Game 3 the Penguins came alive, they were still out shot, but they certainly were NOT manhandled in any way, and of course "Sid the Kid" played to the level he's capable of which on anybody's scale is awesome. Marc-Andre Fluery was again excellent as well with a save percentage of 94.1% while facing 34 shots compared to the human numbers of 87.5% while facing 24 shots by Chris Osgood at the other end of the rink. The Pens took two more penalties than they had power plays but they gave up only one power play goal to Detroit on their 5 chances. Penguins' coach Michel Therrien used the last line change well and the +/- numbers of Crosby, Malkin and Hossa bear that out. So what's in store tonight?
Both teams had a day off on Thursday, the Red Wings went to Nemocolin Woodlands (a great get away not at all too far from DC for a great weekend escape) did some relaxing, some bonding and some marketing for the NHL. The Penguins apparently took a real day off Crosby told the MSM he laid around, mostly in bed, apparently alone getting rest. Hal Gill indicated he lounged and spent the day in Pittsburgh with his family going out to lunch. The point being both teams got a day to rest and relax on Thursday and were back at practice on Friday. For the Red Wings Tomas Holmstrom sat out Friday's practice but indicated he intends to play. As far as intangibles for the Pens, more sadly, Kris Letang received word that his best friend, Vancouver Canuck, Luc Bourdon was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident , Letang has indicated he is shocked by the news and had trouble focusing on hockey yesterday. All of this means both teams should have a high energy level in general but both also have a few potential "chinks" in their armour. Expect the Red Wings to again work very hard at "bottling up" Crosby and Hossa, as well as Malkin; and expect Coach Therrien to again make good use of the last line change to get them freed up some more than they were in Games 1 and 2. The things to watch are potentially elsewhere - for the Red Wings how will Johan Franzen react, his second game back? and how will Holmstrom's injury slow him down? will a rested Chris Osgood return to the impenetrable force in the Red Wings' net he was in games 1 and 2? - for the Penguins, how will Hal Gill handle the Red Wings in front of the Pens net? will Kris Letang be able focus on the game and play the inspired hockey of which he is capable? and will the Pens figure out how to at least match the Red Wings in shots on goal?
(Ed Note: There will be a moment of silence tonight before the game for Luc Bourdon, as the father of an 18 year old son, I can only imagine the grief and depth of the nightmare this untimely death is for his family. My heart truly goes out for them, no father or mother should ever have to deal with what they are going through. They are in our thoughts and prayers and I hope they are in yours as well.)
Stay tuned Caps Hockey Fans, tonight's game is on the same "bat station" at the same "bat time" as Wednesday night's - NBC. Tune in to see how this plays out, after all, it's the only hockey we've got available till Camp Opens at Kettler or even better, the pre-season starts.
Can't wait till next season. LETS GO CAPS!!!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Detroit Blanks Pittsburgh Again (3-0) Take 2 - 0 Series Lead
Last night, Detroit again controlled the tempo and play of the game for 60:00 minutes and beat Pittsburgh to take a 2 - 0 lead in the Stanley Cup finals. Once again Marc - Andre Fluery played an excellent game in net for the Penguins and delivered a save percentage of 91.2% on the 34 shots the Red Wings sent his way. Unfortunately for the Penguins, Chris Osgood again stopped 100% of the 22 shots the Penguins managed to take.
The Red Wings dominated most aspects of the game despite coming up behind or only matching the Pens in several statistical categories. The Penguins didn't get their first shot on net until over 12 minutes of the first period had been played. The only aspect of the Red Wings game that didn't hit on all cylinders was their power play. The Wings didn't score a power play goal all night despite having a man advantage for 13:20 of the game. The series now goes to Pittsburgh where the Penguins haven't lost since February 24th. It will again be interesting to see what adjustments and line match-ups the Penguins try now that they have the last line change. The Pens need to make some major changes to their game plan in order to turn things around because right now the Red Wings look like the much better team. (Ed Note: Maybe I should leave the prognostication to Peerless.) The nice aspect of this story no matter who you are rooting for? Thirty-five (35) year old, Chris Osgood is only the fourth goalie, all-time, to start a Stanley Cup Finals with two straight shut-outs. Not bad for a guy who came into the net in relief in the first round of this year's playoffs. Perhaps Osgood's performance is a reason, thirty eight (38) year old Olaf Kolzig believes he can still be a dominant, number 1 goalie in the NHL next season. Of course it might also be cause to hope another thirty-something goaltender might be able to anchor the Washington Capital's drive to their first Stanley Cup next year... In any case if the Pens can't make some effective adjustments in the next two days and Osgood and his teammates keep playing the kind of hockey they've shown fans in the first two games, this might be a very short series.
On the Washington Caps news front, for all those folks clogging up the Capital's Insider with comments about what GMGM should have done before or instead of signing Karl Alzner last week; please note the following facts:
1) Alzner was the Caps number 1 pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and as such the Caps had until June 1st (this coming Sunday) to get him under contract.
2) By virtually all accounts and scouting reports the 19 year old is the best Defensemen who did NOT play in the NHL last year - in other words a tru "blue chip prospect" and the Caps would have been crazy to let him get away.
3) The three year entry level contract Alzner and the Caps signed is apparently very similar to the deal Caps Defenseman Mike Green signed three years ago (Green's deal averaged $833K/year).
Most of the folks blog posters and commenters feel the Caps should have signed before they signed Alzner, will indeed be signed. It's likely the Caps have now started serious discussion with many of them now that the IIHF Worlds are over. In most cases the posts involve Mike Green and Christobel Huet, or the Caps Goaltending picture in general. Some of these posts are obviously based on uneducated emotional reactions such as:
- One recent poster indicated he felt the Caps should try desperately to trade Tom Poti away - seems kind of ridiculous when you look at and understand Poti's role on the team and understand the 31 year old led the Caps in Ice Time, had a +/- rating of +9 often against the oppositions best forwards, and often was a stalwart on the penalty killing units. (Poti is under contract through July 2011 with an annual Salary Cap Hit of $3.5M - which will probably be the average or a steal for a top 2/to 4 defenseman after this year's free agent signings.)
- Other posts and comments indicate many do NOT understand what the word Restricted means before the words Free Agent in the terms of the current NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Shoanne Morrisson; Mike Green, Brooks Laich, Steve Emminger, Eric Fehr, Boyd Gordon, along with minor leaguers Stephen Warner and Jamie Hunt are all RESTRICTED Free Agents this year. Certainly Caps Management will resign and/or match any qualifying offers most of these great young players get.
- Another subject of many posts and comments relate to the resigning of Sergei Federov, the thirty-eight year old veteran of 1,196 NHL regular season and 169 NHL playoff games trade deadline pickup, played a stellar post season and was super in the IIHF championships. Most point to that and the clear spark he and young Russian teammates Alexander Semin and Alexander Ovechkin seem to have when they play together as the reason the Caps should resign him now. This despite the fact it is unclear whether Federov wants to play another season in the NHL (his 19th) and the fact that the Caps need to have the right role and salary cap room for him when a healthy Michael Nylander and Chris Clark return to the lineup next season.
Can't wait till next season - LETS GO CAPS!!!!
The Red Wings dominated most aspects of the game despite coming up behind or only matching the Pens in several statistical categories. The Penguins didn't get their first shot on net until over 12 minutes of the first period had been played. The only aspect of the Red Wings game that didn't hit on all cylinders was their power play. The Wings didn't score a power play goal all night despite having a man advantage for 13:20 of the game. The series now goes to Pittsburgh where the Penguins haven't lost since February 24th. It will again be interesting to see what adjustments and line match-ups the Penguins try now that they have the last line change. The Pens need to make some major changes to their game plan in order to turn things around because right now the Red Wings look like the much better team. (Ed Note: Maybe I should leave the prognostication to Peerless.) The nice aspect of this story no matter who you are rooting for? Thirty-five (35) year old, Chris Osgood is only the fourth goalie, all-time, to start a Stanley Cup Finals with two straight shut-outs. Not bad for a guy who came into the net in relief in the first round of this year's playoffs. Perhaps Osgood's performance is a reason, thirty eight (38) year old Olaf Kolzig believes he can still be a dominant, number 1 goalie in the NHL next season. Of course it might also be cause to hope another thirty-something goaltender might be able to anchor the Washington Capital's drive to their first Stanley Cup next year... In any case if the Pens can't make some effective adjustments in the next two days and Osgood and his teammates keep playing the kind of hockey they've shown fans in the first two games, this might be a very short series.
On the Washington Caps news front, for all those folks clogging up the Capital's Insider with comments about what GMGM should have done before or instead of signing Karl Alzner last week; please note the following facts:
1) Alzner was the Caps number 1 pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and as such the Caps had until June 1st (this coming Sunday) to get him under contract.
2) By virtually all accounts and scouting reports the 19 year old is the best Defensemen who did NOT play in the NHL last year - in other words a tru "blue chip prospect" and the Caps would have been crazy to let him get away.
3) The three year entry level contract Alzner and the Caps signed is apparently very similar to the deal Caps Defenseman Mike Green signed three years ago (Green's deal averaged $833K/year).
Most of the folks blog posters and commenters feel the Caps should have signed before they signed Alzner, will indeed be signed. It's likely the Caps have now started serious discussion with many of them now that the IIHF Worlds are over. In most cases the posts involve Mike Green and Christobel Huet, or the Caps Goaltending picture in general. Some of these posts are obviously based on uneducated emotional reactions such as:
- One recent poster indicated he felt the Caps should try desperately to trade Tom Poti away - seems kind of ridiculous when you look at and understand Poti's role on the team and understand the 31 year old led the Caps in Ice Time, had a +/- rating of +9 often against the oppositions best forwards, and often was a stalwart on the penalty killing units. (Poti is under contract through July 2011 with an annual Salary Cap Hit of $3.5M - which will probably be the average or a steal for a top 2/to 4 defenseman after this year's free agent signings.)
- Other posts and comments indicate many do NOT understand what the word Restricted means before the words Free Agent in the terms of the current NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Shoanne Morrisson; Mike Green, Brooks Laich, Steve Emminger, Eric Fehr, Boyd Gordon, along with minor leaguers Stephen Warner and Jamie Hunt are all RESTRICTED Free Agents this year. Certainly Caps Management will resign and/or match any qualifying offers most of these great young players get.
- Another subject of many posts and comments relate to the resigning of Sergei Federov, the thirty-eight year old veteran of 1,196 NHL regular season and 169 NHL playoff games trade deadline pickup, played a stellar post season and was super in the IIHF championships. Most point to that and the clear spark he and young Russian teammates Alexander Semin and Alexander Ovechkin seem to have when they play together as the reason the Caps should resign him now. This despite the fact it is unclear whether Federov wants to play another season in the NHL (his 19th) and the fact that the Caps need to have the right role and salary cap room for him when a healthy Michael Nylander and Chris Clark return to the lineup next season.
Can't wait till next season - LETS GO CAPS!!!!
Wings Flew to Game 1 Victory - Downed Penguins 4 - 0 in Series Opener
Saturday night the Detroit Red Wings basically "man-handled" the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup finals opening game at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. After the first ten minutes of the first period, that were, for the most part, the usual opening of a multi-game series, the sort of tentative "feel each other out" cautious, don't make too any mistakes kind of hockey, the Red Wings "turned on the jets" and basically shut down the Penguins for the remaining 50 minutes of the game.
Tonight it's game two, once again in Detroit. For the Penguins to win, they'll once again need super goaltending from Marc-Andre Fluery since it appears Chris Osgood continues to make that aspect of the game, "the price of admission". Some pundits are indicating this series is NOT a goaltenders battle and it's NOT JUST a goaltenders battle. However, there is indeed a goaltenders battle being waged within the larger battle between these two powerhouse teams. While a lot of comparisons will be made between the young Fluery and the experienced Osgood, on Saturday Fluery had a save % of 88.88% stopping 32 of 36 shots and Osgood posted a save % of 100% stopping all 19 of the Penguins shots. To be sure, Fluery's play in the first and second periods was, in large part, the only reason the Penguins started the third period within 2 goals of winning the game. During period 1 and 2 the Penguins were out shot by the Wings 27 - 16 and that was only because the Penguins spent much of the last half of the first period on the powerplay. The Red Wings won Saturday night's game in the neutral zone. During the second and third periods, Pittsburgh's powerful offensive weapons could not get moving and were rarely allowed to "setup" in the offensive zone. Detroit's penalty killing unit(s) were excellent holding a powerplay unit that averages a 25% success rate scoreless for 9:50 AND scoring a shorthanded goal late in the third period to go up 3-0.
Like Detroit, Pittsburgh is a powerhouse of a team and no doubt will make adjustments in tonight's game. After the lesson they got on Saturday, fans can be sure that the young guns from Pittsburgh will indeed "kick it up a notch". In game one the "less physical"/smaller/older Red Wings out hit the Pens 31 - 25 and swarmed over both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Malkin was held to just 1 shot and Crosby to only 3. Adding insult to injury on one the few shifts where Pens coach Michel Therrien put Crosby and Malkin out together, in what appeared to be an attempt to force the Wings to open the game up a bit early in the third period, the Red Wings' Mikael Samuelsson scored his second goal of the game to put Detroit up 2-0. Perhaps the worst outcome of Saturday's game is the Red Wing's have given the rest of the league a blueprint of how to take apart the Penguins, even with Crosby, Malkin, and Marian Hossa all in the lineup. Of course to do it you need a tremendous amount of talent, like the Red Wings have, and to play awfully solid, near flawless hockey yourselves. In any case, the interesting thing tonight will be watching the adjustments the Penguins have made in the first period and Detroit's reaction and counter to them in the second and third periods.
For Caps fans though it's nice to know those blasted flightless birds are vulnerable. LETS GO CAPS!!!!!! Can't wait till next season.
Tonight it's game two, once again in Detroit. For the Penguins to win, they'll once again need super goaltending from Marc-Andre Fluery since it appears Chris Osgood continues to make that aspect of the game, "the price of admission". Some pundits are indicating this series is NOT a goaltenders battle and it's NOT JUST a goaltenders battle. However, there is indeed a goaltenders battle being waged within the larger battle between these two powerhouse teams. While a lot of comparisons will be made between the young Fluery and the experienced Osgood, on Saturday Fluery had a save % of 88.88% stopping 32 of 36 shots and Osgood posted a save % of 100% stopping all 19 of the Penguins shots. To be sure, Fluery's play in the first and second periods was, in large part, the only reason the Penguins started the third period within 2 goals of winning the game. During period 1 and 2 the Penguins were out shot by the Wings 27 - 16 and that was only because the Penguins spent much of the last half of the first period on the powerplay. The Red Wings won Saturday night's game in the neutral zone. During the second and third periods, Pittsburgh's powerful offensive weapons could not get moving and were rarely allowed to "setup" in the offensive zone. Detroit's penalty killing unit(s) were excellent holding a powerplay unit that averages a 25% success rate scoreless for 9:50 AND scoring a shorthanded goal late in the third period to go up 3-0.
Like Detroit, Pittsburgh is a powerhouse of a team and no doubt will make adjustments in tonight's game. After the lesson they got on Saturday, fans can be sure that the young guns from Pittsburgh will indeed "kick it up a notch". In game one the "less physical"/smaller/older Red Wings out hit the Pens 31 - 25 and swarmed over both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Malkin was held to just 1 shot and Crosby to only 3. Adding insult to injury on one the few shifts where Pens coach Michel Therrien put Crosby and Malkin out together, in what appeared to be an attempt to force the Wings to open the game up a bit early in the third period, the Red Wings' Mikael Samuelsson scored his second goal of the game to put Detroit up 2-0. Perhaps the worst outcome of Saturday's game is the Red Wing's have given the rest of the league a blueprint of how to take apart the Penguins, even with Crosby, Malkin, and Marian Hossa all in the lineup. Of course to do it you need a tremendous amount of talent, like the Red Wings have, and to play awfully solid, near flawless hockey yourselves. In any case, the interesting thing tonight will be watching the adjustments the Penguins have made in the first period and Detroit's reaction and counter to them in the second and third periods.
For Caps fans though it's nice to know those blasted flightless birds are vulnerable. LETS GO CAPS!!!!!! Can't wait till next season.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Stanley Cup Finals Start Today - Preview for Caps Next Year?
The Stanley Cup Finals start today when Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins face off against Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsuyk and the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit this evening. To Caps Fans, this will be a good, hard fought series between two teams likely to be between the Capitals and the Cup when next year's regular season ends and the 2009 playoffs begin as well.
As indicated in earlier posts this blogger is predicting that the Red Wings will fall slightly short and this year's Cup will be the start of the Crosby - Malkin - Fluery era in Pittsburgh. That assumes Marc-Andre Fluery continues the stellar play he has shown so far in the playoffs, even though he is likely to be tested even harder than he has at any point of his career. At the other end of the ice, veteran Chris Osgood is unlikely to waiver, so fans will have a good yardstick by which to measure the Penguins' #1 netminder.
The contrast between the two teams should be interesting Lidstrom vs. Gonchar; Datsuyk vs. Crosby; Zetterberg vs. Malkin will all no doubt be featured in various VS. network highlights and commentaries. However, the real battles/contrasts to decide the series will more likely be Franzen (when he returns) vs. Stall; Samuellson vs. Hossa; Chelios vs. Gill; Kopecki vs. Sykora; Maltby vs. Malone; Filppula vs. Talbot, etc.. It's here, the backside of each team's depth chart, where the exceptional depth of both teams becomes apparent. It's also here where the youth, raw talent and SIZE of the Penguins becomes clear and there is a contrast to the experience, finesse and learned skill of the Red Wings. Given the length of the season and the comparisons between the two teams there seems to be the potnetial for a slight edge to go to the Penguins here though as they say "That's why they play these games on the ice." For now the only thing left to do is speculate on the future outcome. Who do you think will hoist the Cup above his head Penguins Captain Crosby or Red Wings Captain Lidstrom and after what game of the series?
All the above in consideration it certainly seems if the Washington Captials are to build on their accomplishments for 2007 - 2008 and advance further into the 2009 playoffs, they will meet the likes of at least one, if not both, these teams next year as well. Of course a lot of water needs to pass under the bridge before the Caps are assured to be playing hockey past tax day next year, but this year was "a breakout year" for the young Caps team. Assuming the Caps can resolve the following off ice challenges between now and the start of the 2008-2009 season: a) resign their young number 1 defenseman, Mike Green, who is currently a restricted free agent; b) sign a legitimate number 1 goalie, preferably the resigning of Christobel Huet who is an Unrestricted Free Agent; c) sort out their blue line corps so the once again have 7 or 8 legitimate NHL Blueliners on the roster; d) figure out what/how to accommodate a roster with a healthy Michael Nylander AND a Sergei Federov, if Federov wants to play another NHL season given his post deadline performance for the Caps and his clear chemistry with young gun Alexander Semin; e) sort out what they want to do with "grinders" Matt Bradley and Matt Cooke in a way that retains sufficient "grit" in the line-up but also gets some additional secondary scoring in the lineup besides Brooks Laich (who they need to resign) and hopefully a healthy Chris Clarke, Fans can once again expect to be watching hockey in "the phone booth" in late April next year.
The biggest area of likely change/fluidity for the Capitals is probably the Defense Corps. The resolution of the top 4 defenseman on Bruce Boudreau's roster card at the start of next season will require sorting out the resigning of Shoanne Morrisson (RFA) and Steve Emminger (RFA) as well as the status of Brian Pothier (Career Threatening?/Ending? Concussion Syndrome Injury), as well as the play and ranking of Milan Jurcina, John Erskine, Sami Lepesto, Ben Clymer and Karl Alzner. Basically the only things settled in the blueline corps seem to be a)Tom Poti will be back and b)the Caps want to resign Green and Morrisson but the salary cap implications of those two resignings and Pothier's status need to be understood, and Coach Boudrea has to understand and decide where he is on the depth chart ranking of Emminger, before Boudreau and General Manager George McPhee look at whether they feel they need to go to the free agent pool for another top 4 D-Man. It seems Jurcina, Erskine, Lepisto and Alzner are all likely to compete for roster slots 5 and 6 when camps open with Jurcina the likely #5.
The most critical area currently in flux is Goaltending. As has been highlighted well by DMG in his Caps Blue Line, the only NHL caliber goal keeper currently under contract for the Caps is backup Brent Johnson. Whether you're an "Olie the Goalie" continued supporter or not it certainly seems the Caps need to resign Christobel Huet now. It seems clear that Olie Kolzig will either end his career elsewhere or Caps fans will be seeing his number hoisted to the rafters of the VC next season if he retires after testing the free agent waters. None of the goalie prospects are NHL ready and even Fredric Cassivi last year's number #1 goalie on the Caps AHL Affiliate Hershey Bears is an unrestricted free agent, not that he's the right guy for the job any more than Johnnie is. If the Caps need to go into the Free Agent pool the pickings get slim pretty fast after Jose Theodore and if the Caps are willing/able to spend 5/6+M for a goalie, they will likely be just as able to save a few bucks and sign the 32 year old Huet rather than the 31 year old Theodore. Though both Huet and Theodore fit the right age bracket to fill the gap between the end of longtime number 1 Kolzig's Caps Career and the current prospects in the Caps system.
Forward line positions are a strength and all the Capital's Management Organization has in these positions at this point seem to be choices between good, better and best. That being said, General Manager George McPhee will still need to continue to do the excellent job of Salary Cap Management that he's been doing if the Caps are to rise to the heights that both of this evening's contestants have. LETS GO CAPS!!!! Can't Wait For Next Season.
As indicated in earlier posts this blogger is predicting that the Red Wings will fall slightly short and this year's Cup will be the start of the Crosby - Malkin - Fluery era in Pittsburgh. That assumes Marc-Andre Fluery continues the stellar play he has shown so far in the playoffs, even though he is likely to be tested even harder than he has at any point of his career. At the other end of the ice, veteran Chris Osgood is unlikely to waiver, so fans will have a good yardstick by which to measure the Penguins' #1 netminder.
The contrast between the two teams should be interesting Lidstrom vs. Gonchar; Datsuyk vs. Crosby; Zetterberg vs. Malkin will all no doubt be featured in various VS. network highlights and commentaries. However, the real battles/contrasts to decide the series will more likely be Franzen (when he returns) vs. Stall; Samuellson vs. Hossa; Chelios vs. Gill; Kopecki vs. Sykora; Maltby vs. Malone; Filppula vs. Talbot, etc.. It's here, the backside of each team's depth chart, where the exceptional depth of both teams becomes apparent. It's also here where the youth, raw talent and SIZE of the Penguins becomes clear and there is a contrast to the experience, finesse and learned skill of the Red Wings. Given the length of the season and the comparisons between the two teams there seems to be the potnetial for a slight edge to go to the Penguins here though as they say "That's why they play these games on the ice." For now the only thing left to do is speculate on the future outcome. Who do you think will hoist the Cup above his head Penguins Captain Crosby or Red Wings Captain Lidstrom and after what game of the series?
All the above in consideration it certainly seems if the Washington Captials are to build on their accomplishments for 2007 - 2008 and advance further into the 2009 playoffs, they will meet the likes of at least one, if not both, these teams next year as well. Of course a lot of water needs to pass under the bridge before the Caps are assured to be playing hockey past tax day next year, but this year was "a breakout year" for the young Caps team. Assuming the Caps can resolve the following off ice challenges between now and the start of the 2008-2009 season: a) resign their young number 1 defenseman, Mike Green, who is currently a restricted free agent; b) sign a legitimate number 1 goalie, preferably the resigning of Christobel Huet who is an Unrestricted Free Agent; c) sort out their blue line corps so the once again have 7 or 8 legitimate NHL Blueliners on the roster; d) figure out what/how to accommodate a roster with a healthy Michael Nylander AND a Sergei Federov, if Federov wants to play another NHL season given his post deadline performance for the Caps and his clear chemistry with young gun Alexander Semin; e) sort out what they want to do with "grinders" Matt Bradley and Matt Cooke in a way that retains sufficient "grit" in the line-up but also gets some additional secondary scoring in the lineup besides Brooks Laich (who they need to resign) and hopefully a healthy Chris Clarke, Fans can once again expect to be watching hockey in "the phone booth" in late April next year.
The biggest area of likely change/fluidity for the Capitals is probably the Defense Corps. The resolution of the top 4 defenseman on Bruce Boudreau's roster card at the start of next season will require sorting out the resigning of Shoanne Morrisson (RFA) and Steve Emminger (RFA) as well as the status of Brian Pothier (Career Threatening?/Ending? Concussion Syndrome Injury), as well as the play and ranking of Milan Jurcina, John Erskine, Sami Lepesto, Ben Clymer and Karl Alzner. Basically the only things settled in the blueline corps seem to be a)Tom Poti will be back and b)the Caps want to resign Green and Morrisson but the salary cap implications of those two resignings and Pothier's status need to be understood, and Coach Boudrea has to understand and decide where he is on the depth chart ranking of Emminger, before Boudreau and General Manager George McPhee look at whether they feel they need to go to the free agent pool for another top 4 D-Man. It seems Jurcina, Erskine, Lepisto and Alzner are all likely to compete for roster slots 5 and 6 when camps open with Jurcina the likely #5.
The most critical area currently in flux is Goaltending. As has been highlighted well by DMG in his Caps Blue Line, the only NHL caliber goal keeper currently under contract for the Caps is backup Brent Johnson. Whether you're an "Olie the Goalie" continued supporter or not it certainly seems the Caps need to resign Christobel Huet now. It seems clear that Olie Kolzig will either end his career elsewhere or Caps fans will be seeing his number hoisted to the rafters of the VC next season if he retires after testing the free agent waters. None of the goalie prospects are NHL ready and even Fredric Cassivi last year's number #1 goalie on the Caps AHL Affiliate Hershey Bears is an unrestricted free agent, not that he's the right guy for the job any more than Johnnie is. If the Caps need to go into the Free Agent pool the pickings get slim pretty fast after Jose Theodore and if the Caps are willing/able to spend 5/6+M for a goalie, they will likely be just as able to save a few bucks and sign the 32 year old Huet rather than the 31 year old Theodore. Though both Huet and Theodore fit the right age bracket to fill the gap between the end of longtime number 1 Kolzig's Caps Career and the current prospects in the Caps system.
Forward line positions are a strength and all the Capital's Management Organization has in these positions at this point seem to be choices between good, better and best. That being said, General Manager George McPhee will still need to continue to do the excellent job of Salary Cap Management that he's been doing if the Caps are to rise to the heights that both of this evening's contestants have. LETS GO CAPS!!!! Can't Wait For Next Season.
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