Here’s to hoping that George McPhee and staff have a productive weekend in Montreal. Click here for a very good article about the team and its desires this weekend at the draft.
We believe we have a very good team but need to improve to become an elite team. The way that we will improve mostly is that our core group of young players will mature, gain experience and learn what it takes and the price to pay to compete and win a Stanley Cup. We are fortunate that our core group is growing and includes players such as reigning league two-time MVP Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green, Brooks Laich, our two young goaltenders; and perhaps John Carlson, Karl Alzner and Anton Gustafsson. That is a great group to build around and that group is a very young core of players. We also have several good young players who have tasted great success in Hershey who will push people for minutes in the NHL. This internal competition should raise the state of play of everyone on the team.
The tools we have to improve our team are as follows:
- The draft. We will continue to draft and develop our players well; have our picks tested in the AHL or pro international leagues; and then move them into our lineup. We have yet to get big minutes from several former first rounds picks a la Alzner, Carlson and Gustafsson. We have the 24th pick in the draft this year and our scouts and George believe we can get a good player at that spot, too. Some of our young players will improve our team organically. This is the area that I am most excited about!
- Trades. Because we have so many young assets and a bunch of picks, we may be able to make a trade to add to our team. Many NHL teams are at the salary cap max, have older teams and are envious of our team for its backlog of young players. We may be able to make some trades now or later in the off season to improve our team and fill some key needs. We wouldn’t trade any key core players for an older player but we should have enough assets to wheel and deal and improve. Time will tell.
- Free agency. I am less sanguine about free agency but it is available to us although it is sometimes difficult to negotiate fair deals. Most free agents demand longer term, higher priced deals. Those deals can truly hamstring teams that need to sign and keep playing their young core players. Ironically, most of the discussions around the league regarding big trades involve recently signed free agents that the teams now realize the signings were poor ones and have hampered their flexibility under the new cap system. We have to be very careful here. We need to keep our core group together over the coming years. Live by free agency, die by free agency. That is what I have experienced.
- Trade deadline deals. We also need to keep some powder dry and some contract spots open for trade deadline deals during the season.
- Waiver wire. Sometimes there are interesting players available via waivers.
We are very intent on improving our team. We want to win now but we will never lose sight of our overall plan. Our plan is a smart one: Build a terrific generational team, one that the fans fall in love with, trust and one that wins a Stanley Cup.
In regards to yesterday’s new regarding Feds, I still don’t know what to say. All of our conversations with him were very straightforward. We were scheduled to speak to him and his agent next week post the draft. We had a nice warm talk in Las Vegas that ended with a hug. If the news is true and he did sign a two year deal to play in Russia for $3.8 million per year, then we wish him well. He was truly one of the all-time greats, a very classy man and the true definition of a winner. He added grace, experience and presence to our team. He was a mentor and a great influence in our locker room.
An offer of $ 3.8 million in Russia - if true - is like a deal worth $7 million per season here in that there are no taxes paid in Russia for players. That is a lot of money for a player at the end of his career. Also Sergei is one of the most revered players in Russia’s history. For him to play professionally in Russia with his brother and come back home to play may be the end dream of his career.
I would like to thank Feds for all of his work, kindness and big goals. If he is going to Russia, I will miss him very much but understand the circumstances and wish him well and hope our paths will cross again.
Time to look forward now. Send George and his staff good vibes in hopes that he can improve the team and that he has a productive draft. Go Caps!
i hope george remembers to bring you back some montreal bagels
I’ll miss Fedorov, but if somebody puts the equivalent of a $7M per year contract in front of a 39 year old player, 39 year old player better sign it on the spot before the offerer changes their mind!
Fedorov is/was a class player for the Caps, but time to move on for both sides. He made his mark on Semin/OV and the team, and they will continue to mature.
I hope McPhee can upgrade our D in some way/shape form, but I’m not holding my breath.
I am so disappointed to hear that Federov may be leaving the Caps. Your words are kind and heartfelt, Ted, but I believe he is a huge factor on our team both on and off the ice. I can only hope that there is still a glimmer of a chance to keep him here, not only for the fans and the game, but for the support and mentoring of the young players on the team.