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…

Tampa Bay’s Ryan Malone recently lectured Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin on being more modest. Tonight, the Caps face the luckless Tampa Bay Lightning at Verizon Center. They will welcome Tampa coach Rick Tocchet, who suggested his team should have started fights with the Capitals in protest of Alex Ovechkin’s three-second celebration of his 50th goal of the season, which he scored in Tampa last week. Ovechkin put his stick down after the goal and mimed…

Flamboyant Canadian hockey commentator Don Cherry Canadian television personality Don Cherry grabbed some press this weekend for saying that Alexander Ovechkin celebrates his goals with too much exuberance. Cherry said he favors the Canadian way. Don Cherry is famous for making inflammatory statements while wearing suits in which Elton John would not be caught dead. Cherry’s absurd assault on the NHL’s reigning scoring champion and most valuable player follows criticism of Ovechkin by Pittsburgh…

Florida defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. (Steve Mitchell/Associated Press) It’s not often in professional sports that the home team has the chance to keep the best player on the visiting team after the game, but that might be the case this afternoon if the Capitals can make the right impression on the Florida Panthers. Panthers defenseman Jay Bouwmeester is an emerging star. He plays defense well, passes the puck well and scores goals. All year, Florida…

As D.C. prepares to host college hockey’s Frozen Four, the NCAA is discussing whether or not the ice will be, as the illustrious event’s name indicates, frozen. Of course they’d like it to be frozen. That’s the traditional condition of ice, especially for ice hockey. It’s just not how it usually is at Verizon Center…

We all know the Capitals are known to rock a microphone. This year a few Caps prospects will get a little more exposure on the world circuit. Darren Machesney, the starting goalie for the Caps’ top farm team in Hershey, will represent Canada in the Spengler Cup. Machesney has been in the Caps system since the 2005 draft, and has worked his way up from the South Carolina Stingrays to play for the Bears. The…

Simeon Varlamov’s long trip from Hershey, PA meant he didn’t arrive in time to back up Brent Johnson when the puck dropped Friday against the Ottawa Senators. Instead, the Caps had to rely on team Web Producer and former Division III goalie Brett Leonhardt as their backup goalie for ten minutes of nail-biting NHL action. The Senators took every possible opportunity to try to hurt Johnson and get to Leonhardt, the only Division III goalie…

When the NHL named Alexander Semin its First Star of the month for October, we chided our media colleagues for paying more attention to Alex Ovechkin’s visit to his sick grandfather. Yes, Ovechkin won all four of the NHL’s trophies for scoring leaders and most valuable players, but that was last year. Why, we asked, was the best player of October 2008 any less exciting than the best player of 2007-2008? Ovechkin, of course, just…

The Washington Capitals signed NHL MVP Alexander Ovechkin to hockey’s first hundred million dollar contract last season, so the Capitals once again boast the league’s leading scorer. Welcome back fast-skating, obscenely talented left winger Ovechkin, who likes to warm up for games by playing soccer in Crocs, falls to the ice with joy when he scores, and ignores jellyfish postings when he goes for a swim. Even casual fans know by now that the…

Just yesterday, the first reader question Hockey News columnist Adam Proteau answered about the entire NHL came from a Caps fan frustrated about the lack of information about Brian Pothier’s recovery from a serious concussion. Pothier missed the second half of last season and all of the playoffs, and was believed close to retirement. But one frustrated fan wanted to know for sure. You’ve got to love the quick and thorough response to an online…