Meet Mike Knuble (22), who’s obviously already familiar with his new teammate,
Caps winger Alexander Semin. (Nick Wass/Associated Press)

After the first draft in nearly a decade where the Caps didn’t make an exciting trade or a high-profile pick, it’s good to see the front office back into the mix of things, adding forward Mike Knuble at the dawn of free agency this afternoon. Costing just over $5 million for two years, Knuble snugly fits into the team’s payroll as a replacement for Viktor Kozlov, who will play in his native Russia this season.

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.