 1996 to win the Hart, Pearson and Art Ross and lead the league in goals (Phil Esposito, Guy Lafleur and Wayne Gretzky are the others).
  

If Backstrom wins...

• The Caps will be the first team with a pair of Calder winners in a three years span since Calgary did so between 1988 and 1990 (Joe Nieuwendyk and Sergei Makarov);
• He'll be the first Swede to win the Calder since Daniel Alfredsson (1996); and
  
• He'll be the second Cap to win the award (Alex Ovechkin, 2006... duh).
  

If Boudreau wins...

• He'll be the second Caps coach to win the award (Bryan Murray,1984);
• He'll be the first midseason hire to win the award since Bill Barber (Philadelphia, 2001).

If no one wins...

• I'll friggin' cry.

So now that you see the history to be made, place your bets so you can come back on Friday and say, "I told you so." Can the Caps pull off a clean sweep? Who wins and who loses?

SN Awards As A Predictor Of NHL Hardware

By now you've no doubt seen that Alex Ovechkin was named Sporting News Hockey Player of the Year (as voted by his peers) and that he and Mike Green were named to the publication's All-Star team.

You might have also seen that the Sporting News named Mike Babcock its Coach of the Year and handed Patrick Kane its Rookie of the Year (again, peer-voted). Does this make it any more or less likely that Bruce Boudreau and Nicklas Backstrom will be shutout when the NHL hands out its version of those awards in June? Let's take a look at some recent history:

• 2007 SN Player of the Year: Sidney Crosby; Hart Trophy Winner: Sidney Crosby
  
• 2007 SN Coach of the Year: Barry Trotz; Jack Adams Winner: Alain Vigneault
  
• 2007 SN Rookie of the Year: Evgeni Malkin; Calder Trophy Winner: Malkin
• 2006 SN Player of the Year: Jaromir Jagr; Hart Trophy Winner: Joe Thornton
  
• 2006 SN Coach of the Year: Lindy Ruff; Jack Adams Winner: Ruff
  
• 2006 SN Rookie of the Year: Alexander Ovechkin; Calder Trophy Winner: Ovechkin
• 2004 SN Player of the Year: Martin St. Louis; Hart Trophy Winner: St. Louis
  
• 2004 SN Coach of the Year: John Tortorella; Jack Adams Winner: Tortorella
  
• 2004 SN Rookie of the Year: Michael Ryder; Calder Trophy Winner: Andrew Raycroft
• 2003 SN Player of the Year: Peter Forsberg; Hart Trophy Winner: Forsberg
  
• 2003 SN Coach of the Year: Jacques Lemaire; Jack Adams Winner: Lemaire
  
• 2003 SN Rookie of the Year: Henrik Zetterberg; Calder Trophy Winner: Barret Jackman
  
• 2002 SN Player of the Year: Jarome Iginla; Hart Trophy Winner: Jose Theodore
  
• 2002 SN Coach of the Year: Brian Sutter; Jack Adams Winner: Bob Francis
  
• 2002 SN Rookie of the Year: Dany Heatley; Calder Trophy Winner: Heatley
  
• 2001 SN Player of the Year: Joe Sakic; Hart Trophy Winner: Sakic
  
• 2001 SN Coach of the Year: Scotty Bowman; Jack Adams Winner: Bill Barber
  
• 2001 SN Rookie of the Year: Evgeni Nabokov; Calder Trophy Winner: Nabokov
  

You get the point - there are some hits and some misses. Overall, the Sporting News was 11-for-18 as a predictor in the sample above, including 3-for-6 on Coach of the Year and 4-for-6 on Rookie of the Year. So odds are that they'll be wrong on either Coach or Rookie (they've only nailed 'em both in two of the six years), opening the door for either Boudreau or Backstrom to join Ovechkin as a big winner in Toronto.

Caps Winning, Scoring In Bushels At Worlds

Today's quarterfinal action at the Worlds was fast and furious, and for the Caps contingent, quite fruitful. Highlights from the four games include:

* Sami Lepisto scored the overtime game-winning goal to bounce the Americans from the tourney.

* Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin and Sergei Fedorov each scored in Russia's 6-0 route of Switzerland.

* Nicklas Backstrom had a helper in Sweden's win over the Czech Republic.

* Mike Green had a pair of assists in Canada's romp over Norway.

The Caps now have five of the tournament's top 25 scorers (PDF), and with Russia/Finland and Sweden/Canada set for the semis, all six of the Caps named above are still flying high.

Capital Connection Leads Russia To Victory

Alexander Semin tied the game at one, Sergei Fedorov tied it at two and Alex Ovechkin won the game with six ticks left in the third period.

Sounds like a pretty sweet Caps game... or a huge win for Russia in Group E play at the World Championships.

Thanks to Kyle for passing along the following clip of AO's game-winner, and be sure to check out the still that follows - three Caps are in the picture, but the third ain't Fedorov.