There is often times no reward without taking risk. We took some risks at the trading deadline and for now, we are reaping the benefits.
There is often times no reward without taking risk. We took some risks at the trading deadline and for now, we are reaping the benefits. We basically have six key players out of our lineup - Nylander, Clark, Pothier, Johnson, Steckel and Erskine - and have replaced them with Huet, Fedorov and Cooke. Just in time replacements and we are better for it at least in our record to date. Adding some vet experience at crunch time may be very helpful to us, now more than ever, as we go on a six game two week road trip that will define our season.
Ted,
I think the organization has done a very good job rebuilding the team to this point (and believe me Sir, in early November I was singing a different toon). The rash of injuries has shown how much depth and prosperity the Caps truly have…it is great to see guys like Laing, Lepisto (sp?), and Fehr step in and perform admirably.
A little off topic but I have put together my own little list of ten things that I have noticed or would like, if possible, to have addressed:
1)the vc ice. what can be done to fix it since it is clearly a problem?
2)Who to resign and who to let go. I love Huet, Fedorov, and Cooke. I think they are terrific additions and fit well with our style of play. Please keep them.
3)Other fans flocking to vc…you have stated before some jacka** pens fan tried to sue you years back for witholding tickets from people in Pa or something to that affect. I have seen others mention using zip codes or someother form of priority to keep tix in house for our fans….are you looking into this?
4)The promotion of OV to this city. Gilbert posters and murals are around…and that guy hasnt hardly played in well over a year! OV is the city’s biggest and brightest star and should be all over billboards on NY Ave and the arena itself. More promotion is needed for OV!
5)The food and beer at VC. After last fridays game i was handed a card which asked to fill out an online survey on concessions. My main points were “beer at $7 is horrendous and boarderline unamerican…esp for us broke college kids”, “food is often cold (burgers) and is way overpriced for its quality.” Also why do some take credit cards and some dont?
6)Not trying to be all negative so let me say how terrific i think the game presentation at vc is for the caps. Everything from the lights, the scoreboard, the music, the giveaways, the little kids playing at intermission, to the blimp is very well done. Kudos…
7)I am a college student and those $25 lower level seats are a great way to experience the game w/o paying the normal $75-90. More student nights earlier in the season would help attendance when it sags the most…although i can understand if it upsets the STHs bc they pay good money for the same seats. Thoughts?
8)What is going to be done next year around playoff time when the Frozen Four is here? Won’t that interfere?
9)Resign Mike Green. NOW. Thanks!
10)LETS GO CAPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am a little concerned about throwing Clark back in the line up at this time. Is he ready? How is his timing with the rest of the team? They have been playing great! I’m definately a Clark fan but more a fan of the team. If anyone on the team deserves a jersey it has to be Quintin Laing. Only Ovechkin works harder on every shift!
The three additions are here and want to be in the playoffs. Consider Huet and Cooke came from teams that are very likely to make the playoffs, they’ll want to get into the party if only to beat their former employer (Wouldn’t it be sweet to see the Caps knock out Vancouver? that’d mean…well, you know!). And for Sergei Fedorov, this may be his last shot to win the Cup again. I bet he wouldn’t mind skating the Cup around the Verizon center again…
As for next year, there are going to be some tough choices. Obviously in goal, I don’t think the Caps traded for Huet just to be a loaner. I am hoping he can be signed to an extension. He’s still got 4-6 good years left as a goaltender and I can see him as the successor to Olie when Olie retires (I know that date is coming, I don’t have to like it…).
Cooke has been a nice pick up, too. Adding him to the penatly kill has been a big plus, and no one wants to go into the corner with him. Eliminate some of the silly penalties and he’s a heckuva defensive/checking/cycling forward a la Steve Konowalchuk. It’d be nice to have him around too next year…but not at a price that’s excessive.
Which brings us to Sergei Fedorov. When I heard about the trade, immediately a powerplay of Fedorov, Ovie, Semin, Backstrom and Green popped into my head (and, as I can see, also into Bruce’s head). Fedorov still has the hockey smarts, and knows what he needs to do. There are times though where you can see he knows what he needs to do, but his body can’t do it anymore. It’s got to be hard for him because of the player he was in the mid-1990s, where he had the smarts and the body. I wouldn’t mind seeing him back in 2008-09, but again, only at a fair value.
Room also has to be made on the team for Karl Alzner, who will likely make the team in training camp next year (he’s likely already one of the Caps top defensive defensemen) and I suspect by the time he is 22, he’ll have a letter on his jersey (perhaps even the “C”, although Alex may be Captain by then).
Let’s beat Nashville tonight!
I hope BB splits time with Huet (if he’s resigned) and Kolzig next year. Kolzig was a bit inconsistent during some stretches, letting in some softies here and there but since they’ve been alternating with Huet’s acquisition; Kolzig has looked a lot better. Do you foresee a problem with both of them splitting time like that next season?
I loved the trades by the way. I really want a Huet jersey. But I’m not getting one until he’s re-signed.
Re: Pat S.
Yeah the burger was pretty cold but that’s on Verizon Center, at 9 bucks? Just go to Potbelly’s across the street for some cheap eats. I haven’t been drinking beer the last couple of games, because I don’t really feel like spending 7 bucks but then again when I shell out $4 for a bottled soda…. After Sunday’s game, I won’t be ordering food there anymore I was super annoyed at the cashier when she was barking at me for my order and when I did get it, the food was cold. And then the game before that, the cashier typed in the wrong amount and couldn’t calculate 20 bucks - 7.50 to give the fan his change back. She was about to call somebody, then she turned around and tried to use her calculator on her phone. She still couldn’t figure it out as all the other fans were telling her it was 12.50 the whole time.
But yeah, not so much on the fun experience there, and paying $16 bucks for a cold burger and four room-temperature chicken tenders… I won’t be ordering food there anymore. But I’ll be there to support the Caps, and other Chinatown businesses before the game.
RE: Pat S
Buy the $10 dollar seats upstairs and you have $15 left over. Now you can even tip the nice concession workers!
MEH!
Rule number one of attending a sporting event. Never, ever spring for ball park or arena food if there are decent restaurants outside.
Buy the $10 seats? That’d be great if they weren’t all sold out weeks in advance to the scalpers that get $35 (minimum) for them. What’s it mean when you can get the “more expensive” tickets less expensively than the “cheaper” ones?
Just a tip… all the food places around Verizon Center gets super packed the hour before, if you do come late, go to pot belly’s or one of the chinese restaurants. i ate a full meal there with 45 minutes before gametime and we finished with 10 minutes to spare at Tony Cheng’s Chinese, not mongolion.
The only reason why I ate Sunday was because of the stupid St. Patty’s parade blocked roads, and we only had 20 minutes to spare before the game.
just bring in a foreman grill and tell the security people you just bought it at the yard sale down the street, and cook up some burgers next to the concession stand. that would be awesome.