A Possible Bargaining Chip?
Having recently resigned Alex Semin to another 1 year contract extension, worth $6.7 million this time around, the Washington Capitals have ideally taken Alex off the trade market for the foreseeable future. I say "foreseeable future" due to the fact that Semin's extension does not include an NMC or NTC, meaning there is reason to believe he may not play out this new extension in DC.
That said, Semin will not be going anywhere this season - unless someone steps up to the plate and knocks GMGM's socks off with a whopper of a deal. Instead, the Caps are going to rely on his offense through the remainder of the year, hoping that it will carry through to the playoffs - and not disappear in April...
This is all to say that the Caps won't be moving Semin this year, but more importantly, that there may be other assets they are willing to part with as they near the trade deadline.
Now, folks have been making a very big deal about the fact that Washington does not have a veteran presence in nets, yet the argument against it lies in the fact that the Caps have 3 of the most talented young netminders in the game.
Counter to that, many believe it is still not enough to get the job done in the playoffs - and given the fact no clear-cut decision as to which goalie is staking a claim for the role of #1 has been made, it's not unreasonable to imagine management considering whether or not it might be wise to part with one of their valuable goaltenders in order to help the lineup out.
Here is a bit of insight into the makeup of the 3 goaltenders, and(from what I have been told) management's points of view regarding each;
Varlamov: The most talented of the 3 goaltenders(only 1st rounder of the 3/1st round, 23rd overall), yet work ethic, injury susceptibility and inconsistency may make him the tastiest bit of trade bait among the goaltenders.
Neuvirth: The rock. Not as outstandingly talented as Semyon, yet consistency and endurance are trademarks that earn him consideration as a possible future franchise goalie.(Not to mention it's not as if he is "untalented" - he was drafted only 11 spots after Varlamov in the '06 draft/2nd round, 34th overall)
Holtby: The most unknown of the 3, has lit the AHL on fire since his arrival and from all accounts falls in between Varly and Neuvirth in terms of talent but outranks both in terms of work ethic. From what I have been told, he is the "Crosby" of netminders when it comes to work ethic and dedication. Take that for what it is, but there's no denying Holtby(picked the latest of all 3 goalies/4th round in '08) is fast on his way to becoming an NHL regular.
This leaves room for the obvious, will the Capitals consider with parting with one of these goaltenders?
Would they consider that now?
The truth of the matter is that, according to Capgeek, the Capitals can incur a maximum possible cap hit of $4,995,462 at the deadline. In other words, Washington can take on an awful lot of salary.
Yet being able to take on that salary does not entice management all that much due to the fact that they are now currently
extremely un-reluctant to part with the majority of the players on the team...but that doesn't mean they won't.
To add further fuel to the fire, everything is not as rosy as it once was inside the locker-room. Not to say there are problems, yet more to the point that the team is quite weary at the moment and are not necessarily all on the same page. It's been a difficult year for the Caps; not eclipsing the Conference as they have in seasons past has created a different atmosphere in the dressing room.
That 'atmosphere' is also of concern to management. The difference in how the dynamic of the dressing has changed does not lend to the same happy room fans have come to know and love. The harder the season, the harder it has been on the players and sometimes that turns up in the room.
Many trivial things have been magnified this season, a side-effect of sharing the spotlight with the Penguins in the HBO 24/7 series and the surplus of coverage that came along with that and the Winter Classic, and although things are not terrible by any means, there is a heavy pressure pushing down on the team to pull off whatever necessary to push this team to a Championship.
So, what lies in the Capitals future?
Trades seem logical, but it's unlikely George McPhee will be inclined to pull off a salary for salary trade, if anything, all signs are pointing to Washington's general manager putting together a solid package of picks/prospects for a salaried player who can help the Caps now and moving forward.
It's a tough realization, but McPhee has to be getting closer to understanding that his team is now in a position where parting with some of their future today is what will help get the job done in the spring.
The All-Star weekend is a great weekend off for the players, but don't forget, it's also an excellent opportunity for general managers to get a lot of work done...
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