No Rest for the Weary

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It has been a very hectic off season. Two weeks ago, we were participating in events around the NHL Awards Ceremony. Last week, we attended the NHL end of season owners’ meeting and then we all participated in the NHL amateur draft.

Now we have a busy week trying to re-sign many players. It isn’t for a lack of trying to sign these players but their agents like to keep things going to the last minute and use the July 1st deadline for free agency as a tool to negotiate which is their right. I know some of you are impatient with us but our non-activity isn’t for a lack of trying and, frankly, we don’t need to be reminded that we have players to re-sign. We know – we know. :-)

We will work hard over the next week to get things settled down then we will go into free agency although I doubt we will be active at all. We have a lot of depth right now. We have perhaps too many players already on our roster and we are pushing the salary cap as it is let alone our budget. So don’t get disappointed if you don’t see us being active in free agency. We are more focused on keeping our team together and we have big positional players to resign and get back under contract.

Then we head right into rookie camp. We have several young players that will be fighting for big minutes this next season. We look forward to seeing a healthy Eric Fehr and we believe Karl Alzner will be fighting for a roster spot and I am sure there will be a surprise or two at camp.

Then the dog days of summer and then – whoosh! - training camp opens in September. Time flies when you are having fun!

21 thoughts on “No Rest for the Weary”

  1. to Mike L.

    You don’t win stanley cups with D men like mike Green you with with gritty shut down D men. Green puts fans in the seats but not Banners in the rafters. I thought Green would give the CAPS a home town discount like Alex did. Alex could have signed a contract like Sidney and since the cap is going up he will make way more than his current contract. Alex is going to be a bargain in 4 years. Plus now were in a cap system paying 5+ mil to an unproven D men seams stupid; just ask the sens about ray emery and how that investment turned out. Signed a hot goalie to a long term deal.

  2. Mike L.

    Which just goes to show how important that statistic is. The higher the +/- for the defensive corps, the lower the goals against, and the higher the spread between goals for/against. That usually translates into wins.

  3. To Greg S:

    You can’t compare the +/- of a player on one team with a player on another. +/- is only a good measure within players who play in the same context. Yes, Nick Lidstrom had a higher +/- than any d-man on the Caps. Guess what? Detroit was a better team than the Caps last season. The top Caps player on D in +/- last year was Jeff Schultz at +12. He did this on a team that scored 11 more goals than it allowed. Nick Lidstrom got a +40 on a team that scored 73 more goals than it allowed. Now, Lidstrom is a better player than Schultz will likely ever be, but being +12 on the Caps is pretty good. Being +12 on Detroit, you’re not in the top 10 players. Being +12 in Atlanta, you lead the team.

    If Nick Lidstrom played for the Caps (I’m dreaming, I know) I am certain he wouldn’t have gone +40, and would have been closer to +20 or so. On Detroit, Schultz’s +12 probably shows up as a +20 or +25 perhaps. It is very possible that Jeff Schultz might have had a higher +/- than Lidstrom, but that wouldn’t make him a better player…

  4. To Smartfan:

    Mike Green has never played in an All-Star game….well, let’s let him play a couple of full seasons first. Last year was his first full season in the NHL (in 2006-07 he bounced back and forth before sticking with the Caps) and he didn’t really become the monster player he was until Bruce took over (Bruce had coached him in Hershey and knew what he had, Glenn didn’t realize the extent of his abilities.)

    Is Mike Green worth $5M/season? He is if someone out there is willing to give him that. I personally am not worried about whether or not he’ll be here in DC next year (he will be) and he may even have enough of a start to get to the All-Star Game. Personally, going to the All-Star Game is a nice honor, but it isn’t always an indicator of greatness. Remember Garry Galley? A nice player, but not an All-Star, right? Well he had as many All-Star Game appearances as Dale Hunter (one each).

    Mike Green (or, more correctly, Mike Green’s Agent) is asking for what he thinks his client deserves. The Caps offer something, and then there is give and take until an agreement is reached. If Green goes past July 1, then another team can sign him to an offer sheet, which the Caps can match, meaning that another GM will have done some of the work George is doing right now.

    After the fire sale in 2003-04 I was worried, but then, looking at what has happened, I couldn’t be happier. The Caps are the hest team in the Southeast, have the coach of the year leading them, and have a farm system that is still loaded with great prospects. Oh yeah, the best player in the world is also signed to play here until 2021…

    The future here looks awesome.

  5. Please do something about the ice. The Caps are a fast skating team and its a shame our own home ice hurts our team in speed and risks injury.

    Thanks for your committment to the team Ted.

  6. Mr. Leonsis. There is no reason to believe that the management group will perform any less brilliantly than they did last year. The whole organization is going places thanks to the efforts of yourself and the svengali himself GMGM. Keep up the great work and thanks from a STH.

  7. Having too many talented players is definitely not a bad position to be in!

    I am glad you guys are working to keep these players in DC. The Caps were simply amazing the second half of the season, and they are only going to get better.

    I know people complain about defensive needs, but I think getting Poti last year was a great veteran addition, and obviously Mike Green was a beast this season. Most of the Caps young D corps got 100 games under their belt now and are only getting better. I think Morrissonn might be one of the most underrated D-men in the league.

  9. HUET is reasonable in years. He only wants 3 years but the price is high. We need to sign him cause he has the best numbers of all the goaltenders on the market. Feds wants to come back and I think for sure he’ll be back for the right price cause of the Russians. Stay at home D men are hard to come by and if they do are very expensive. D men take longer to develop. We have good D men they just need time. Morrison,Alzer,schults(needs to toughen up),lepisto, poti, etc.

    One person that is a Question mark is Green. He wants 5 mil a year. He wants top D men money. Green puts fans in the seats but you can’t win stanley cups with a Offensive minded D men. He’s only had 1/2 a good season no allstar game no awards and he’s commanding top $

    SHOWS HIS CHARACTER. I’m okay paying money to people that have done consistent stuff.

  10. nylander and clark will be like FA signings. TED please listen do not overpay for Green. D men like him don’t win championships. He hasn’t made an allstar game. He had half a good season and trying to go to the bank. He’s seems loyal. He is not worth $5 mil. Let someone else overpay for him. We need toughness thats how philly pounded us. I like him but don’t overpay for someone that has only has had 1/2 a good season.

    Mike Green is a jerk for commanding 5 mil. Thats what the top D men make and he’s not that

  11. I’m wondering if Pothier will be back at all. His concussion issues seemed serious last season, and there hasn’t been any news. Lepisto could step in and make an impact there, along with a few other defenders.

  12. I like the team offensively, however, you win cups with goaltending, and defense gets you to the finals. Still. Looking at Detroit’s defensive strength one only needs to look at the +/- for Lidstrom and then compare that to the whole defensive ranks of the Caps. We’re short 1.

    We need a bridge between our developing defensmen and now (2-3 years). I think it’s a shame about Pothier, but it looks like his career is finished. Putting him on LTIR will free up cap room to sign a “stay-at-home” R/UFA defenseman that will clear out the crease, and can pass out of the zone accurately.

    It is remarkable that Huet only wants a 3 year deal. That’s exactly how long we need him for. Another bridge to allow the development of our goalie prospects. Year 3 they can rotate like Detroit did this past year with Hasek and Osgood, or Montreal before we took Huet. It’s even better that he wants to stay in DC. Let’s give him the opportunity.

    The future for this team is bright. I think we’re one defensive player short of brilliant.

  14. Huet should be a no-brainer. This team has no other legit goalie ready to start.

    Also, can we please just once add a tough defenseman to this team who can actually play hockey? Not Erskine.

  15. Ted…As a season ticket holder, this is all I care about.

    Huet
    Green
    Laich
    Federov (if economical)
    Maybe an additional Stay Home D-Man

    Kolzig in rafters when no one else signs him

    Everything else is ready to roll…Rock the Red

  16. GMGM has done well of late. It’s going to be a difficult job, but it is attainable. I hope that both Green and Huet are in the ‘reasonable’ category. The next question is, what is the definition of reasonable? I keep telling folks that we do have some added free agents: Clark & Nylander. They should return for next year. If we can hang on to our own RFA’s and get Huet signed, that would be great. Fedorov is icing on the cake.

  18. there is no bigger need than signing Huet. Period. It starts and ends there. We are not equipped to defend our division title or advance any further without a proven leader between the pipes. He is a huge fan favorite. I think the team would have performed even better the last 2-3 years if the position at goaltending had been stronger, and the team will continue to thrive with him in the net. I dont care about signing ANY other free agents at all this offseason, as a STH, because this team has almost all it needs to make a run at the cup. Huet, and Green are the 2 must haves. Cooke and Fedorov would be nice to keep as well. I just ask that we not regress as a franchise while the team gets off to another slow start if we have to adjust to another new goaltender—one that is likely not going to be anywhere as good as Huet. You cannot argue his GAA anywhere he has been , including LA. He is a proven guy. Please get him signed and pay him what he is worth. WE LOVE THIS GUY!!!

  19. Ted, there’s nothing like having competition for every spot on the team. It is so much better than trying to fill a roster with NHL bodies that other teams cast off.

    Can’t wait for the camps.

  20. I am happy there is not much news about what is happening, because it means that things are happening in a good way. When negotiations go into the media (See Sean Avery) it means there are issues.

    I have full confidence in George in getting things figured out so that the best possible Caps team will be on the ice in 2008-09. It is going to be tough in the East. Montreal armed themselves at the draft and looks like the team to beat in the East. Pittsburgh could also be tough…

    Looking forward to seeing a lot of press releases this week! :D