Update: Caps Cut 6, including John Carlson
The Caps just announced their second round of cuts moments ago, among them is former 1st rounder John Carlson. Carlson had an extremely strong camp and has vaulted himself into one of the Capitals most prized prospects. It is certain that John was sent to Hershey to get more seasoning. He has only played in 16 AHL games and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize the sort of potential the 19 year old defenseman has.
Expect John to be the first call up on defense this season...that is unless the Caps somehow decide to shock us all and send Karl Alzner back to Hershey(which would be a very bad move in my opinion).
The others who were cut alongside John Carlson and sent to Hershey were: Jason Bacashihua, Andrew Joudrey, Francois Bouchard, Patrick McNeill and Steve Pinizzotto.
Those who have escaped the cuts so far and remain in camp with a shot to make the team include, Keith Aucoin, Alex Giroux, Andrew Gordon, Quintan Laing, Oskar Osala, Mathieu Perreault, Brandon Sugden, Kyle Wilson, Karl Alzner, Sean Collins, Tyler Sloan and Michael Neuvrith.
Trade Poll
With no apparent end to Michael Nylander and Bruce Boudreau’s stand-off, it might be time to start searching for potential new homes for the maligned/banished centermen.
So, I ask you, Leaf Nation, would you be interested in acquiring Michael Nylander to play alongside Phil Kessel?
Nylander, who has a somewhat similar style of play to Kessel’s former centerman, Marc Savard, was hoping that he would be given a chance to return to form with the Capitals this season, but with the team having moved in a drastically new direction since Michael suffered his shoulder injury in the middle of the 2007-08 season, there no longer appears to be room for him on Washington’s roster.
Without a role to fulfill, the talented center has slowly been pushed to the outside of the Caps periphery and, in the minds of many, right off of Washington’s radar.
With 2 years remaining on his current contract, for a total of $8.5 million dollars, Nylander still feels he has alot to give. Remembering that he is only 2 years removed from a stretch of seasons where he formed one of the strongest lines in hockey with Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka, it’s not a far stretch to imagine Nylander getting his game back if given the chance.
All he needs is a role and the ice-time to prove that he can still contribute.
It’s clear that he will not be given that chance in DC, so where would a skilled play-making center want to play?
Nylander’s first choice is to play for a contender.
His second choice is to play on a team that will recognize his talent and experience and also provide him with an important role on the team.
Barring the chance that Nylander could not find a home with a team suiting those criteria, Michael would just be happy to play. Period.
And what better a place than Toronto?
The Leafs have $496,668 remaining in cap space according to
capgeek.com. The Capitals have
$1,312,707 left. Please note both of these calculations do not count the possibilities of the Capitals adding a player like Karl Alzner to the lineup or the Leafs adding in a player like Tyler Bozak.
The reality is that both of these teams are pushing up against the salary cap ceiling and for them to complete a deal would mean that the teams would have to trade salary for salary.
With that in mind, here is a list of players that the Capitals could acquire from the Leafs that would fall within the salary cap range:
-
Tomas Kaberle,
$4,250,000-2 years remaining: A deal for Kaberle that would include Nylander would mean that McPhee would have to offer back Burke some of the picks that he lost to Chiarelli in the Kessel deal. Would the Caps be willing to lose a 1st and 2nd along with Nylander for the services of the Kaberle?
-
Jason Blake,
$4,000,000 – 3 years remaining: Although highly unlikely that the Capitals would be interested in adding another winger, a straight up swap of Nylander for Blake would likely not include any picks or other compensation.
If the Caps wanted to swap out Nylander for something other than 1 player or a combination of a player and draft picks, they could work out a deal of multiple salaries in return for Nylander. Here are some players that could be packaged together to form a suitable swap in salary to allow the Leafs to acquire Nylander:
- D – Jeff Finger; $3.5/3 years remaining
- D – Mike Van Ryn; $2.9/ final year of contract
- D – Ian White; $850,000/ final year of contract
- F – Lee Stempniak; $2.5/final year of contract
- F – Alexei Ponikarovsky; $2.1/final year of contract
- F – Wayne Primeau; $1.4/final year of contract
- F – Jamal Mayers; $1.333/final year of contract
- F – John Mitchell; $487,500/final year of contract
Any combination of approximately $4 million from the players listed above could create a way for Nylander to find his way to Toronto.
I believe that Michael would likely accept a deal to Toronto.
He would be excited about pairing with a speedster like Kessel and could provide the Leafs with a veteran offensive weapon that could help the young players develop. With only 2 years remaining on his deal, Nylander would provide Burke with an excellent opportunity to take his time in finding a legitimate “franchise” center to play alongside Kessel for the length of Phil’s new contract.
The Leafs could use a guy like Nylander down the middle and the Capitals could use the cap space.
Will a deal be worked out between these teams? It’s always possible, but what do the fans have to say about it?
Would Leaf Nation accept Nylander as a filler for 2 years to provide Kessel an outlet passer and time for Burke to land a young legitimate 1st line center on a long-term contract?
Would Caps Nation accept a combination of players from Toronto for the chance to part with Nylander?
Would either fanbase be interested in a trade that would see Kaberle move to DC and for the Leafs to receive Nylander as well as some of the picks they lost to Boston?
Could it happen?
Would you want it to?
[email protected]
[email protected]
Go Caps!!!!!
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»