Daily Archives: July 1, 2008

A New Number One Goalie

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We couldn’t come to terms with Cristobal Huet even though we met his ask and NOT for a lack of trying. We became very concerned that this player just didn’t want to sign with us so we had to move quickly to sign a new number one goaltender. We believe that Jose Theodore will fit in nicely in DC. He is a former league MVP and a former Vezina Trophy winner and he led his team into the second round of the playoffs last season.

We still have work to do - more as it develops - but I feel good that we delivered a new, younger, number one starting goaltender today.

Alex Ovechkin Interview

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Thank you Alex. I love that Alex signed the biggest contract in NHL history. It hasn’t kicked in yet and the media is asking him if he is disappointed in his deal. We live in interesting times, don’t we? Once a player signs a contract, it can’t be re-opened and it it can’t be renegotiated. That is a part of the new CBA. Alex Ovechkin is a class act and we are grateful that he has committed to us for 13 more years.

Keep Your Fingers Crossed

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I am hopeful we can keep our team together. We have lots of players to re-sign and that is our priority. We really want to focus on our young core players and try to keep our team intact. As I noted, many players or their agents look at free agency as a tool – which is their right – to get the best deal for their individual player. We need to be respectful of that process and the players’ wishes while also taking a look at the big picture of our overall team payroll and how the deals age with other contracts coming up in the future, etc. It is like a big moving jigsaw puzzle.

We are also managing the cap space we have. I am pleased to say that we have the ability to sign the players that want to play here. We are being aggressive and we believe in our players so I am hopeful that we can be successful in signing our players ASAP. Time will tell. Wish us luck.