Saturday, July 26, 2008

Cap hit numbers

These all the players under contract for next season.

Ovechkin- 9.538,462
Nylander- 4.875
Semin- 4.6
Fedorov- 4
Clark- 2.63
Kozlov- 2.5
Backstrom- 2.4
Laich- 2.06
Brashear- 1.2
Bradley- 1
Fehr- .735
Fleischman- .725
Gordon- .725
Steckel- .512
Laing- .475


Green- 5.25
Poti- 3.5
Pothier- 2.5-He’s on LTIR.
Morrisonn- 1.975
Alzner- 1.675
Jurcina- .881
Erskine- .537

Theodore- 4.5
Johnson- .812

Total number- 59.592

So that’s about 2.9 million over the cap, but Pothier is on LTIR, so they can exceed the cap by 2.5 million(pothier’s cap hit). So before the start of the season .4 million needs to be cut. Laing’s cap hit is .475 he’ll probably be sent to Hershey and the Caps will be .075 under the cap. I hope my math is right.


There’s more players who are under contract, like Giroux, but they are minor league players. I included Alzner because there is good chance he will make the team. Guys like Bouchard, Godfrey, and Varlamov are all under contract but they will most likely start the season in Hershey and they won’t count agaisnt the Cap. Also some of the players like Laing, and Erksine could end up in Hershey.

Morrisonn signed.

Defenceman Shaone Morrsionn was awarded a 1 year, 1.975 million dollar contract today at arbitration. He is signed and under contract for next season. It appears that the Caps roster is complete. I'll do a run down of all the cap numbers later.

I think the price is a tad bit to high, but I can live with it. Morrison is 25 years old, and scored 1 goal and had 9 assist last year. He was 3rd in Ice Time for defenceman.
"The salary arbitration case for Capitals defenseman Shaone Morrisonn has been decided. The arbitrator has ruled that the 25-year-old blueliner will receive a one-year contract for $1.975 million for the upcoming 2008-09 NHL season."

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Training Camp date announced.

"The Washington Capitals’ 2008 training camp will open Saturday, Sept. 20, at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va. A group of the team’s young players and prospects will take part in rookie camp the week prior to the start of training camp, with those workouts beginning Sunday, Sept. 14. All on-ice sessions during rookie camp and training camp are open to the public and free of charge."

"Rookie camp will conclude with a game against the Philadelphia Flyers rookies on Thursday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m. at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. The game will be free of charge but will require a ticket – the Capitals will announce details on obtaining tickets at a later date."

So training camp starts in 59 days, and rookie camp starts in 53 days. The season starts in 79 days.

http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=368902

Monday, July 21, 2008

Re-watch the playoff series against Philly.

The NHL network is showing the Caps playoff series against the Flyers this week. I know it will be diffulcult to watch, but the games in the series were great. If you don't have NHL network then, sorry.
Game 1-Monday, 7:00 p.m.
Game 2-Wednesday, 1:00 p.m.
Game 3-Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
Game 4-Thursday, 7:00 p.m.
Game 5-Friday, 7:00 p.m.
Game 6-Saturday, 7:00 p.m.
Game 7-Sunday, 7:00 p.m.
Now the NHL network will be showing all the games twice, so if you miss it during the first showing don't worry, you still might be able to catch the game. The series was good, so make sure you watch it, and it will be cool to watch the fans "Rock the Red"


Semin interview

It's the middle of summer, and not that much news going on, so I'll share these interviews from an Ovechkin fansite.

He's some interesting notes from the Semin one.

Q. Was it a completely different Capitals team than now?
AS. When I came to Capitals the team was much stronger than now because there were practically all stars. Prior to that they lost in playoffs, in the quarterfinals, I think.They lost in shootouts or something, I don't remember exactly. Jagr, Bondra, Gonchar were playing.. There were a lot of famous players. But at the end of the season they all were traded. And the team was left with nothing. For two years until Ovechkin came, it was a scene of great stagnation. Now, yes, we are a young team, a good, fast team. Exactly what is needed for these times.

Q.Were you arguably better at the world championship than when played for Capitals?
As. At first my season started as a failure. I was injured. I didn't play for 2.5 months. And then everything went on. When there were 15 games left before the playoffs, I started to get in shape. And the worlds were later. I peaked. And it all got together

Q.Who is number one in the NHL?At the moment?
AS. I'd select Pasha Datsyuk. This is a player I like for a very long time. He has the best hands.

Q.In addition to Washington Capitals, is there any NHL team you wouldn't mind to leave to?
AS. The same Detroit, for example?I am not a fan of changing the environment. I am such a person that I am satisfied with everything in Washington. Never thought about leaving. And how to leave? You decided to play for another team and you leave? There is no such thing in NHL. If they trade you, they won't ask where you want to.

Q.Do you have a lady in your heart?
AS. I don't.

Q. You are an enviable bachelor, rich, handsom, young, with the future.
AS. So far I have not met anyone.

Q. You said before that you were renting a house in Washington.
AS. Now I got the house. I bought it this year. A lot easier now

Q. How many floors?
AS. Three.

Q. Are you satisfied with the land?
AS. Over there the house prices depend on the size of the land.It depends also on location, in what part of the town. I live next to the training arena. 15 minutes away. I am happy with everything.

Q. And who is Capitals champion in poker?
AS. Backstrom is pretty good. But its different all the time. Once one guy will win, then another guy, then another.

Q. Do you have a bodyguard on ice?
AS. Brashear is managing it. But he is not my bodyguard, he is everyone's.

Q. Who was your idol?
AS. Pavel Bure. I was 10 years old, I'd get up early on Saturday morning, watched NHL games. Back then they showed those games from over the ocean in the mornings. My Dad would wake me up. I enjoyed watching how he played.


The rest of the interview can be found here. It's long, but really good and funny. There's still some great stuff in the interview.




Sunday, July 20, 2008

Ovechkin and the captaincy.

With the recent announcement about Jonathan Toews being named captain of the Chicago Blackhawks, the talks of when Ovechkin will get the "C" have started back up again. Naming young "star" players captain seems to be the trend around the league now-a-days. Crosby was named captain of Pittsburgh 2 years ago and now Toews with Chicago. I don't have a problem with teams naming young players captain, but that player must me the leader in the locker room. Guys must look up to that player in the locker room, and I think Crosby and Toews are the leaders of their teams so it's ok.

It's a different case with Ovechkin. Yes Ovechkin is a leader in the locker room, but he's not "the" leader, at least not yet. I think everybody knows the story of how Ovechkin was offered the captaincy after his rookie year and he turned it down beause he didn't think he was ready. I agreed with him, and I thought that it shows that he's a mature kid, and he knows what's best for the team. So these past couple of years, Chris Clark and Olaf Kolzig have been "the" main leaders on the team. That's why Clark got the "C" the past 2 years. Kolzig has moved on and is now in Tampa Bay. The Caps also resigned Sergei Fedorov and he'll be one of "the" leaders in the locker room. Ovechkin will get an "A" this year, just like he's had the past couple of years, and I think that's perfect for him. There's no need to rush him into the captaincy role. He's going to be in Washington for the rest of carrer. His time will come, let him improve his english, and get more playoff experience, and then he'll be ready.

I know a lot of the fans want Ovechkin to be the captain because he's the best player on the team, and he's making hockey a bigger sport in D.C. but doing that stuff doesn't make you a captain. You have to earn the captaincy in the locker room.

My predictions for the C's and A's this year.

Clark-"C"
Fedorov-"A"
Ovechkin-"A"

If Clark is still hurt, then you go with 3 A's.

Fedorov-"A"
Ovechkin-"A"
Poti/Brashear-"A"

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Update of the offseason

Ok. I'm going to be doing a big update of everything that has happened this offseason.

May 22-Karl Alzner signs entry level deal-3 years, cap hit of 1.675 million per year.



May 27-Matt Bradley resigns-3 years, 1 million per year.

Quote from Bradley

"I wanted to stay here, obviously," he said on the phone this afternoon. "We had to come together on money, but the three-year part was a big key for me. I wanted -- not security -- but to know where I was going to be. There's never security in hockey. You always have to play like it's your last game, but it's nice to know where you're going to be for a while."

What I think of the signing-I'm glad Bradley is coming back. He's a heart and soul type player. He's great in the locker room, and he has valuable leadership quality's. He's a demon on the forecheck and fits in with Boudreua's system.
Bradley's stats last year- 7 goals, 11 assist, 18 points, 74 PIMS, and 5th on the team with 126 hits.
June 20-Caps trade Steve Eminger, and 84th overall pick(Jacob Deserres) to the Flyers for the 27th overall pick, the Caps then choose defenceman John Carlson.
Quote from Eminger.
"It didn't hurt that the Flyers were the last team I played against," he said. "If there was one team I wanted to go to, that's it. It's hard to leave the friends that I've made in Washington. But hockey-wise, I needed a new start. And Philadelphia is the perfect place for it."

What I think of the trade- I think that we won this trade. Mcphee turned a #8 d-man into a first round pick. Carlson is a big, strong and tough D-man. He's a right-shot which is important.
July 1-Mike Green resigns-4 years, 5.25 million per year.

Quote from Green's agent.

"It took a long time, but this puts him in a position where he's competitive with many of his peers who are signing similar deals," said Don Meehan, one of Green's representatives. "He's in the same class as Jeff Carter, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, he's in a class like those people."

"There was some discussion of a longer term deal, but we didn't get to numbers that we felt would be relevant for him," Meehan added. "I think by doing a four year deal, it's in the best interest of both sides. In four years, we'll all have a better perspective of what we should be doing on a longer term deal."

What I think of the signing-I like that the deal is 4 years. When the contract ends Green will still be a RFA, so if he does decided to sing with someone else 4 years from now we will get compensation which is up to 4 draft picks. The money is a bit high, but it's what we had to do to keep Green.

Green's stats last year- Lead the league in goals for defenceman with 18 goals, 38 assist, and 3rd on the team with 56 points. Also lead the team in Time on ice, with 23:38 minutes per game.
July 1-Jose Theodore signs with the Caps-2 years, 4.5 million per year.
Quote from Theodore.
"I struggled but I feel like I have my game back on," he said. "It was two things: confidence, obviously, and just working really hard, I think. Sometimes There were a couple distractions on and off the ice, and from there you loose confidence a little bit. But when you reach the lows in your career and you bounce back up it makes you a better person and a better players. My confidence is as good as it's ever been, so I know I can play at a high level for a long, long time. "

What I think of the signing-Obviously the Caps would have liked to have kept Cristobal Huet, but Huet left for more money. Back to Theodore, I think the signing is great, 2 years is perfect. 4.5 million is less then what we were going to give Huet, so we saved some money.

Theodore's stats last year- 28-21-3 record, with 3 shut-outs, 2.44 GAA, and a .910 save percentage.
July 3-Keith Aucoin signs with the Caps-2 years, .4875 million(487,500) per year. Two-way deal.
What I think of the signing-Aucoin is just a depth signing. He'll end up playing in Hershey(AHL) next year. He's a really talented player in the AHL but he's not big enough to make it in the NHL. The only way he'll play with the Caps this year is if there are injury's. I like the signing because it's going to make Hershey a whole lot better.

Aucoin's stats last year- 5 goals, 8 assist, 13 points in 38 games. He also had 45 points in 38 games in the AHL.
July 9-Brooks Laich resigns-3 years, 2.067 million per year

Quote from Laich's agent.

"Well, everyone always wants more money. It is a fair deal and it is within Brooks' market value. There is some term there so there is some certainty for Brooks going forward. He is happy to get the deal done because he sees the team as an exciting, up-and-coming team and wants to be a part of it."

What I think of the signing-I like Laich a lot, but the price is a bit high for him, but I expect him to get better. I don't think he's reached his full potential yet. I think he can score more and put up more points. I like the 3 years part, but it's a little risky because we also gave Matt Pettinger a 3 year contract after he scored 20 goals, and that didn't turn out well.

Laich's stats last year- 21 goals, 16 assist, 37 points, 3rd on the team in PP goals with 8 goals. He also lead the team in short-handed goals, he had 2.
July 10-Eric Fehr resigns-1 year .735 million(735,000) per year
Fehr's stats last year- 1 goal, 5 assist, 6 points in 23 games
July 11-Boyd Gordon resigns-1 year .725 million(725,000) per year
Gordon's stats last year- 7 goals, 9 assist, 16 points, in 67 games
July 14-Sergei Fedorov resigns-1 year, 4 million per year

We are happy to have Sergei back,” said vice president and general manager George McPhee. “What he brings to the club extends beyond the rink. He is a leader and a player that everyone on our team wanted back. We look forward to him helping us compete this upcoming season.”

What I think of the signing-I like that Fedorov is returning. I think that he is going to have a huge impact of this team for many, many years after he's gone. He's going to influence all the young players. Everybody is going to learn from him, and he's a good person to learn from. The 4 million dollars is a little to much, but we really needed Fedorov to return.

Fedorov's stats last year- 11 goals, 30 assist, 41 points in 68 games. In the 18 games with the Caps last year Fedorov had 2 goals and 11 assist.

That's everybody we've signed this offseason so far. Defenceman Shaone Morrisonn filed for arbitration, so he will be resigned to a one-year contract. His arbitration date is set for July 24th.

Also the Caps had 3 UFA's who signed with other teams. Huet, Kolzig and Cooke. He's what they signed for.

Huet- 4 years, 5.6 million per year signed with Chicago. I know most of you have heard the story before about how we offered Huet the money he wanted but decided to sign with Chicago for more money.

Kolzig- 1 year, 1.5 million per year, with a cap hit of 2.5 million because of bonuses. Signed with Tampa. Olie still wants to play hockey, and he has a chance to be the starter, but he'll probably back-up Mike Smith.

Cooke- 3 years, 1.2 million per year. Signed with Pittsburgh. I think we could have keep Cooke at that price, but we wouldn't have been able to keep Bradley then. Mcphee thought Bradley fit in with the team better.
So that's everything that has happened this offseason. I hope I didn't leave anything out.
Tomorrow I'm going to run some numbers and give you guys the cap hit for everybody and figure out how much cap space is left.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Full 2008-2009 schedule

We have two 5 game road trips, and we end the season 3 straight on the road but we also have a stretch were we play 9 out of 10 at home.

There are a couple of stretch's were we play a lot on the road, but the 9 home games in 10 games will make up for that. The 2008-09 schedule features just 13 sets of back-to-back games, the fewest the team has had in a number of years. After their final pair of back-to-back games on Mar. 16-17, the Caps will close out the season with a leisurely pace of 10 games in 25 days. Contrast that to the stretch in late November and early December in which Washington will play 14 times in 24 days.

Interesting games. November 10th-Olie comes back home. December 20th-1st time facing Flyers. January 31st-Face Detroit

Also he's a explanation of how the new schedule will work this year:

"The NHL tweaked the overall schedule this year so teams would play their divisional rivals only six times instead of eight, which had been customary the past three seasons. In doing so, every team in the league will play one another this year and teams will also play three non-conference opponents at home and on the road. Washington's three non-conference opponents that they will play twice are Columbus, Los Angeles and Nashville."

http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app?page=TeamSchedule&service=page

Remember to "ROCK THE RED"

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Caps host Chicago in home opener




"The Capitals will raise their 2007-08 Southeast Division championship banner prior to their home opener."
"Chicago signed Cristobal Huet, who will return to Verizon Center after helping backstop the Capitals to a Southeast Division title last season."

This is going to be fun. Raising the banner and "Rocking the Red" will be awesome. Huet will be scared. His first game in a Chicago jersey is going to be agaisnt us, in our arena. The atmosphere is going to be crazy. Look out Huet.
Remember, "ROCK THE RED"

Monday, July 14, 2008

Pre-season schedule announced


Date Opponent Time


Wed. Sept. 24 at Carolina 7 p.m.


Thurs., Sept. 25 vs. Carolina 7 p.m.


Sat., Sept. 27 at Boston 4 p.m.


Mon., Sept. 29 at New Jersey 7 p.m.


Wed., Oct. 1 at Philadelphia 7 p.m.


Fri., Oct. 3 vs. Philadelphia 7 p.m.


Sun., Oct. 5 vs. Boston 5 p.m.



So we face Philly twice and Carolina twice. Last year agaisnt Philly Semin hurt his ankle because Dennis Gauthier pushed him onto the back of the net. We need to rest all our starters agaisnt Philly because they are dirty.

Fedorov re-signs


It's offical now. Sergei Fedorov has re-signed with the Washington Capitals. 1 year 4 million per year.




I don't mind the signing. It's only 1 year, and we'll still be able to re-sign everybody so It's all good. Feds brought a lot to this team, more than any of us know. He's going to have a big impact on Semin.


Also, Sorry for not updating the blog during the busy July 1 day. I've been on vacation for the past 2 weeks and didn't have time to update.