Bye Bye, Boumer

Thanks to Gavlegirl for passing along news that Josef Boumedienne has signed a one-year, two-way deal with Toronto (following in Bryan Muir's footsteps).

One wonders if the 30-year-old Boumedienne will be one of this year's "Young Guns" in TO.

"Plan The Parade" And Other Miscellany

Someone much smarter than I (the one and only JavaGeek) ran the numbers and says the Caps will be the best team in hockey next season. So what if he has Matt Pettinger still on the Caps (among other lineup innacuracies)?... It's never too early to go shopping for next summer's free agents/this winter's trade bait.... In "Where Is That Crappy Former Caps Blueliner Now?" news, Bryan "Muiracle on Ice" Muir is headed to the KHL. So is J.-F. Fortin. Scared yet, Gary?... Finally, I've always wanted to be bookmarked next to TMZ.com (not really, but many thanks nonetheless).

With Young Guns Like These, Who Needs Veterans?

"So far, the talk of Leafs camp has been the play of young guns like Simon Gamache, Tony Salmelainen, Kris Newbury, Ben Ondrus, Jiri Tlusty and Bryan Muir." ¹

Muir is 34. Only Tlusty is younger than 25.

Young guns indeed.

H/t to Mirtle on the link

Hoping For A Muir-acle On Ice In Toronto

"Bryan Muir hopes he still has something in the tank to crack the Maple Leafs defence.

"The 34-year-old, a veteran of seven different NHL teams and 97 games with the Washington Capitals the past two years, has signed a pro tryout agreement with the Leafs."

Muir hopes he still has something in the tank?

Hey, Bryan, Make Yourself Useful

As Bryan Muir's last few days as a member of the Washington Capitals wind down (he'll presumably be an unrestricted free agent on July 1), it looks like he has drawn the proverbial short straw with regards to his Players Association duties:

The NHL Players' Association has named Eric Lindros of the Dallas Stars, Shawn Horcoff of the Edmonton Oilers and Bryan Muir of the Washington Capitals to an advisory committee to begin the search for a leader to replace the fired Ted Saskin.

The players will meet with heads of unions and corporations for ideas on the qualities they should look for in candidates for the union's top job, an NHLPA spokesman said.

They are to present their findings at an executive board meeting in June.

The board will then form a search committee. It hopes to have a new union head in place in the fall.

Pick a winner, BMuir!

Friday Roundup

What do you guys want to talk about today?

Do you care who among Montreal, Toronto and the Isles gets the last playoff spot in the East, or whether Colorado can catch Calgary for the last spot out West?

How about our good buddy Jaromir tying Mike Gartner's record last night with fifteen 30-goal seasons?

What about Alex Ovechkin needing two goals tomorrow to hit an even 100 goals, 100 assists in his first two NHL seasons or Alex Semin needing a pair (if he even plays, which I'd imagine is doubtful) to hit 40 goals for the year?

Are you going to say a teary goodbye to Bryan Muir's career as a Capital or to the black sweaters tomorrow? Will it be Steve Eminger's last game as a Cap?

Basically, I've got nothing so I'll turn it over to you guys for now. The Rink... even more interactive than ever! Enjoy.

The Brilliant Musings Of J.P. You May Have Missed From The FanHouse:

• Nothing But Meaningful Games On The Schedule
• Perseverance and Dedication? Get on the Bus!

Daily Awards

• Hart: Milan Hejduk (3G, including the game-winner, +3, 10 SOG in 3-1 win at Vancouver)
• Ross: Milan Hejduk, Paul Stastny, Jaromi Iginla, Tom Poti, Thomas Vanek (3 points each)
• Norris: Tom Poti (3A, +1)
• Vezina: Nikolai Khabibulin (56 saves on 58 shots against in SO win)
• Richard: Milan Hejduk (3G)
• Calder: Paul Stastny (3A, +3, 2 SOG in 3-1 win at Vancouver)
• Aiken: Rhett Warrener (0 points, 0 SOG, -3 in 4-3 loss)

Muir-acle On Ice

According to Behind the Net's "On-Ice vs. Off-Ice +/-" Rating, Bryan Muir is the fifth-best player in the NHL (or something). The methodology is simple enough (and perhaps too simple):

[C]ompare a player's +/- to his team's +/- when he's off the ice. For example, let's say the New York Rangers score 3.87 goals per 60 minutes when Jaromir Jagr is on the ice, and allow 1.39, for an overall +/- of +2.48 goals per 60 minutes, which is very good. But when Jagr's off the ice, the Rangers +/- is -1.34. So Jagr's Behindthenet Rating - his +/- with respect to the rest of his team - is +3.82, an even better figure.

I'm sure this stat will help free-agent-to-be Muir in negotiations this summer - after all, any list that has Travis Roche at the top is one you want to be high on (the list is actually very interesting if you throw out guys who haven't played in, say, half of their team's games).

H/t to BoO

Green Out, Schultz Up

Per Tarik, Mike Green is out indefinitely (x-rays negative) and Jeff Schultz has been recalled to take his spot in the lineup. This must be doubly painful for Green, who had been selected to play in next week's YoungStars game and now, in all likelihood, will not.

On a side note, that makes three defensemen now out with broken and/or bruised feet (John Erskine and Bryan Muir being the others). Coincidence? Poor shot-blocking technique? Not drinking enough milk?

Friday Roundup/Caps 5, Habs 1

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

At 19:01 of the first period of last night's 5-1 Caps win over the visiting Canadiens, Alex Ovechkin was nailed with a double-minor for unintentionally high-sticking Montreal blueliner Andrei Markov. Almost immediately, a chorus of "Ref, you suck" rained down from the rafters at the V.C. By the middle of the second period, the fans undoubtedly held the officials in much higher regard (though I didn't here any chants of "Ref, you rule").

Waving off the Habs' apparent game-tying power-play goal because Saku Koivu had gotten tangled up with Olie Kolzig, the ref (I forget which one) sent the Canadiens' captain to the penalty box for interference. The Caps scored twice (Lawrence Nycholat and Alex Semin) on the ensuing four-on-four and that was, more or less, all she wrote. A few notes:

• I was wrong - the game didn't come down to special teams or which team started better (though the Caps did have the lead after one period). How 'bout that?
• There's been talk that when Bryan Muir comes back, he'll be a man without a spot due to Nycholat's strong play. I'm fine with that, but wonder if when John Erskine comes back whether he or Jamie Heward will be the next odd man out - Nycho's been that good (not that displacing a Heward or Erskine is great measuring stick for competence).
• AO had three assists (and on the second one, he really put the "ass" in "assist"), but is now goal-less in his last five. I'm not worried.
• Steve Eminger had two helpers and continues his (dare I say?) stronger play of late.
• It was nice to see Dainius Zubrus back in the goal column and doubly nice to see him there twice.
• Speaking of two-goal getters, is there a more non-chalant skater in the League than Alex Semin? Everything he does looks effortless, and that's only partially a compliment.
• Maybe it's the win talking, but I wouldn't be shocked if Boyd Gordon won a Selke Trophy some day.
• Mike Green's defense on the Alex Kovalev partial-breakaway was beautiful and his rush earlier in the game was also splendid, though less spectacular.
  

That's it for now. Great to get back to .500, great to get healthier and great way to get ready for Atlanta on Saturday. The roller coaster ride continues...

Daily Awards

• Hart: Alexander Steen (3G, including the game-winner, 2A, +4, 6 SOG)
  
• Ross: Alexander Steen (5 points)
  
• Norris: Ian White (2A, +6, 2 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Curtis Joseph (29-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Alexander Steen, Martin Straka (3G each)
  
• Calder: Ian White (2A, +6, 2 blocked shots)
  
• Aiken, Pt. I: Tim Thomas (L, 8 goals allowed on 31 shots against in 47:54 of work)
• Aiken, Pt. II: P.J. Axelsson (0 points, -5)
• Aiken, Pt. III: Dominik Hasek (L, 8 goals allowed on 28 shots against in 51:38 of work)
• Aiken, Pt. IV: Evgeni Nabokov (3 goals allowed on 12 shots against in 11:20 of work)
  

Bang And The Bucks (Or Depth And Dollars)

Tarik's post from this morning taps into the thin line that Caps management must walk between building for the future and playing for the present, between fiscal and human resource responsibility and appeasing a playoff-starved fan base. The related payroll issue has become all too visible over the past two games, according to Tarik, and there's palpable frustration on this point at the player/coach level:

Sometimes, during postgame interviews following a loss, I can tell a player or coach just wants to say to me, "Yes, Tarik, we struggled. But there's a very good reason. Did you look at their lineup?"

Strong play to date has accelerated the team's rebuilding plan somewhat and raised expectations both within and outside of the organization, but at what point does the team take ice time away from a developing player in favor of a newly-acquired short-term-fix veteran? At what point does the team trade away a prospect who can help them down the road for a player who can help them make a playoff push this year?

I've made no bones about my belief that the team is a second-line center and a puck-moving blueliner away from being able to not only make the playoffs, but possibly pull off a first-round upset, and I don't think the addition of either player would significantly negatively impact the progress of any prospects currently on the roster (the blueliner could take minutes away from a guy like Jamie Heward or Bryan Muir and the center would bump Kris Beech down to the fourth line and Jakub Klepis back to Hershey where he'd see more quality minutes).

The question then becomes at what cost would these acquisitions come? Certainly there's room under the salary cap (more on that later). But if the cost is in younger players - say, Brian Sutherby and/or Steve Eminger - is it worth it (I'd think a team like Phoenix would jump at the chance to move a Mike Comrie in a package for those two)? My gut says no. My head says hell no. But my heart says maybe. Neither Suts nor Emmy is signed beyond this year, so it bears watching (in other words, if these guys are part of the long-term plan, lock 'em up - if not, make sure you get something for 'em).

The money issue, on the other hand, is an easy one. It's well-established that the Caps' payroll is among the League's lowest. Would adding a moderately-priced free-agent-to-be or two for half a season or less break the bank? Of course not. And even though I have no idea what a team takes in in terms of additional revenue gained by playing even a single playoff series, I believe it's more than $0 (that's my B.A. in Economics at work right there).

I'll leave you with this thought as the Caps limp into the New Year, their lack of depth beginning to show with better than half a season left: the Caps have the fourth best ratio of Projected Salary-to-Standings Points Per Game in the entire NHL (see below). A little added salary might not help that ratio, but it might help the team make the playoffs for the first time in years.

Table 1 - Ratio [Projected Salary/(Standings Points/Game)]

ANAHEIM (26,601,099.24)
NASHVILLE (26,735,687.58)
BUFFALO (27,672,526.47)
WASHINGTON (29,717,896.23)
MONTREAL (31,571,558.45)
ATLANTA (31,702,898.25)
DETROIT (31,776,492.49)
SAN JOSE (32,945,434.18)
DALLAS (33,432,055.63)
NY ISLANDERS (33,858,886.83)
CAROLINA (35,065,999.27)
PITTSBURGH (35,783,099.00)
NEW JERSEY (36,864,807.91)
EDMONTON (37,058,161.18)
CALGARY (38,835,450.13)
NY RANGERS (38,943,101.10
BOSTON (38,953,934.26)
COLORADO (40,299,558.63)
CHICAGO (40,500,655.78)
OTTAWA (40,726,678.31)
MINNESOTA (41,521,398.05)
VANCOUVER (42,388,661.90)
TORONTO (42,973,609.54)
TAMPA BAY (44,960,695.94)
COLUMBUS (46,478,169.29)
FLORIDA (47,286,140.57)
ST LOUIS (51,236,170.67)
LOS ANGELES (51,918,274.71)
PHOENIX (54,972,001.25)
PHILADELPHIA (77,469,332.40)

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.

Friday Roundup/Gamenight: Devils @ Caps

[NHL.com Preview - Vogel's WashingtonCaps.com Preview - Official Gameday Thread]

Caps fans, brace yourself for exciting neutral-zone-clogging action as the Devils are in town (I know, Shayne, three Cups, etc.). For their part, the Caps have picked a bad time to be banged up, as they embark on a stretch of seven games in 11 days (including a pair of games against the Devils and games against the Leafs, Sabres, Habs, Rangers and Coyotes as well). They got no favors last night from their Southeast Divisional cohorts, all of whom won, with Atlanta doing the Caps the bonus kick-in-the-chops of giving away a point to Kansas City Pittsburgh. Then again, you didn't expect a playoff run to be easy, did you?

With The Donald, John Erskine and Matt Bradley all presumably out of the lineup, watch for the team's toughness to be exhibited in ways other than raw pugilism. Either that or watch the Cam Janssens and Darcy Tuckers of the world take runs at AO for the next few nights - it's up to you, Brian Sutherby et. al. And with Chris Clark (possibly) and Bryan Muir (likely) also out, other guys will have to step up - with adversity comes opportunity - and now would be a good time for guys like Ben Clymer and Steve Eminger to shine and help lead the Caps to victory. If I may ask for one more present on this, the last night of Hannukah, it would be for Matt Pettinger to return to the scoresheet. Or this. But probably a couple of goals from Princess.

I'll have more later (workload permitting), but wanted to note that I went to my first practice yesterday morning out at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex at the Ballston Commons mall. I highly recommend checking it out if you get a chance, even if it means playing hooky from work some day. An interesting (to me) epilogue to that blurb is that I found myself behind Olie Kolzig driving home. He can't live more than five minutes from me in Potomac (though I resisted the urge to full-on stalk him all the way to his house) and drives one of the sweetest cars I've ever seen (a $100+K 2005 or 2006 Maserati Quattroporte).

Daily Awards

• Southeast Division Player of the Day: Ilya Kovalchuk (G, 2A, +1, 12 SOG)
• Hart: Tim Thomas (39-save shutout win)
• Ross: Ilya Kovalchuk, Jason Pominville (3 points each)
• Norris: Paul Ranger (GWG, A, +2, 2 SOG)
• Vezina: Tim Thomas (39-save shutout win)
• Richard: Jason Pominville, Ales Kotalik, Maxim Afinogenov (2G each)
• Calder: David Backes (G, +2, 4 SOG)
• Aiken: Chris Mason (L, 5 goals allowed on 26 shots against in 39:52 of work)

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)

Lineup Shakeup

According to Mike Vogel, the Caps have shaken things up a bit in the wake of last night's loss to Atlanta. A quick recap of what's changed heading into tonight's game in Philadelphia against the desperate Flyers:

• Richard Zednik is out with an upper body injury
  
• Tomas Fleischmann has been called up and will skate with Jakub Klepis and Matt Pettinger.
  
• The "Ben Clymer as a defenseman" experiment seems to be over, as he'll return to his familiar spot from last season on the left wing of the CBS line with Brian Sutherby and Matt Bradley.
• Steve Eminger will be back in the lineup and paired with Bryan Muir. Yikes.
• Kris Beech will sit. As a result, the Caps will get killed in the faceoff circle tonight.
  
• Finally - and by far strangest of all - Alex Semin has been demoted to the fourth line, where he'll skate with Boyd Gordon and The Donald. Why is this so strange? Because Semin is first on the team in points-per-minute of ice time, second on the team in shots-per-minute and second in shooting percentage. So he gets less ice time? I assume that this is just to send a message to a slumping kid, but a scorer needs to play his way out of a slump, and sticking him on a line with a couple of slugs isn't the way to do it, in my opinion. We shall see.
  

Some suggest that these moves may be a sign of a trade coming soon. We shall see.

Rico Not-So-Suave

Per TSN.ca, Rico Fata has been waived. He is survived by Bryan Muir and Jakub Klepis.

Friday Roundup/Thrashers 4, Caps 3 (OT)

[NHL.com Recap - Official Scoresheet - Official Super Stats]

A second period that was a mirror image of Wednesday night's miserable middle frame and Brent Johnson's stellar goaltending earned the Caps a point in a fifth straight game, but in the end there was just too much Kari Lehtonen and the Caps fell to Atlanta 4-3 for the second time in six days. Read all about the game here.

Even though it's disappointing to lose a lead in the last minute of regulation and then the game minutes later, I'll take three points out of every back-to-back set of games, especially with the second game coming against a division leader who's been resting for nearly a week. Losses like this hurt, but hopefully they motivate even more.

A couple of notes from the game:

• Brian Pothier had more ice time (30:39) than Bryan Muir, Jakub Klepis, Rico Fata and Donald Brashear combined. Why is Klepis - 3:48 of ice time - even in the NHL right now?
• Brooks Laich was 1-for-8 on faceoffs and finished -2 for the game (and when the other team only scores two even strength goals, that's something). Steve Eminger was also a very stinky -2 and was Ilya Kovalchuk's slalom gate on multiple occasions.
  
• On the flip side of that coin, the entire first line and Pothier were on the ice for both Caps even strength goals and all four skaters ended up +2 for the night.
• The penalty-kill was strong again, successfully killing 6 of 7 penalties including a long 5-on-3.
  

Thread of the Day:

• Poll: We or They? How do you refer to your favorite team?
  

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• NHL.com has a great profile of Brian Sutherby up.
• Got Stats? Hockey-Recap does.
  

Daily Awards

• Hart: Marian Hossa (2G, including GTG with :33 left, A, shootout game-clincher, +2, 7 SOG, 3 takeaways, 0 giveaways, 1 blocked shot, J.P.'s jealous hatred)
  
• Ross: Sidney Crosby, Alexei Yashin, Brian Gionta, Patrik Elias, Patrick Marleau, Milan Michalek, Marian Hossa (3 points each)
  
• Norris: Sergei Gonchar (GWG in OT, A)
  
• Vezina: Mathieu Garon (40-save shutout win)
  
• Richard: Glen Murray, Patrick Marleau, Marian Hossa (2G each)
  
• Calder: Evgeni Malkin (GTG, A, +1)
  
• Aiken: Derian Hatcher (-3, 2 giveaways - though he did take the penalty on which the Flyers scored their only goal, shorthanded; Hatcher is now dead last in the NHL in +/- by a mile)
  

Rangers' Second Goal

I thought the Rangers second goal (on the awful Bryan Muir giveaway) was very close to being offside. And it was - very close, but not offside. Take a look:

Oh, and I am working on confirming that this will be Richard Zednik's official media guide photo.

Finally, did I hear correctly - did Craig Laughlin actually reference "the impressive release of Semin" on the young Russian's first tally of the year?

Rink Note: I'm leaving in a few hours to head to Toronto for the weekend and will likely not be posting again until Monday.

Thursday Roundup/Gamenight: Caps @ Rangers

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview - Official Game Thread]

So here we are at the start of another Caps season (number 32 - perhaps a good omen). Here's what the WaPo's got to say this morning, and here's the WTimes' take (along with a bonus feature on AO). But being opening night and all, I thought I'd go out on a limb and make some ridiculous predictions and projections. And away we go:

Record:

32 wins, 39 losses, 11 overtime losses (5th, Southeast Division)

Forwards:

Ovechkin, Alexander (53 goals, 54 assists)
Zubrus, Dainius (23, 35)
Semin, Alexander (22, 26)
Zednik, Richard (23, 22)
Pettinger, Matt (16, 20)
Sutherby, Brian (16, 17)
Clark, Chris (16, 20)
Laich, Brooks (11, 18)
Beech, Kris (8, 14)
Fata, Rico (8, 9)
Bradley, Matt (6, 9)
Fleischmann, Tomas (5, 9)
Brashear, Donald (6, 5)
Fehr, Eric (3, 6)
Klepis, Jakub (4, 5)
Gordon, Boyd (2, 3)

Defensemen:

Pothier, Brian (8, 28)
Clymer, Ben (9, 22)
Eminger, Steve (7, 19)
Heward, Jamie (8, 20)
Green, Mike (6, 16)
Muir, Bryan (7, 17)
Morrisonn, Shaonne (4, 14)
Erskine, John (2, 2)

Goalies:

Kolzig, Olie - 24 wins, 27 losses, 9 OTL, 3.07, .905
Johnson, Brent - 8 wins, 12 losses, 2 OTL, 3.15, .899

So there you have it. We'll revisit this in April and see just how far off I was.

Thread of the Day:

• Yelling "Oh" During The National Anthem: Yea or Nay?
  

Elsewhere 'Round the Rinks:

• The Pens have been sold and they're staying in Pittsburgh. Sure they are.
• Speaking of the Pens, happy 41st birthday to Mario Lemieux. Speaking of great French-Canadian ex-players celebrating their 41st birthday today, happy happy to Patrick Roy (who can't hear our well-wishes because he's got his three Stanley Cup rings plugging his ears).
• For more pre-season predictions, head over to The Battle of Alberta where Colby Cosh has ten predictions for the upcoming season, including the gratuitous cheap shot of the day, "The Oilogosphere will band together to raise the price of a Porsche 930 Turbo and present it anonymously to Miikka Kiprusoff." Is it just me, or can you also not help yourself from singing "in the year two-thousand" between each item on the list?

Daily Awards

• Hart: Ryan Miller (32 saves on 34 shots against through OT and 3 saves on 3 shots against in shootout win)
  
• Ross: Dany Heatley, Patrick Eaves, Ray Whitney, Darryl Sydor, J.M. Liles (2 points each)
  
• Norris: Darryl Sydor (GWG, A, +2, 3 blocked shots)
  
• Vezina: Martin Gerber (W, 33 saves on 34 shots against - and the one goal was on penalty shot!)
  
• Richard: Several players tied with one goal
  
• Calder: Loui Eriksson (G, +1)
• Aiken: Brett Clark (-2, now on pace to be -164 for the season)
  

Your 2006-07 Washington Capitals

After sending Alex Giroux to Hershey and placing Princess Pettinger on the IR (to be evaluated "on a weekly basis" - not good, and screw the Flyers for the last minute garbage that caused the injury), the opening night roster is set, and it will look a little something like this:

Lineup:
Alex Ovechkin (#8) - Dainius Zubrus (#9) - Chris Clark (#17)
Alex Semin (#28) - Jakub Klepis (#38) - Richard Zednik (#20)
Rico Fata (#22) - Brian Sutherby (#16) - Matt Bradley (#10)
Donald Brashear (#87) - Boyd Gordon (#15) - Brooks Laich (#21)

Shaone Morrisonn (#26) - Brian Pothier (#2)
Steve Eminger (#44) - Ben Clymer (#27)
Mike Green (#52) - Jamie Heward (#6)

Olie Kolzig (#37)
Brent Johnson (#1)

Healthy scratches:
Kris Beech (C, #24)
John Erskine (D, #4)
Bryan Muir (D, #47)

Injured reserve:
Matt Pettinger (#18)

The injury to Pettinger (and a banged-up Zubrus) might give Kris Beech an extended try-out for a scoring-line center job, but I'd imagine that if he can't impress before Princess returns, he might be the odd man out when the team needs to make room. Fata is also cut-worthy (and Klepis's two-way contract makes him an easy candidate for demotion, despite his strong play), but I would expect the team to go with eight defenseman on the roster for a while because a) Clymer can always move back to forward if needed, b) both Erskine and Muir are on one-way contracts and would have to clear waivers to be sent down (and recalled), c) Erskine will likely play on nights when Coach Hanlon feels the team needs a little more toughness in the lineup and d) there's a big drop-off in ability right now on the blueline after Erskine and Muir.

So there you have it - your 2006-07 Washington Capitals. They look better on paper than the 2005-06 edition, but they're still very much a work in progress. Hopefully, at the very least, that progress will be fun to watch.

UPDATE: According to Mike Vogel's Pregame Report, I was off quite a bit in my line projections, and he sees the lines shaking out like this (with Bradley, Erskine and Muir scratched):

Washington Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 9-Zubrus, 20-Zednik
28-Semin, 24-Beech, 17-Clark
21-Laich, 16-Sutherby, 22-Fata
87-Brashear, 15-Gordon, 38-Klepis

Washington Defensemen
2-Pothier, 26-Morrisonn
27-Clymer, 44-Eminger
6-Heward, 52-Green

Goaltenders
1-Johnson, 37-Kolzig

Oh well - at least I got everyone's number right (I think).

The 2006-07 Washington Capitals

Inspired by a post over at Red and Black Hockey and with the free agency period nearly upon us, I figured I'd provide a rundown of the Caps' current contract situations and my personal thoughts on what they should do between now and opening night in October.

First, a look at the 2005-06 Caps (and prospects) and their contracts (click on image to enlarge):


[Note: the above chart has been updated as the team has made roster moves]. I'm sure I've missed some players and am wrong about some others, so feel free to correct me (finding details on NHL player contracts is apparently harder than finding confidential financial information about suspected terrorists without a warrant). As you can see, I've offered my thoughts on those players above who are already signed (in black) and those who are unsigned (comments in red indicate my desire to never see the player don a Caps' sweater again, comments in green mean that I'd like to see the team re-sign the player and comments in brown indicate that the player should be re-signed for Hershey and perhaps part-time duty in Washington).

A word or two on who's no longer a Cap in GMJP's world:

• Mathieu Biron: Had his moments, but didn't strike me as particularly "hockey-smart," "hard-working" or "talented."
  
• Ivan Majesky: The "New NHL" isn't particularly kind to Ivan the Terrible. Come to think of it, neither was the "Old NHL."
  
• J-F Fortin: Word is that he's ready to sign with a European team. Too bad his stomach is so much bigger than his heart.
• Matt Bradley: I have nothing but good things to say about Bradley, a good team guy with a mean streak. There just isn't enough room up front for someone with his limited arsenal.
• Brian Willsie: Another great teammate and a hard-worker, but a minus-19 rating, even on this team, is inexcusable. He'll be cheap to qualify, so don't be surprised if he starts the season with the team but hits the waiver-wire when he can't regularly crack the lineup.
  

OK. Now that those tear-filled goodbyes are out of the way, we can get down to business. Assuming that Nicklas Backstrom is not a Capital this coming year, if the team re-signs the players I'd like to see them re-sign, the team's lines would look something like this (and I'm more concerned with the filling out a lineup card than the chemistry any given line might have, so don't complain about the combos):

Ovechkin - Zubrus - Clark
Semin - Halpern (signed with Dallas 7/5) - Zednik (signed 7/12)
Fleischmann - Laich - Free agent
Pettinger - Sutherby - Clymer

Scratches/taxi squad: Fehr, Gordon

Eminger - Heward
Morrisonn - Muir
Green - Pothier (signed 7/1)

Scratches/Taxi squad: Nycholat

Kolzig
Johnson

Now the fun part - shopping time! With the increase in the salary floor, the Caps may have to throw a few rubles around just to clear the minimum, but we'll try to keep it within reason.

First, the forwards. The Caps need a couple of relatively inexpensive veteran rightwings who can score a bit, play a little defense, aren't afraid to hit or be hit and most of all play hard. We're letting Willsie and Bradley go, so the new guys will have to be an upgrade over that pair. Who fits the bill? Realistically, how about taking a look at Mark Parrish or Jamie Langenbrunner? Then again, there's always Jeff Friesen (just kidding, relax). Oh, and forget about that other #12 coming back. Not gonna happen.

Now to the rearguards. There aren't as many openings on the blueline (not to be mistaken for "there aren't many holes on the blueline"), but the team certainly could use another top-4 or certainly top-6 defenseman, preferably one with some offensive ability. Hmmm... Three guys that would certainly be upgrades are Filip Kuba, Willie Mitchell (though he has no offensive skill of which to speak) and, depending on the asking price, Brian Pothier.

Finally, who will back up Olie Kolzig? Despite his Calder Cup playoff run, Freddy Cassivi is not up to the task. Personally, I'd welcome Brent Johnson back in a second. But if that doesn't happen... eh, throw any crappy retread back there. It doesn't matter. Ideally, the Caps would have Olie's heir apparent playing 30 games this season, but since that's not in the cards, it doesn't really matter as long as there's a legitimate NHL keeper behind Olie. Mike Dunham? Sure. Brian Boucher? Whatever.

And there you have it. If the Caps sign all of the guys I suggest, are they a playoff team? Probably not. But stranger things have happened. They'd certainly be better than they were last year, and the team will have done nothing to hinder the progress of the younger players, hurt the financial bottom line or turn off the fan base. As I see it, throw the big bucks around next summer, with 2007/08 as the target for the next playoff appearance and 2008/09 as the target date for serious contention in the Eastern Conference.

I love it when a plan comes together.

(Originally posted 6/26)

UPDATE (6/27, 5:15 p.m.): The chart has been updated to reflect the Group II (restricted) free agents to whom the Caps did and did not tender offers by yesterday's deadline.

UPDATE (6/28, 7:35 a.m.): The Caps are in negotiations with Jeff Halpern and Johnson to bring the two back, according to the WaPo, and according to the WTimes, the team is close to a deal with the latter.

UPDATE (7/4, 8:20 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed Brent Johnson, signed UFA defenseman Brian Pothier, bought out blueliner Nolan Yonkman's contract, are about to lose Jeff Halpern to the Stars and saw Brian Willsie sign with the Kings.

UPDATE (7/5, 9:00 p.m.): It's official - Halps has signed with the Stars. In addition, six players have filed for salary arbitration (just about everyone who was eligible to take the team to arbitration did).

UPDATE (7/6, 5:30 p.m.): The Caps have signed defenseman Sasha Pokulok, the team's first pick, 14th overall, in the 2005 Entry Draft.

UPDATE (7/10, 5:20 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed defenseman Shaone Morrisonn, who had been a restricted free agent. Also, it appears that first-round pick (fourth overall) Nicklas Backstrom will be staying in Sweden for the 2006-07 season.

UPDATE (7/12, 6:45 p.m.): The Caps have re-aquired rightwing Richard Zednik from the Montreal Canadiens in return for a third-round pick in 2007.

UPDATE (7/13, 9:30 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed center Brooks Laich and Hershey-bound goaltender Frederic Cassivi.

UPDATE (7/14, 2:30 p.m.): The Caps have signed Donald Brashear. Caps fans rejoice. Also, the Caps (or Hershey - I'm not sure it really matters) signed forwards Alexandre Giroux and Chad Wiseman.

UPDATE (7/15, 6:20 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed defenseman Steve Eminger and forwards Boyd Gordon and Kris Beech.

UPDATE (7/17, 7:45 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed centers Brian Sutherby and Rico Fata.

UPDATE (7/18, 9:10 p.m.): The Caps have signed left wing Quintin Laing.

UPDATE (7/21, 5:00 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed left wing Ben Clymer to a three-year deal. The team also signed minor league tough Pete Vandermeer.

UPDATE (7/26, 9:00 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed right wing Matt Bradley to a two-year deal. The team also re-signed minor league defenseman Dean Arsene.

UPDATE (7/31, 7:15 p.m.): The Caps have re-signed left wing Matt Pettinger to a three-year deal.

UPDATE (9/8, 10:20 p.m.): The Caps have announced their roster for training camp.