Caps Briefing: Free Agents, Rookies and Trades, Oh My
Meet Mike Knuble (22), who's obviously already familiar with his new teammate,
Caps winger Alexander Semin. (Nick Wass/Associated Press)
Knuble is a big, tough forward who goes to the net and puts the puck there -- sort of like a Brooks Laich with proven hands, or a Chris Clark who can still play 80 games per season. Knuble has scored more than 20 goals in each of the last six seasons, averaging 27 in that span. With enough time on the Caps power play, he has the potential to light the lamp 30 times again, which would certainly make up for Kozlov's quiet production. His defensive numbers haven't looked like Kozlov's in his last couple of campaigns -- but if he can remain planted in opposing goal creases, he might help Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom reach new levels of production.
Of course, he's not the same kind of tough guy as Donald Brashear, who will be sorely missed after signing with the New York Rangers. It's bad enough the Rangers have Sean Avery; now, they'll really be a pain to play against. Hopefully, the Caps will find someone to defend Alex Ovechkin before the summer is over. It would also be great to see them add a veteran defensive defenseman to clear out their own crease.
What the Caps can do with the rest of this summer will largely depend on the salary cap. Knuble's signing brings them within a few million of it (even after it was raised again this year), and they will most likely have to deal with salary arbitration for regulars Eric Fehr, Boyd Gordon, Milan Jurcina and Shaone Morrisonn. Morrisonn and Gordon would be especially hard to walk away from. It's lucky for the Caps that hockey's arbiters don't tend to pay much for defensive skills.
The best rumors circling the web have the Caps trying to trade away center Michael Nylander and goalie Jose Theodore. While Theodore still plays a large role for the Caps, he's certainly not irreplaceable. Nylander developed into a healthy scratch last season, and figures to occupy 8 percent of the team's salary cap space for the coming season; a significant amount of space for a player who doesn't earn a spot on the ice every night.
We're not sure who would take Nylander off the Caps' hands right now, but we do believe that under a different coach and a different system with less emphasis on speed and more emphasis on strategy, he could still be a dominant power play performer, a first line center and a team leader like he was for the New York Rangers. Maybe now that they've traded Scott Gomez, they'll take him back? (Please?)
Of course, if he stays with the Caps, Nylander can continue to mentor fellow Swedes like Backstrom, last year's first round pick Anton Gustafsson, and perhaps even this year's first round pick, Marcus Johansson. If Backstrom's rapid adjustment to the NHL is any indication, Nylander is certainly a great coach and mentor. What the Caps really need from him, though, is a return to form as a top-tier second-line center to replace the departing Sergei Fedorov.
If Nylander is still here and playing like he did last year, the Caps will rely heavily on new talent from their Calder Cup champion AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. Veteran Bear forwards Keith Aucoin and Alexandre Giroux could each see significant time in the NHL this year. Prospects Chris Bourque, Francois Bouchard, Oskar Osala and Mathieu Perreault can each expect at least a few games with the big club this year -- and more time down the road. With Hershey's head coach Bob Woods joining the Caps as an assistant, we can expect the team to continue to utilize all of the players at its disposal.
Which, while not the splashiest thing in the world, is just fine.