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23Feb

caps win over pens again

(photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The Washington Capitals continued their recent dominance over the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 5-2 victory at the Verizon Center Sunday.

While the Penguins would not qualify for the playoffs if the season ended today, the game definitely had a playoff atmosphere with the fans fired up from the start and both teams trading hits and words throughout the physical affair.

In the end, the Caps secured their third-consecutive victory over Pittsburgh and we caught up with forward Tomas Fleischmann to get his thoughts on the battle.

How important was it for you guys to bounce back and get a win after the lackluster game against Colorado Friday night?

“We need to win when we’re at home and it was basically a great first period,” he said. “We skated with fast speed and had a great powerplay goal that got us going.”

This rivalry has been around for a long, long time. It certainly felt like a playoff game here today, right?

“Yes, exactly,” Fleischmann said. “That’s what I felt all game and it was really fun to play in.”

This one was pretty physical too. At times you saw some of the biggest names in hockey getting in each other’s faces and chirping back and forth to raise the stakes even higher, right?

“That’s what you expect from a game like that,” he said. “Like you said, it’s almost like a playoff game and that’s how we play in the playoffs. You know, it was a tough game on the boards and we got a lead 5-2 that made them start to get frustrated a little bit. We kept going and played our game and got the win.”

You’ve now won all three games against Pittsburgh this season. What do you chalk that up to?

“We got excited about these games probably and had more energy than usual,” Fleischmann said. “We chipped some goals in and that’s it.”

You’ve got 22 games left in the regular season. What’s the top priority for this team heading into the postseason?

“Keep playing the same way we did tonight and get in a better position for the playoffs,” he said.

20Feb

replacing a fan favorite

(photo by Steve Mitchell)

Five years ago the Washington Capitals acquired forward Brooks Laich in a trade for right wing Peter Bondra. While it was a bitter pill to swallow for Caps fans at the time, most folks ultimately understood that moves like this one were necessary in order to rebuild the franchise the proper way.

So far, we’ve talked to the general manager who orchestrated the rebuilding effort, the captain during those dark days and the future Hall of Famer who played against the Caps of yesterday. In the final installment of our look back at the Capitals’ rebuild, we sat down with Laich to talk about replacing a fan favorite, getting blown out and more.

Coming into town, what was your initial impression of the Washington Capitals franchise?

“When I first got here, I was called up and I shook George McPhee’s hand,” Laich said. “I had never met him before, but he shook my hand and said ‘Welcome to Washington. We look forward to having you here for a very, very long time.’ As a 20-year-old, you get traded to a new organization and your world kind of flips upside down. At one point you’re sad to leave a bunch of friends from one organization, but you’re also excited about the opportunity with another one.

“For me to come in as a young kid and our general manager to say that to me, it kind of hit home and made me feel very welcome. Right away everyone here seemed first class and I was excited to be here,” he said. “At the time, they might have taken a lot of heat over it because those were some very popular players they traded, but I think fans would have to agree that it was for the better for the organization.”

Through no fault of your own, you ended up coming into town while fan favorite Peter Bondra was being shown the door. Did anyone hold that against you when you first showed up?

“I hope not,” Laich said. “You know, I had no control over that. I’m not going to try and replace Peter and what he meant and what he’s done for this organization. I’ve been able to meet him and he’s a fantastic guy and we’ve had a little chat about it. He was Mister Washington Capital for years and holds many records. I’m just going to try and play my game and be a solid Capital. It’s kind of neat to be able to say I was traded for one of the all-time greats in the organization, but I hope that people aren’t going to think I’m going to try and score 55 goals a year. I’m just going to play my game and try to help us win. I think that’s more important.”

It’s easy now to gloss over everything and just say “there were some tough times,” but honestly, how bad was it?

(Laughs). “It was bad, but you know, we understood that,” he said. “We understand that we were young and had some good hockey players, but we weren’t at the level that we could be. We knew there was going to be growing pains and it was gonna take time. We knew it wasn’t going to be an over-night process. Like they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day. That was the feeling around here. But we knew that one day we were going to wake up and we were going to be a very good hockey team.

“We took some lumps,” Laich continued. “There were some 5-0, 6-0, 7-1 games – some long nights – but you have to learn from those and we did. We took our beatings and I think we’re a better hockey team now because we went through it. We learned how much we hated losing. No matter how much you lose, you never get used to it. You realize how hard you have to work to win and that’s something I think we’re figuring out even now.”

With that in mind, how rewarding is it now to see all of that hard work begin to pay off?

“It’s so nice, we’re really able to enjoy winning now because we’ve been through the thick and thin,” Laich said. “We’ve all been here when things weren’t as good, and what we were doing was setting the foundation for what was to be a good hockey team. Some of the guys who’ve been moved out, I feel bad for them because they were part of the plan too because they’re not around now to reap the rewards. Fortunately, I’ve been able to stick around and have a contract that should keep me around for a couple more years. I’m just really enjoying it all right now.

“I think we have some really fantastic hockey players and I really, really like our hockey team,” he said. “I think a lot of people are still underestimating our team. I think we’re a very dangerous team and I think we should be a team to watch down the stretch.”

How close is this team to putting it all together?

“That’s the thing,” Laich said. “You know, we’re still growing. I’m not going to say we’re the number-one contender or we’re the best. I’m not going to say that yet because there’s still areas we can improve. We’re still a young hockey team and we’re still learning. The main thing is the desire is there. Watch our star player – Alex Ovechkin – and see how badly he wants to win. That has a trickle-down effect on everybody else and we’re starting to get a taste of success now. We’re putting together some streaks and it’s a fun time to play right now. It only makes us hungrier because we’re curious to see how far we can go.”

19Feb

note: no end in sight

(courtesy photo)

Sometimes I can’t help but wonder what it’s like to root for a basketball team that has a fucking clue.

Seeing well-run franchises like the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs able to effectively run their teams on both an immediate and long-term basis is almost disheartening to a Washington Bullets/Wizards fan.

The Spurs land a number-one pick and draft a cornerstone like center Tim Duncan. Washington gets Kwame Brown. The Celtics acquire a grizzled veteran like Kevin Garnett and sail to yet another NBA championship. The Wiz somehow convince the greatest player of my lifetime, Michael “Freaking” Jordan, to play in D.C. and they can’t even sniff .500. Seriously, it’s embarrassing.

But at some point you get used to the ineptitude. You embrace the mediocrity. I mean, the franchise surely did when they dropped confetti and threw a party just for qualifying for the playoffs a few years ago. And who cares if the current version of the Wizards is, at best, good enough to qualify for the postseason but flawed enough to ensure the second round is a pipedream? When they’re this bad for this long, a first-round exit is a welcomed distraction.

That’s why I was able to live with the stories coming out of D.C. this week about our beloved basketball team. Comcast Sportsnet did a sit-down interview with general manager Ernie Grunfeld in which he said (with a straight face) that he wouldn’t change a thing if he knew then what he knows now about signing a one-legged Gilbert Arenas to a six-year, $111 million deal this past offseason and I didn’t even hit up the liquor cabinet. During the same interview Grunfeld said he isn’t second guessing any other moves that led to his Wizards’ 12-42 record and I somehow managed to avoid throwing the remote at my television.

Unfortunately, a day later, I lost it. You see, I can put up with a lot, but the Washington Post pushed me over the edge when they ran a story on Grunfeld that started with the following paragraph:

Ernie Grunfeld’s plan was to sprinkle talented youngsters and veteran role players around a core of three star players. Then he would watch the team progress deep into the playoffs, perhaps to a long-awaited second NBA championship.

Now I’ve never met the gentleman who wrote this particular story, but he clearly, unlike me, was unable to avoid drinking when the topic of the Wizards came into play.

Anyone who thought this team of streaky jump shooters who continually refuse to play defense was capable of doing anything more than selling popcorn at the NBA Finals should be forced to wear a helmet while riding the school bus. For this writer to even mention the word “championship” in a Washington Wizards article is a more egregious foul than anything Jayson Blair ever did.

Later in this same article, the writer suggests that there’s a silver lining to this pitiful season because the team “has a good chance at landing a high pick in the draft lottery.” That statement is then followed up with this turd in the punch bowl:

However, because the Wizards already have such huge financial commitments, there is a decent chance Grunfeld will consider trading the pick.

Um … what?

The only reason people are willing to live with this lost season is because there’s hope that Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin or someone of his caliber will ride into town and save this sinking ship. Now the Wizards are floating the idea of trading away the draft pick in order to rid the franchise of Etan Thomas’ bad contract? Really? Someone thinks that’ll go over well?

Click here for the full article.

Note to self is a weekly sports column written for HoboTrashcan.

18Feb

ovechkin is pretty good

It’s almost embarrassing how much better Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin is than everyone else. For those who missed it, Ovechkin raised the bar yet again Wednesday night in the Caps 4-3 shootout win over the Montreal Canadiens.

In the first period Ovechkin got control of the puck near the center line. He bounced the puck off the boards while spinning the opposite way past the helpless defender. Had the play ended with that and Ovechkin scoring it would have been the goal of the night. But no, Ovechkin ends up scoring a goal from his backside. We’d try to describe it, but honestly, words wouldn’t do it justice.

On a night when the “handi-capable” penalty killing unit did everything they could to lose to a slumping Montreal team, Ovechkin’s goal helped the Caps escape with a win. And judging from the recaps, The Goal 2.0 is the lasting impression. Giving up three weak powerplay goals is merely an afterthought.

If you haven’t seen the Ovechkin highlight, stop reading this and click the video immediately. Seriously. Do it now. You’re pissing us off.

[Update: Our friends at Japers’ Rink have decided to break down the play frame-by-frame. With all that work involved, the least you could do is go check it out.]

17Feb

worldwide leader talks caps

(courtesy photo)

John Buccigross is an exception to the rule.

While ESPN has largely ignored professional hockey, the former NHL 2Night co-host has gone above and beyond to show the NHL some love. His weekly column on ESPN.com is a must read for any diehard, so we asked him to take some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions about the Washington Capitals. Thankfully, he agreed to play along.

Before we get started, we just wanted to quickly mention your fascinating NHL Mount Rushmore idea from last week’s column. You listed four players who best represent each of the 30 teams and for the Caps you selected Peter Bondra, Dale Hunter, Olaf Kolzig and Alex Ovechkin.

It’s hard to argue any of those four players’ merits, but our only suggestion would be to swap out Hunter for Rod Langway. Both were exceptional team leaders on and off the ice, but the Pierre Turgeon suspension drops Hunter slightly below the helmetless one for us. Either way, we sincerely hope Al Iafrate is the tour guide at the Caps’ Mount Rushmore.

Okay, onto the questions.

When it’s all said and done, where will Alex Ovechkin rank among the league’s elite? You’re already on record as saying he’s the best player in Capitals history, but will he be mentioned in the same breath as Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux as one of the best to ever play the sport?

“I think that will depend on how prolific his goal totals end up being,” Buccigross said. “He has already proved to be one of the more unique players in NHL history. Really, who else compares? If he approaches 800 goals that would be interesting, but I wonder with Ovechkin’s style of play if he can have a long career. Either way he will go down as an NHL great and a player teenagers will grow up talking about and comparing subsequent players to.”

The other Alex, Alexander Semin, draws the ire of locals from time to time for what the team has called “selfish penalties” and a perceived immaturity. He’s only 24 and at times shows flashes of brilliance. Do you think these mental problems are something the kid will grow out of? More importantly, if you were the Caps general manager, would you feel comfortable signing him to a long-term deal?

“I do not think it is something he will grow out of,” he said. “I think it is part of his DNA. I would not feel comfortable signing him unless it was at a reasonable number. Durability seems to be an issue.”

We agree that Semin is probably never going to completely grow out of this. If the Capitals decided to trade him away for more pressing needs, what could they get for him? Which team or teams would match up well with Washington as a trade partner for Semin?

“That’s a tough question,” Buccigross said. “Semin is at $4.6 million next year and then he is a restricted free agent. He turns 25-years-old in March. He has 90-100 point potential, but he has durability issues. If the Capitals could extend him at $5 million a year, I would extend him for four years at that number after next season. If he is looking for $6-7 million dollars, I would deal him. Once you get to that number, durability and leadership have to come into the equation. No team jumped out at me as a natural fit. For some reason, Edmonton came to me.”

Mike Green is a guy who less than a month ago was somehow overlooked for the All-Star game, but now is being mentioned as a potential Norris Trophy winner. Do you think he’ll be able to beat out some of the more established names on the blueline and take home the hardware this year?

“I think it will be tough for Green to win the Norris because he is probably perceived only as an offensive type defenseman,” he said. “[Nicklas] Lidstrom’s reputation and Zdeno Chara, a captain like Lidstrom, will be tough to beat if the Bruins and Red Wings finish first overall in the conference.”

Just how far can the Caps get with Jose Theodore in net? With Brent Johnson sidelined do they need to make a move to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender this year or does Theodore have what it takes to bring them their first championship in franchise history?

“That’s a great decision and it is a decision George McPhee has to make,” Buccigross said. “That decision will ultimately decide how far the Caps will go. I think Theodore has enough game to get it done, but is a slight question mark. The Capitals also must learn to play a little more responsibly defensively.”

If you’re running the Capitals and had to make one move between now and the trade deadline, what area is the biggest concern for you and what trade do you make?

“Probably a veteran forward who is defensively responsible,” he said. “Someone who can convince the team how important it is to play defense. The coaches can say all they want, but to have a teammate the players respect preach positioning and defense goes a long way.”

Where do Ted Leonsis and George McPhee rank among the league’s owners and general managers, respectively? We’re biased, but we can’t help but think Leonsis’ fan friendly ways are just what hockey needs and have nothing but respect for McPhee as well. He’s consistently able to turn a seldom used player like Brian Sutherby into a draft pick (in this case a second rounder), which he then turns into Christobal Huet just in time for a playoff run. Are these guys two of the best in the NHL or are we just homers?

“Both get A’s,” Buccigross said. “How about the Robert Lang trade? McPhee traded Lang to Detroit by Washington for Tomas Fleischmann, Detroit’s first-round choice, Mike Green, in the 2004 Entry Draft and Detroit’s fourth-round choice, Luke Lynes, in 2006 Entry Draft. How they drafted, traded and hired has the Capitals among the Eastern Conference elite.”

Finally, we’d like to simply ask you to share your fondest memory of the Washington Capitals organization, whether it’s something that happened on the ice or behind the scenes. It can be from back in the day or of the more recent “Rock the Red” era.

“My fondest memory will be on March 1st when I stand between the benches and get to hear Alex Ovechkin’s skate blades carve the ice from 10 feet away,” Buccigross said.

[Editor’s note: Capitals owner Ted Leonsis apparently approves of this interview. He posted a link to it called Hot Bucci Love on Homer McFanboy, which is great on about 20 different levels.]

13Feb

hey mister carter …

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Although it’s the offseason, this is typically the time of year when the Washington Redskins make their biggest headlines.

With a creative and aggressive front office, the ‘Skins over the years have consistently managed to restructure deals with core players to free up salary cap space to be ready if/when the right free agent comes along.

With that in mind, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when the Washington Post announced last night that the Redskins had finalized new contracts with defensive end Andre Carter and wide receiver Antwaan Randle El. At this point it’s barely newsworthy (after all, these same two players have been down this very road before). Either way, we used this as an excuse to contact Carter and see how he’s enjoying his offseason.

Congratulations on the new contract. How did it come about? Did the team contact you and ask you to restructure your deal?

“That’s basically what it was,” Carter said. “It was more of a restructuring than a new deal. Honestly, that’s just how it is in this business. We did it to make more room for guys to come in during free agency or the draft. It was a decision to help the team because you never know in this business. I’m about to be 30 years old and anything can happen, so I’m blessed to be able to do this deal, and honestly, my perspective is to just take it year by year. I’m definitely back for the 2009 season and we’ll just kind of go on from there.”

Does this new deal really change anything for you? The breakdown in the Post seemed to indicate you’re getting the same basic amount of money, it’s just shifted into a different category for salary cap purposes.

“Yeah, that’s basically what it is,” he said. “With this, there’s just more up front and hey, any man would take it. Like I said, I consider it more of a blessing than anything. It just means I’ve got less to worry about, like whether or not I’m going to have a spot on the team. So I’m happy that Vinny Cerrato and Eric Shaffer, who is in charge of the contracts, got with my agent to say, ‘This is what we want to do.’”

Don’t you do this restructuring every year? Do you basically have a reminder on your calendar that says today is the day to restructure my contract?

“I think so, I think that’s how it is,” Carter said. “I’m not sure about other players because I haven’t really read anything, but that seems to be the case with me. I’m not really trippin’ about it, it’s just the nature of the business.”

So where you at these days?

“Yeah, I’m back in California,” he said. “I’m just enjoying the Bay area – seeing a lot of friends, doing a lot of stuff with our church and I’ll start doing my running and conditioning soon. I usually like to take a good month and a half off.”

Have you done any kind of vacationing?

“Me and my wife just went to Vegas, man,” Carter said. “We went for a few days on a little adult vacation. Other than that, we’ve got two kids, so we can only do so much.”

Did you win while you were in Vegas?

“Actually I’m not a gambling man, believe it or not,” he said. “I just rolled there to enjoy the festivities. We got some friends out there and I tried to get with Renaldo Wynn, he has a house out there, but we couldn’t touch base. No luck, but hopefully next time.”

You mentioned your offseason program. What kind of workouts do you do to get yourself ready for the first day of camp?

“Actually, I’m one of those guys that will do mixed martial arts,” Carter said. “It’s a combination of Muay Thai, kickboxing and boxing itself to work on my hand-eye coordination. It’s one of those workouts that’s really challenging because you think you’re conditioned, but this is a whole different level. You’re just moving nonstop, at a rapid pace, and moving different body parts.

“It’s a great challenge to go with the typical stuff like weightlifting,” he said. “For me, I like doing the explosive lifts. The power cleans, body squats and snatches, bench presses and typical lifts. Speed work wise, I do quick foot work – you know, five- and 10-yard burst out on the field. But that’s more for my position.”

Talking about lifting, some of that sounds like what Philip Daniels is into, right? Are you trying to get into the heavy lifting like him?

“Nah, I’ve been incorporating some of those workouts throughout my offseasons, but it’s not as extreme as his,” he said. “He’s much more into powerlifting, where he just puts on all that weight and does it. He’s a strong man. I’m good on the powerlifting. I get good weight in, but I’m not trying to beat up my body or anything.”

You mentioned Renaldo, have you been in touch with any other teammates, past or present?

“Yeah, I talk to Phil a lot,” Carter said. “Me and [Cornelius Griffin] text from time to time. I talked to Demetric Evans, Marcus Washington, Mike Sellers not too long ago. Lorenzo Alexander. That’s pretty much it. Those are the main guys I’ve spoken to.”

There have been some questions this offseason as to whether you and Jason Taylor can work as the starting defensive ends. Do you think the team needs to add some depth, or can you two get it done?

“I think we have enough to get it done,” he said. “Perhaps they’ll just bring in another guy to give us a little more depth, but with Jason it was tough. People have got to understand that what Jason has done in the NFL, he’s had great success. Granted, he was successful in a different scheme, but I think to a certain degree how he played in that particular scheme he was just more of an upfield pass rusher and he played the run well. Now, when he came to our division and our scheme, perhaps it handcuffed him a little bit because we do things a certain way. That’s just how it is when you go to a different team, man. It’s not going to be the same exact scheme or fundamentals that worked for you in previous years.

“I think Greg Blache and the rest of the organization will analyze everything, look at that and kind of see what happens. As far as his future with the Redskins, honestly, I don’t know. It’d be great to have him back, but I don’t know what will happen as far as they bring him back to be more of just a pass-rush guy for our team or what.”

Doesn’t it fall on the coaching staff to find the best way to utilize the players on the roster?

“Right, right,” Carter said. “It does. It definitely does, but this game is so unpredictable that you never know what’s going to happen. Overall, Jason’s been a great guy. I’ve enjoyed working with him and hopefully he’ll be back. Like I said, it’s a business though. If by chance he doesn’t come back, he’ll definitely be missed. It was an honor to play with him last season.”

We’re not going to ask for any insider information, but do you anticipate this being a busy offseason at Redskins Park?

“Honestly, it seems like every year is a busy offseason,” he said with a laugh. “So I’ll just go with the flow and guess it’ll be a busy offseason. For whatever reason it seems that Redskins Park is always busy. So no, I don’t think anything’s going to change.”

13Feb

the veteran perspective

(courtesy photo)

Lately, we’ve been focusing on how the Washington Capitals were able to rebuild their franchise from a veteran club that was good enough to make the playoffs, but not actually do anything once they got there, to a team today that’s considered among the league’s elite.

So far we’ve talked to general manager George McPhee and captain Chris Clark, so today we wanted to share another unique perspective. Center Sergei Fedorov is probably the best Russian player in NHL history and is a sure-fire Hall of Famer. He’s also someone who played against those veteran Capitals team during his time with the Detroit Red Wings, so we decided to ask him just what he thought of those Caps teams of yesterday.

“I think they were a solid team,” Fedorov said. “I think if they would have stuck with that team they would have been able to do a lot of damage. But I think after they lost in the finals to Detroit they decided to change it up a bit.”

The Capitals team they decided to blow up had guys like Peter Bondra, Jaromir Jagr and Robert Lang. They had lots of talent, but it didn’t ever really translate into postseason success …

“No, no, they went to the finals,” Fedorov said of the ’98 Capitals. “They were a good team. They were a well-balanced team and had lots of veterans.”

If they were so good, how come your Red Wings team couldn’t let them win at least one game in those Stanley Cup finals?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m playing for Washington Capitals,” Fedorov said with a laugh. “That was in the past.”

Now the Capitals have a younger team that seems to be much more dangerous and is more enjoyable to watch. You’ve been on championship teams, so let us ask you – what does this team have to do to get to that level?

“First of all, I see us competing every night,” he said. “Night in and night out we have to challenge teams and do little things better. So far we’re lacking in that a little bit on and off in some practices and games, you know. It’s normal for younger team, but in order to get better, we kind of need to be stable in our effort.”

Last question, how much longer will we have you in town for?

(Laughs). “Certainly until April,” Fedorov said. “And hopefully for four rounds of playoffs. After that, be my guest.”

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