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).

NHL Network (Finally) Gives Credit Where It's Due

Kudos to the NHL Network for righting a wrong by giving Tuvan Hillbilly credit (warning: will launch NHLN's goofy media player) for unearthing and translating the Alex Ovechkin "temple of poetry" video, and for delivering the news via our favorite messenger...

Disappointing Headline Of The Day

Unfortunately, this refers to the wrong Milbank.

H/t to a semi-anonymous reader

Still More Ovechkin Insanity

Thanks go out once again to Tuvanhillbilly for passing along yet another Alex Ovechkin gameshow clip, this time one that involves giant Bill Clinton and Gary Bettman dopplegängers and ends with Ovie in a speedo and knee-highs. I swear I've had this nightmare before.

Oh, and TH, sorry our buddy Carrie and her friends ripped you off - we'll see if we can get her to make it up to you somehow. Any suggestions?

Carrie + Ovie = Post

Any time you've got Carrie Milbank and Alex Ovechkin together, we're going to link to it. Lock.

Carrie Milbank: The Japers' Rink Interview

Late last month, I posted a few words on and a picture of Carrie Milbank, the lovely and talented host of NHL.com's creatively named "The Hockey Show." Judging from the traffic that post generated, her boffo interview over at Orland Kurtenblog, and the fact that there are a multiple active threads dedicated to her on the Washington Capitals official message board, I think it's safe to say that Ms. M is on the verge of blowing up (if she hasn't already).

In that interview with Kurtenblog, Carrie noted of her online admirers that "for every dozen or so cool emails there's one or two creepy ones that seep through." Whether or not our initial email to her was one of those may never be known, but either way she was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. In fact, we're now "friends" (by the 21st Century definition of the word). Take that, high school.

Anyway, on to the interview (click any of the pics to enlarge 'em), and be sure to head over to CarrieMilbank.com if you just can't get enough Carrie.

Japers' Rink: Alright, let's get the obvious one out of the way first - why haven't your bosses at People.com put the mustachioed Sidney Crosby on "Who Looked Hot This Week"?

Carrie Milbank: If the show was called "Who Looked Hot On The Ice This Week Eh?" then I'm sure the Wizard of Croz would be right up there with the best of them. But in true "People" fashion the show is all about, well, fashion. Hope is not lost for Sidney, however, all he has to do is take a cue from Mike Comrie and Hilary Duff. We featured "Duffrie" a few weeks ago... aren't they just precious?

JR: You grew up in Houston, which isn't exactly known for its rich hockey tradition (no offense to the Aeros). Is "The Hockey Show" just a gig, or are you a fan?

CM: Yup, I love my hometown but there are 2 things I was deprived of growing up in Houston - snow and hockey. I had to play "Blades Of Steel" on my Nintendo to get my fill of faceoffs and fist fights – that’s where I became a hockey fanatic and although I strayed away for a few years to fulfill my dream of becoming an NFL Cheerleader, I am now back in the hockey world in full force and loving every minute of it – the fans are incredible, the players are passionate, and I’ve been honored to interview some of the greatest living legends like Scott Young, Mark Messier, Scotty Bowman, the list goes on. I respect the sport but I can’t get enough of the intense competition. I watch a lot of different sports when I’m at home and hockey is the only one where I actually yell at the TV without even thinking about it. As far as “The Hockey Show” gig goes, I’m lucky to have landed it.

We'll give Carrie a pass on "greatest living legends like Scott Young."

JR: As a former NFL cheerleader (team captain and two-time MVP, no less) and someone currently covering the NHL, what do you think of ice girls or some form of cheer squad at hockey games? What "works" about cheerleaders for football that does and doesn't work for hockey?

CM: Having cheerleader blood shasaying through my veins, I wholeheartedly support my fellow sisters in spandex. As a hockey fan I don't ever want the action to end, but when it does I have to admit I can't keep my eyes off the cheerleaders. Gritty sports and hot girls will always go hand in hand but hockey is like the anti-football when it comes to cheerleaders. Think of all the limitations: permanently nippy sidelines (or worse yet NO sidelines), not-so-dancer-friendly places to perform (your choice of slippery ice or the corner of the mezzanine behind the beer cart), and fans who would rather just see a good ol' fashioned fight already (I know because I'm one of them). Hockey cheerleaders must really love what they do to overcome all of those obstacles with a perfect tan and a smile... high kicks all around ladies, keep up the good work!

JR: You have TV hosting experience in all sorts of programming. In a perfect world, what are you doing five or ten years from now? Whose career would you most want to emulate?

CM: Very few people out there are covering sports one day and entertainment the next, so I’d like to be a chameleon doing both as long as I can. If I were to follow in someone else’s footsteps I would have to choose one genre or the other so I’d rather pave my own way. I’ve been in the TV biz for about 5 years and so far I’ve just been going with the flow which seems to be working for me… if I start planning now, I might mess up my mojo.

JR: If we could turn you into the next Erin Andrews, would you want that?

CM: Who? :)

JR: Oh, snap. What has the Internet meant to and for your career?

CM: Best thing about the Internet is that it connects me to fans – not necessarily “Carrie Milbank fans” but other real people who share my passion for hockey or tennis or fashion or whatever. Thankfully the Web has created a lot more work for TV Hosts, but television and the Internet are steadily becoming one in the same and I’m excited to be at the forefront of technology.

JR: I'd have my blogger card revoked if I didn't ask what your thoughts are on credentialing bloggers and giving them the same access afforded members of the traditional media, so consider the question asked.

CM: Bloggers absolutely deserve all-access! Yeah there’s a lot of crap on the Internet but there’s a lot of credibility out there too… take out “the Internet” and replace it with “TV” in the statement above and it still rings true. Nothing is “traditional” anymore, especially in the media.

JR: Rapid fire time – Ovechkin or Crosby?

CM: Both of them at once... that is, playing on my fantasy hockey team of course.

JR: Carrie Fisher or Carrie Underwood?

CM: Fisher! Princess Leia could kick American Idol's ars. Besides, I could never date a Dallas Cowboy.

JR: Best NHL interviewee?

CM: The ones who speak English.

JR: Most embarrassing hockey-related moment?

CM: Ironically this happened when I was an NFL Cheerleader. We were promoting the Houston Texans with a performance during an Aeros game and they laid out a huge tarp on the ice for us to dance on. Guess what geniuses – a plastic sheet laid on top of ice still slides around all over the ice. Imagine 35 freezing cheerleaders (because of course we were wearing barely more than a bikini in the middle of an ice rink) wiping out one by one on rubber ice. Just one of the reasons why Houston and Hockey do not go together.

JR: Better interview – athletes or actors?

CM: It really depends on the individual person, but most of my experience has been this: actors answer with their head, athletes answer with their heart.

JR: Favorite adult beverage?

CM: Ketel One Screwdriver

JR: Clean Coal, Nuclear, or Renewables?

CM: How about Wind Power? I know plenty of people who are full of hot air.

JR: Last song you listened to (please say it's Europe's "Carrie")?

CM: "Caaaaaaaaaaarrie"

JR: Liar. Embarrassing celebrity crush?

CM: It's a toss-up between Stephen Colbert and Seth MacFarlane. Brilliant. Hilarious. Yummy.

JR: Milbank-centric question - is Dana a girl's or a guy's name?

CM: I say it's a girl's name (the Carveys must have been drinking from the same bottle as the Milbanks) but you could ask the exact same question about my first name so who am I to judge. The Milbank family tree is littered with wacky names and since I'm sure we must be related somewhere along the line, I don't feel too bad about giving Dana a hard time. I'm going to name my first kid Flexor Gigantus. She'll probably be a hockey player.

JR: Will Roger Federer ever beat Rafael Nadal in Paris?

CM: Never say never. Federer is no doubt one of the greatest tennis players of all time, but Rafa's on a roll right now. The king of clay is fresh off a grass-court win at the Queens Club (1st grass-court tournament win for a Spaniard in over 3 decades) so the burning question for me is, can Nadal beat Federer at Wimbledon? There's a must-read article on Nadal in this month's TennisWeek Magazine by the way (shameless plug I know).

Carrie knows her tennis.

JR: Guilty pleasure?

CM: Funyuns

JR: Easier to be the interviewer or the interviewee?

CM: Interviewer! This is taking way too much brainpower.

JR: Dream product endorsement?

CM: Diet Coke in exchange for a lifetime supply... I am pathetically addicted.

JR: Favorite websites?

CM: Japers' Rink.

JR: Who wins the Cup next year?

CM: Ask me after the draft.

JR: Any last words?

CM: I Heart Japers' Rink

JR: I'm blushing. Thanks, Carrie. Let's do it again sometime?

CM: Definitely.

The Hottie Hockey Show

Why haven't any of you donkeys told me about NHL.com's "The Hockey Show" before today? More to the point, why haven't you told me that there was a (supposedly) daily online hockey program co-hosted by Carrie Milbank?

If you don't know who Carrie Milbank is (and I didn't until ten minutes ago), here are a bunch of words telling you about her impressive career in journalism. But as a picture is worth a thousand of those words... well, here you go:

Click to enlarge (the photo)
If that blouse doesn't scream "Peabody Award, here I come," I don't know what does (don't get any ideas, Katie Couric). And lest you think I snagged that image from some filth-peddling website (yes, there are a couple out there), it's actually from CarrieMilbank.com (where there are more pics that are as sure to remind you of great moments in journalism as this one of Dan Rather).