Follow @james_tanner123 The Washington Capitals training camp opens in approximately two weeks.
Here are some pertinent stats:
They only have nine forwards. Ten if you count Devante Smith-Pelly, but why would you?
They only have four defenseman, five if you count Taylor Chorny, but again, why would you?
The Capitals have one NHL ready prospect, and he ain't no blue-chipper, Jakub Vrana.
They have $4 million dollars in cap space in which to sign whatever the difference is between the five or six roster spots they have to fill and the players they have in the system who can make the NHL out of camp.
Brooks Orpik continues to be a terrible hockey player and to make $5.5 million against the cap.
With only 43 standard player contracts, the Capitals could be in a position to help out a team who is getting close to the 50 threshold.
They have an extra second and an extra third round pick next year. They are without a fifth, but otherwise have all their draft picks for the next three drafts.
Given the window of competitiveness they currently have, it would make sense to use as many picks as necessary to improve their team and to convince someone to take Orpik's contract.
The Marcus Johansson trade should get Brian MacLellan fired.
Tyler Bozak would be a good addition to this team.
Cody Franson would be a smart signing.
Daniel Winnik should be brought back immediately.
As for that promised record review, I bought the new LCD Soundsystem record this past Friday and have listened to it roughly 100 million times since then.
It is the greatest record of the year. It is the best LCD Soundsystem record (which is extremely high praise, since they're about the greatest band on earth and can stand toe-to-toe with anyone from Rock and Roll History, including Prince, Dylan, the Beatles and the Beach Boys).
To give this record a standard ten out of ten doesn't even do it justice. Along with the recent War on Drugs and Arcade Fire albums, the summer of 2017 had an amazing and unprecedented run of great music.
But the LCD Soundsystem record is the best. James Murphy is a musical genius whose talent eclipses even Mozart's. It really is a fantastic record.
And if you are streaming it, do yourself a favor, go and purchase an actual stereo and a physical copy and hear it as it's meant to be heard. This is a record where the sound actually matters and it must be played at it's full, non-compressed, capacity.
Overall this record gets the rating of 8 Pet Sounds.