Washington Capitals Thread- Hamrlik on block

[ThomasTomasz]

Finally got around to starting this.........I'll be keeping it as up to date as possible throughout the off-season.

First off, welcome back to Olie Kolzig, who will be splitting goaltender coaching duties with Dave Prior after Arturs Irbe left for personal reasons.

Irbe was a solid choice to help communication with the Russian players, but its time for the goalies to take a step forward, and Kolzig will definitely help with that.

WASHINGTON -- Olie Kolzig left the Washington Capitals on less-than-ideal terms after nearly two decades as a popular and productive goalie. Clearly, that rift is a thing of the past.

The man known as "Olie the Goalie" returned to the Capitals on Thursday as their associate goaltender coach. The team also announced that Dave Prior will come back in his past old role of director of goaltending and NHL goaltender coach.

"Time heals all wounds," Kolzig said on a conference call with reporters. "The more I was removed from a few years ago and being retired and getting a better perspective on things ... you realize it's a business and things were handled in a business fashion."

Kolzig played with the Capitals from 1989-2008 and holds most team goalie records, including 711 games played, 301 wins and 35 shutouts. He was a two-time NHL all-star while with the Capitals and won the 2000 Vezina Trophy for the league's top goalie.

But at the trade deadline during the 2007-08 season, the Capitals acquired Cristobal Huet, who became the team's No. 1 goalie, supplanting Kolzig during the stretch run that put Washington into the playoffs. Kolzig wasn't pleased by the demotion and he left during the following off-season.

"You move on," Kolzig said, adding that he spent time with team owner Ted Leonsis and general manager George McPhee at a convention for Capitals fans last year.

"There's no ill will toward each other."

He was a teammate of some current Capitals, including captain Alex Ovechkin, and said there will be a bit of an adjustment to his new job.

"Once I get in there, I'll have to remind myself I'm a coach now and not a player, and maybe back off some of the things I might have said as a player," Kolzig said.

While away, he kept tabs on his former club.

And Kolzig said he noticed some things while watching the Capitals make earlier-than-anticipated exits from the playoffs the past two years after finishing each regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference.

"They have too much talent to not go further than they have," Kolzig said.

In 2009-10, when Washington won the Presidents' Trophy then lost in the first round to the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens, Kolzig said: "I think the big thing was they didn't have the killer instinct."

And this season, Kolzig explained, "I think they need to find a good balance of offence and defence."

He referred to Prior as "sort of a father-figure for me."

Prior was Washington's goaltending coach from the 1996-97 season to 2008-09.

He comes back in place of Arturs Irbe, whose departure was announced a week ago after two seasons coaching the Capitals' goalies.

McPhee said Prior "did a real good job for us there before" and that Kolzig was the "first one who came to mind" when it came to having someone else on staff.

As of now, the Capitals have three young goalies who potentially could be vying for playing time: Michal Neuvirth, Semyon Varlamov and Braden Holtby.

"My biggest advice would be, 'Play your game,"' Kolzig said.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=369125

 

[ThomasTomasz]

The Washington Capitals made a pre-emptive strike to add a physical forward with a scoring touch.

Numbers Game looks at the Troy Brouwer deal.

The Capitals Get: RW Troy Brouwer.

Brouwer, 25, is a hard-hitting winger who doesn't have the best wheels, but has the size and hands to finish around the net, scoring 39 goals over the last two seasons.

While Brouwer has some scoring upside, he can be a factor even when he's not scoring, ranking fifth in the league with 262 hits last season.

The unfortunate part of that equation is that Brouwer goes through spells when he's not scoring and, at least in Chicago, he's shuffled back-and-forth from a scoring role to a checking role rather frequently.

Brouwer ended the 2010-2011 season with no goals in his last 29 games, including playoffs, and he's surely capable of providing more consistent production.

In Washington, Brouwer has a chance to provide insurance in case the Capitals lose Brooks Laich to free agency. Though Brouwer may not be Laich's all-around equal, he can play a similar yet more physical role, has a Stanley Cup ring, can play the power play and do it at a reasonable price.

A restricted free agent, Brouwer was a $1.025-million cap hit last season and while he'll get more this season.

The Blackhawks Get: A first-round pick.

With the 26th pick, the Blackhawks selected left-winger Phillip Danault, a hard-working winger who had 67 points and a plus-17 rating in 64 games. He's several years away from contributing, but adds organizational depth in the meantime.

Chicago could afford, in some respects, to let Brouwer go because they have some relatively inexpensive depth on the wings that may be able to produce at Brouwer's (20-goal) level, if not necessarily play the same kind of physical role.

http://tsn.ca/story/?id=369915

Good deal for the Caps. Brouwer adds some much punch to the lineup at both ends of the ice, and with the minor league system that the Caps have, we can afford to give up a first round pick for a player like this, who also has some upside.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

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Forward Brooks Laich has signed a six-year, $27 million contract to stay with the Washington Capitals.

It's a key signing for the Capitals, as Laich was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on Friday.

"I'm thrilled to make the commitment to remain a Capital," said Laich in a statement. "It is a wonderful organization with terrific fans and I'm very happy to continue to call Washington home for many years to come."

The deal averages out to $4.5 million per season for the 28-year-old from Wawota, Saskatchewan. The deal represents a significant raise over his last contract, which was for three years and $6.2 million.

Laich scored 16 goals and 32 assists in 82 games last season, and added seven points in nine playoff games for Washington.

"We are very pleased to have Brooks Laich continue his career as a Washington Capital," said general manager George McPhee in a statement. "Brooks has excelled as one of the league's finer two-way players and is just entering his prime. His combination of size, speed, versatility and leadership makes him a valuable part of our club."

Laich was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the sixth round of the 2001 draft and was traded to the Capitals as part of the Peter Bondra deal in Feb. 2004.

He has 100 goals and 237 points over seven NHL seasons.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=370216

Glad to see that we kept some of our grit (the little that we have.) Laich's one of the best players for us, and I think his best is yet to come. Once Alexander Semin leaves, I imagine Laich will be on the top line. $4.5 million annually is a good price for him.

 

[Ravin]

Glad to see that we kept some of our grit (the little that we have.) Laich's one of the best players for us, and I think his best is yet to come. Once Alexander Semin leaves, I imagine Laich will be on the top line. $4.5 million annually is a good price for him.

I doubt Laich plays first line as he is a centre and that is Backstroms spot. Laich will be the 2nd, 3rd line centre for awhile.

And $4.5M is a good price for a guy who only scored 16 goals and 32 assists? I know this deal was made around what Legwand got in Nashville, as they are similar players, and both deals are stupid and overpriced.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

I doubt Laich plays first line as he is a centre and that is Backstroms spot. Laich will be the 2nd, 3rd line centre for awhile.

And $4.5M is a good price for a guy who only scored 16 goals and 32 assists? I know this deal was made around what Legwand got in Nashville, as they are similar players, and both deals are stupid and overpriced.

He's played wing before. No reason why they couldn't switch things around and get him on the top line with Backstrom and Ovie full-time.

And yes, its a good deal because up until this year, when Laich was asked to play an expanded role on the defensive side, he was a 20 goal scorer and just missed his third season of 50 points by two this year. Combined with the fact he's a leader on the team and a great defensive forward, its a good deal and in market value.

 

[Ravin]

He's played wing before. No reason why they couldn't switch things around and get him on the top line with Backstrom and Ovie full-time.

And yes, its a good deal because up until this year, when Laich was asked to play an expanded role on the defensive side, he was a 20 goal scorer and just missed his third season of 50 points by two this year. Combined with the fact he's a leader on the team and a great defensive forward, its a good deal and in market value.

So why are you putting a defensive forward on the first line. This right here is the issue with Washington, they have no idea what they want to be. Laich to me is a strong 3rd line centre on most teams, but on the Capitals, he gets into the top 20. You know the caps are a run and gun team, and they have been total offence for the last 3 years. So to me, his stats may be just a bit inflated because of who he plays for.

But beside the point, when the market deems Langwand and Laich are worth $4.5M, it really shows you how fucked up it is. Caps have 19 guys signed right now and have $2M to play with. Was spendng $4.5M on a defensive forward worth it? Sure hasn't helped them yet.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

So why are you putting a defensive forward on the first line. This right here is the issue with Washington, they have no idea what they want to be. Laich to me is a strong 3rd line centre on most teams, but on the Capitals, he gets into the top 20. You know the caps are a run and gun team, and they have been total offence for the last 3 years. So to me, his stats may be just a bit inflated because of who he plays for.

But beside the point, when the market deems Langwand and Laich are worth $4.5M, it really shows you how fucked up it is. Caps have 19 guys signed right now and have $2M to play with. Was spendng $4.5M on a defensive forward worth it? Sure hasn't helped them yet.

Because he also has an offensive game. If they were to play him with Backstrom and Ovechkin, its to help protect the two of them, and not necessarily to help score.

And yes, I think it was a good move. You don't give up a player like Laich if they need help defensively. I think the bigger problem is having Semin, who is making quite a bit of money for such an inconsistent performance. He doesn't fit into the new system that the Caps installed because he's lazy in the defensive end, and he was too streaky in the run and gun. The problem is that Semin has one year at $6 million left.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Veteran center Jason Arnott will test the free agent market when it opens on Friday at noon, according to his agent.

Arnott’s agent, who is also his brother Wade, said in an e-mail that “although we maintain an open line of communication with the Caps, Jason will test free agency at this point.”

Washington acquired Arnott, 36, at the trade deadline from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for David Steckel and a second-round draft pick in 2010.

Arnott, who earned $4.5 million each of the past five seasons, has 1,172 NHL regular season games of experience. He played in 11 regular season games with the Capitals, recording four goals and seven points, but he was limited by a knee injury. In the playoffs, he posted six points in nine playoff games but no even-strength goals. What Arnott quickly became known for in Washington, though, was the veteran perspective and the mentoring role he took on with both Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin.

Q&A, 11 a.m.: Tarik El-Bashir will be chatting this morning about the Caps, NHL free agency and more. Submit questions here.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capitals-insider

Considering that the Caps gave up both a second round pick and Dave Steckel, I thought they would have re-signed him by now. My only guess is that Arnott wants a two year deal and Washington isn't going to give it to him.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

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Jeff Halpern is heading home.

Halpern inked a one-year $875,000 year deal with the Washington Capitals on Friday.

Halpern is a native of Potomac, Maryland just outside of Washington and began his career with the Capitals back in 1999. He spent six seasons with the team.

The 35-year-old centre contributed 11 goals and 15 assists in 72 games for the Canadiens last season.

Halpern was a key depth piece to the Canadiens' attack last season after the team signed him to a one-year, $600,000 contract.

A two-way role player, Halpern was leaned on heavily by the Canadiens as a veteran voice in a room full of inexperienced young players.

Halpern has 142 goals and 200 assists over 11 NHL seasons.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=370582

Well, the Capitals could use the grit up the middle. This also means that I was right about Arnott- they wanted a gritty, two-way center on a one year deal. Arnott probably wanted two years, so they went in another direction.

Either way, welcome back to our former captain. It will be great to see Halpern back in a Caps jersey.

EDIT: Boyd Gordon left to sign with the Coyotes. So that means there might be a chance of Arnott returning to the Caps. Either way, they still need a center.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

After several days of speculation surrounding goaltender Semyon Varlamov’s future in both Washington and the NHL, the Capitals announced that they’ve traded the 23-year-old Russian to the Colorado Avalanche.

In return for Varlamov, Washington acquired Colorado’s first round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft along with a second round selection in either 2012 or 2013.

This week, reports based on comments from Varlamov’s Russian agent surfaced stating that the former first-round draft pick had opted to return home and play in the Kontinental Hockey League. Although Varlamov is a restricted free agent and received a qualifying offer from the Capitals, if he had departed for the KHL the team would have received nothing in return for one of their top young assets.

So by executing a trade with Colorado, which will need to sign Varlamov, Washington pockets a pair of draft picks and removes itself from a murky situation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capitals-insider

Considering the rumors that Varlamov was going to the KHL, I am surprised that they got a first round pick in return for him.

The Avs are taking a couple risks. The first being that they can sign him to a deal and not have him head to the KHL. The second is that the injury problems he had this year are not signs of durability issues. Varlamov could be a #1 goaltender if he stays healthy.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

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Joel Ward has agreed to a four year deal with the Washington Capitals worth $12 Million.

Last season, with the Nashville Predators, Ward played in 80 games and had 12 goals and 29 points along with 42 penalty minutes.

The Toronto native then broke out during the playoffs with 13 points in 12 games.

Ward recorded a career best 17 goals in 2008-09 season, his first of three spent with the Predators.

Prior to playing in Nashville, The 30-year-old forward signed as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Wild where he spent one season appearing in only 11 games.

Roman Hamrlik has also signed with the Capitals, agreeing to a 2-year, $7 Million deal.

The former first-overall pick tallied five goals and 29 assists in 79 games for Montreal in 2010-11.

Leaned on heavily in Andrei Markov's absence, Hamrlik demonstrated good enough offensive instincts to fill in on the team's power play while still being defensively sound enough to play against the opposition's best players.

Hamrlik's last contract saw him earn $22 million over the past four years with Montreal.

Hamrlik has scored 153 goals and 471 assists in his 18-year NHL career. He has played 1,311 NHL games with stops with the Lightning, Oilers, Islanders and Flames before he joined Montreal.

Hamrlik was a member of the gold-medal-winning 1998 Czech Olympic men's hockey team.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=370602

Both are solid signings. The Capitals get another two-way forward in Ward, though I think we overpaid considering that we let Boyd Gordon go for a lot less.

In Hamrlik, the Capitals got a good defenseman who can help shut down the opposition. I really like the signing and the terms.

 

[Woy]

Are you just updating this thread for yourself?

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Are you just updating this thread for yourself?

There are moves that are happening.....if people want to comment on them, they can. If the thread stays dead after more than a couple weeks of having it up, then I'll probably update it less often.

 

[Woy]

There are moves that are happening.....if people want to comment on them, they can. If the thread stays dead after more than a couple weeks of having it up, then I'll probably update it less often.

Just wondering. It's cool to have a team thread and all, I just don't know of many Caps fans around here.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Roman Hamrlik was the last player left on the ice this morning at Scotiabank Place and will be a healthy scratch for tonight’s game against the Senators. As the Capitals plan to sit Hamrlik, French-language news outlet RDS reports that the team is also shopping the veteran defenseman.

“Hamrlik has been offered a few teams, but the Capitals are very demanding,” reports Renaud Lavoie of RDS, via the powers of Google translate.

Teams in search of a veteran presence on the blueline could be interested in Hamrlik, who leads the Capitals in blocked shots (119) and is 19th in the league in that category.

Given that he looks every bit of his 37 years at times on the ice and is in the first season of a two-year deal with an annual salary cap hit of $3.5 million, however, Hamrlik may be a bit of a tougher sell for teams looking to add a defenseman.

One team that could possibly be a fit is St. Louis, which is in need of a veteran defenseman and recently lost some leadership with Jamie Langenbrunner (broken foot) out of the lineup. The Blues have had officials at recent Capitals games, both home and away.

In 55 games this season, Hamrlik has two goals and eight assists and a plus-1 rating while averaging 19 minutes 11 seconds of ice time per game. Over 37 games since Dale Hunter was hired in late November, Hamrlik has a plus-11 rating but the coach was blunt when asked about why the veteran would be out against the Senators Wednesday.

“We want him to be a defensive defenseman,” Hunter said. “He’s giving up too many chances so he’s out of the lineup. Giving up too many, took a bad penalty last game and so we’re going to put someone else in.”

Over the past 10 games, Hamrlik has been on the ice for six of the 24 goals the Capitals have allowed. Hunter said that regardless of his experience, Hamrlik’s performance warrants that he not be in the lineup.

“Everybody’s even. We’ve got to make the playoffs,” Hunter said. “It’s a battle of who stays in the lineup.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...lik/2012/02/22/gIQAkcreTR_blog.html#pagebreak

Hamrlik was supposed to be the shutdown defenseman that the Capitals needed for the past few seasons, but he is just proof that you never know when old age will strike. Hopefully, some team will pick him up for the playoff run, but since his cap hit is around $3.5 million (and for next year too) that is probably wishful thinking.