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Sorry for the lack of content this week. My schedule has been fairly hectic, but with Redskins training camp right around the corner, it’s a safe bet that I’ll be back in action next week. In the meantime, here are a few links to tide you over:

The Washington Capitals are in the news this week and it’s for all the right reasons. The Caps donated equipment to the USA Warriors Ice Hockey Program and then hosted a hockey clinic involving 40 wounded servicemembers. Very cool stuff.

In other Caps news, Alex Ovechkin recently suited up for Dynamo back in Mother Russia. To recap, while Albert Haynesworth, the Redskins $100-million athlete, can’t be bothered to practice, Ovechkin, the Caps $100-million man, is willing to play pickup wherever they’ll have him. Which team do you think is happier with their investment?

And finally, the cleverly-titled King of Leonsis blog asks the simple question – is Tomas Fleischmann worth the cash? The answer is no, but you should still give it a read anyway.

The Nationals won 7-1 yesterday, which is newsworthy because it was the first time the team won a game in which Stephen Strasburg wasn’t involved since July 8th. Prior to Thursday’s victory, the Nats were 3-0 in Strasmas games and 0-7 when anyone else took the mound in their last 10 games. And yet, team president Stan Kasten believes his Nats are “so much closer than it appears.” Spend some money to get some more depth in the lineup and I might actually agree with you, Stan.

If the Nationals are going to be competitive anytime soon, they’ll likely need to add more to the lineup. That would mean players like Adam Dunn, Josh Willingham and Matt Capps – all of which have been mentioned in trade rumors over the last month – would likely stay around. SB Nation DC looks at the value of keeping Dunn on board.

According to Bullets Forever, Wizards general manager Ernie Grunfeld is the 18th best GM in the NBA. I’m not sure I’d rank him that high – especially after giving Gilbert Arenas a six-year, $111-million contract in 2008 and his continual desire to trade away top five draft picks and get nothing in return – but it’s still worth checking out.

In preparation for training camp, the folks at NFL.com take a look at the 2010 Redskins. In their opinion, the transition to a 3-4 scheme on defense, the wide receiver battle and the renovated offensive line are the biggest focal points.

In other Redskins-related news, Skinscast is back for a fifth season. With a new general manager, a new head coach, a new quarterback and countless other changes from last season at Redskins Park there’s no shortage of stuff to talk about concerning the burgundy and gold.

And finally, former Redskins tight end Clint Didier has a new teammate – Sarah Palin. Try not to hold it against him.

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Now that LeBron-a-thon is over and the rest of the sports world can return to some semblance of normalcy, I thought it would be appropriate to take a moment for an impromptu state of the union address for the D.C. sports scene.

In no particular order, here are 10 thoughts on all of your favorite local sports franchises.

1. Strike while the iron is hot and trade Gilbert Arenas to Cleveland. Like, right this minute. Seriously. Do it.

My plan all along was to wait for the New York Knicks to fall flat on their face and miss out on the big-name free agents like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, etc.

Unfortunately, Amare Stoudemire took the money and ran, which leads me to believe that the Knicks aren’t likely to be as desperate to acquiring someone with name recognition. Maybe if Isiah Thomas was still calling the shots it could happen, but I doubt that their new regime is in as much of a hurry to pull the trigger on an Arenas deal.

Same concept, different city.

The Cavaliers just took the biggest stomach punch in the history of professional sports. Their chosen son just went on primetime television to break up with them. Honestly, it’s more disrespectful than anything Albert Haynesworth has done since he came to D.C.

But the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. The Cavs could swallow Arenas’ contract if they shipped the Wiz back Antawn Jamison and some spare parts. The Cavs are obviously reeling from this blindside hit – so much so that their owner, Dan Gilbert, guaranteed Cleveland will win an NBA title before James. His remarks reek of desperation, which is exactly what you want if you’re looking to unload someone with as much baggage as Gilbert.

So let’s get on the phone now and make it happen before they have a chance to even rebound. Do it for the kids.

2. While we’re at it, be sure the deal includes a sign and trade for center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. I’m pretty sure he still has his Wizards jersey from the last time he was traded here, so you’ve got that going for you. Which is nice.

3. Speaking of the Wizards, their roster is starting to take shape after Washington drafted John Wall and acquired combo guard Kirk Hinrich and disappointing forward Yi Jianlian via trade. But regardless of what happens with the artist formerly known as Agent Zero, they’ve still got some work to do this offseason.

Personally, I’d like to see them sign Josh Childress. Dude’s got some game and he’d be an upgrade over Nick Young or whoever else he’d be taking minutes from. The only issue seems to be that after a stint in Greece, Childress seems to be a highly sought after player. No worries. If the price tag is too high, then the Wiz should turn their attention to re-signing Josh Howard once he’s fully recovered from his knee injury.

Unfortunately, the Wizards renounced the rights to Howard this week, as well as Mike Miller and Randy Foye (you know, the two guys they traded away a top-five draft picks for one year ago). So yeah, general manager Ernie Grunfeld continues to make the job harder than it needs to be.

Is it too late to include Grunfeld in a package deal with Arenas to Cleveland as well?

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[Editor's note: For those who still haven't heard the news, I've started writing a weekly sports column for SB Nation DC. So every Tuesday, my contribution to society (or at least the D.C. sports scene) is located over there.]

George McPhee deserves my trust.

I know this, and believe me when I tell you I’ve been repeating this sentiment over and over since free agency began. But damn, it’s still tough to question the silence coming out of the Washington Capitals these days.

It’s true that, when it comes to decision makers in the D.C. sports scene, McPhee really is the cream of the crop. His work as the Caps’ general manager during “The Plan,” namely blowing up an aging/underachieving roster and rebuilding the franchise with a solid (and much younger) foundation, is enough to earn him a lifetime achievement award.

For those who aren’t familiar, “The Plan” is code word for McPhee willingly discarding any player he had with name recognition. He traded away established veterans like Jaromir Jagr, Peter Bondra, Robert Lang and Sergei Gonchar to stockpile draft picks and youngsters as a way to reboot the franchise.

He could have taken the easy way out and sat on his hands while the Caps were good enough to make the playoffs but never truly compete for the Stanley Cup. Thankfully, that’s not his style. Simply achieving mediocrity wasn’t acceptable. McPhee knew what needed to be done and then had the courage to execute, even if it ultimately could have cost him his job.

Think about this: Had McPhee wavered and/or convinced management to ride with the old timers a minute longer, then chances are that superstar forward Alex Ovechkin would have ended up in Pittsburgh. I don’t know how that goes over with you, but the thought alone makes me queasy.

And while Redskins fans have to live in a world where multiple draft picks are discarded for bums like T.J. Duckett and Brandon Lloyd, McPhee is the exact opposite. He ships away nobodies like Brian Sutherby and somehow steals a second rounder, which he then turned into goalie Cristobal Huet. Is any other team in town savvy enough to turn a seldom-used fourth liner into a starting goalie? Not a chance.

But let’s pause for a quick tangent. While McPhee deserves all of the praise he gets, the rest of the local general managers sure have made it easy for him to shine.

• Vinny Cerrato was so inept that he somehow managed to run a once-proud franchise into the ground while simultaneously making legendary Redskins like Art Monk, Gary Clark and countless others feel unwelcomed. He’s a double threat in every sense possible and it may be year before the Redskins fully recover from his time calling the shots.

• Jim Bowden, who once compared the baseball player’s union to terrorists, was always surrounded by controversy during his time with the Nationals. Between his DUI arrest, an FBI investigation for skimming money from signing bonuses and everything else, Bowden proved he was good at running his mouth, not the Nats.

• Thankfully, Ernie Grunfeld hasn’t been nearly as toxic as either of those two clowns, but that doesn’t mean things have been perfect during his time with the Wizards. Since 2003, Grunfeld has wasted first rounders on so-so players (Nick Young and Oleksiy Pecherov), traded away first rounders for role players (Randy Foye and Mike Miller) and signed a one-legged, me-first point guard to a crippling six-year, $111 million contract. Oh, and he doesn’t really seem to understand the concept of salary cap space. Other than that, he’s been great.

So yeah, while McPhee has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to building a winner, he’s also aided by the failures of his peers.

Click here for the full article.

(photo by Jared Wickerham)

Losing seasons have been the norm for D.C. sports fans, as the Redskins, Capitals, Wizards and Nationals have won just 1,165 out of a possible 2,673 games in recent history.

Thankfully, the influx of young talent with franchise players such as Alex Ovechkin, Stephen Strasburg and John Wall means that brighter days are ahead for our nation’s capital. Or at least that’s the story we’re telling with our weekly column over at SB Nation DC.

Click here to read the full feature. Or don’t. It’s your call.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

We’ve never understood how a parent could say they love their children differently. Since we don’t have kids of our own, it always seemed odd to hear a parent admit they love their children on different level. We always thought that was code for “I love this kid less.”

Until now.

We still don’t have any kids (that we know of), but our favorite sports teams have been kind enough to shed some light on the subject for us.

Take the Washington Redskins, for example. They’re definitely the older, more stubborn child. There’s little doubt that they’ve got some sort of attention deficit disorder, as evident by their new master plan seemingly each and every year. Oh, and they’ve been known to turn some folks off with their brash demeanor as they walk around like they own the place. Basically, they mean well, but the majority of their issues are self inflicted.

And then there’s the Washington Capitals. They’re the younger, quieter sibling. They haven’t been around nearly as long as the ‘Skins, which works to their advantage because they don’t pretend to have all the answers. They’ve taken a few missteps along the way (see: Jagr, Jaromir), but they’re more likely to learn from those mistakes than their older brother.

There’s no doubt that we love both of these teams, as evident by the staggering amount of time, energy and money we’ve dedicated to both of them. But it’s impossible to love both franchises the same when they’re so dramatically different.

The Redskins have spent this entire offseason acquiring every aging veteran you’ve ever heard of. Take one look at players like Donovan McNabb (33), Rex Grossman (29), Larry Johnson (30), Willie Parker (29), Joey Galloway (38), Bobby Wade (29), Vonnie Holliday (34), Adam Carriker (26), Howard Green (31), Maake Kemoeatu (31), Chris Draft (34) or Phillip Buchanon (29) and it’s easy to see that this year’s makeover did little to decrease the team’s average age.

The one aspect of this aggressive offseason we can give the ‘Skins credit for is that none of these players received a lucrative signing bonus or long-term contract extension, as was standard in the past. Outside of McNabb, any of the dozen players listed above could be let go tomorrow and it wouldn’t have a huge impact on the team. It’s not earth shattering by any stretch of the imagination, but it counts as progress.

Conversely, we have the Capitals, who yesterday announced the signing of center Nicklas Backstrom to a 10-year, $67-million contract. During his three seasons in Washington, the 22-year-old Swede has continually improved in every offensive category and ranks among the league’s elite.

Backstrom is now signed through 2019-20 and his linemate, forward Alex Ovechkin, is locked up through 2020-21. The dynamic duo scored a combined 210 points last season, easily the best in the NHL and they were two of only four players to crack the 100-point barrier (Backstrom set career-highs with 33 goals and 68 assists for 101 points this season).

Any conversation about the NHL’s best duos has to include the following (with their average annual salary cap hit in parenthesis):

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(photo by Getty Images)

We double checked and it appears the NHL has declined our request to reinstate the Washington Capitals back in the playoffs. Although we’re devastated, we figure it would be more constructive if we turned our attention to the five biggest questions facing the franchise as they head into the offseason.

1. Does Alex Ovechkin need to change?

It’s safe to say this last year hasn’t gone according to plan for Ovechkin. Team Russia was an utter disaster. And then he caught flack for pushing a video camera away during some down time in Vancouver during the Olympic break. And there were the two suspensions. Finally, there was a first-round exit by his Capitals, who were leaps and bounds better than anyone else during the regular season.

So yeah, not good times for Ovechkin. If that’s not enough, now there’s talk that the reason the Montreal Canadiens did such a solid job defending Ovechkin is because he became predictable.

“Generally, you know what’s coming,” Canadiens defenseman Josh Gorges said in an interview with Elliotte Friedman. “When he comes in on the off-wing, he’ll try to step to the middle and shoot through you. You can bait him into that.”

“If you do go to the middle, he will try to go to the outside,” Montreal defenseman Hal Gill added.

Okay, for starters, Gill is an idiot. He’s basically admitting he shouldn’t have been part of the interview. A teammate says Ovechkin likes to come into the offensive zone by rushing down the wing with the puck, cuts towards the center and tries to fire the puck on net while using a defenseman as a screen.

We all know that to be true because Ovechkin has scored a thousand goals doing exactly what Jorges described. Gill jumps in and says, “Yeah. Or if you’re in his way, then he’ll go the other way.”

Of course he will. Where did you expect him to go? Backwards? Sideways? Just because Alexander Semin loves to curl back 40 times a game doesn’t mean Ovechkin will too. Not all Russians are the same, Hal. That’s profiling, and profiling is wrong.

Ovechkin skates fast and hard towards the net. If he can use a defenseman’s positioning to his advantage, he’s going to do so. The biggest knock we can put on Ovechkin is his lack of patience. There are times when nothing is there and he’s going to try to force a play anyway. But the guy is supremely talented and there are times when that’s enough to make something out of nothing. He’s got confidence in his abilities, so it’s nothing surprising that he’s trying to carry the team on his shoulders.

Boudreau needs to take a good, hard look at the footage of the Montreal series and decide if, indeed, his best player became predictable. If that’s the case, then he can determine if maybe it’s better for another player, such as Nicklas Backstrom should bring the puck into the zone.

Boudreau said that Ovechkin played four different positions on the powerplay during the series, so he’s obviously willing to tinker with things until he finds what works. There’s no reason to think he won’t be able to do the same with this.

2. Is Semin part of the problem or part of the solution? Ditto for Mike Green.

If we were running the show (and be thankful that’s not the case), Semin would be gone. At this point, you know what you’re getting with him. Dude’s got mad skills, but he’s a head case. He finished seventh in the NHL with 40 goals, but his other hobbies include taking ill-advised offensive-zone penalties and a steadfast refusal to go anywhere near the net.

We chatted with one Capitals player last season who seemed convinced that Semin ignores his coach’s pleas to go to the net simply because he’s afraid of the physical abuse opposing defenders dish out. If that’s the case, then really, how can the Caps pay him $6 million next season?

Moving Semin and spending a portion of the newly-available salary cap space on free-agent defenseman Anton Volchenkov would absolutely be a dream come true (which is why neither will happen).

As far as Green, much of what plagues him is off the ice or between his ears. Why do you think he skipped out on the team’s final media session, only to have a change of heart five days later? He’s young. He’s emotional. He knows a section of the hockey-viewing world is overly critical of him and thinks he should play the game a different way.

Critics say Green should be moved to forward because he’s basically playing the position anyway. Or he should take skating lessons because he only skates hard in bursts. Or he should stop trying to score and focus only on defense. Seriously, you can say he’s a millionaire athlete and with that comes a price, but damn.

We’re not sure how anyone could focus on playing hockey when every “expert” with an XBox 360 thinks they know the game better than Green or Boudreau. And of course, they all feel obligated to share their opinion.

It’s funny, because now that the Washington Redskins have mercifully parted ways with quarterback Jason Campbell, Green is probably the most polarizing player in D.C.

Many love him and many more love to hate on him. At this point, the best thing Green could do is just tune all of the white noise out and focus solely on what his coach asks of him. He’s in the NHL because he’s an above-average offensive threat, so why change that? Sure, he can refine some of his positioning and technique in the defensive zone, but anyone who thinks Green should turn into Rod Langway is delusional.

Let’s all take a moment to remember he’s only 24 and that the Capitals are much better with him than without him.

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(photo by Getty Images)

Now that the Washington Capitals’ season has come to an abrupt end and the locals have begun to settle down as the shock of the disappointing opening-round loss to the Montreal Canadiens fades away, it’s time to look ahead to next year and beyond.

The beautiful thing about the Capitals is that the core of this franchise is young – with 13 players on the final roster 26 or younger. And because Capitals general manager George McPhee and owner Ted Leonsis are smart, the bulk of the players on the roster are signed to short-term deals.

In fact, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin still has a decade or so on his current contract and fourth-line center David Steckel is signed through 2012-13. Everyone else currently on the roster is signed for two years or less, giving the team tremendous financial flexibility moving forward.

Today we’re taking a look at which players are set to become free agents and taking a stab at who should be back and who might want to contact their preferred real estate agent this summer.

Restricted free agents

Name: Nicklas Backstrom
Position: center
Age: 22
‘09-10 stats: 82 games played, 33 goals, 68 assists, 101 points
3-year average: 82 games played, 23 goals, 63 assists, 86 points
Outlook: Backstrom was one of just four players in the NHL this season to eclipse the 100-point mark. Since the other three players in that category (Vancouver’s Henrik Sedin, Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Ovechkin) are all finalists for the Hart Trophy, as the league’s most valuable player, it’s safe to say the 22-year-old Swede has reached elite status (even if the rest of the NHL continues to underrate Backstrom).

Backstrom has never missed a game since joining the Caps and his goals, assists, points, plus/minus and shooting percentage have improved each of his three seasons. Basically, the Capitals would be insane to let Backstrom go anywhere and they know it, so expect news of a new contract to be announced in the not-too-distant future.

No one knows for sure what kind of contract Backstrom will net, but it’s safe to assume it’ll be somewhere between $7-7.5 million per year. But if that’s what it takes to lock up this top-line center for at least five or six years, then so be it. He’s clearly a superbly talented kid who the front office can feel comfortable building the franchise around.

Name: Eric Fehr
Position: right wing
Age: 24
‘09-10 stats: 69 games played, 21 goals, 18 assists, 39 points
3-year average: 51 games played, 11 goals, 12 assists, 23 points
Outlook: We’ve got a confession to make. Two or three years ago, we didn’t care much for Fehr. The Capitals used the 18th overall pick in the 2003 NHL draft on him and we felt he should be more of an impact player like Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf, Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler and Philadelphia’s Mike Richards – all players the Caps passed up to draft Fehr.

We saw two 50-goal seasons during Fehr’s time in the minors and couldn’t wait for his arrival in Washington. Sadly, he scored a grand total of six goals in his first three seasons in D.C. and we nearly gave up on the pride of Winkler, Manitoba. Thankfully, McPhee has more patience than we do.

Fehr’s salary this season was $771,750, which would seem to be a bargain for a 24-year-old who scores 20 goals a year. Let’s say through arbitration, Fehr’s salary were to double. He’d still only make $1.5 million (which is what Brendan Morrison earned this year). Something in the range of $1.5-2.5 million sounds fair to us.

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