Eric Fehr's Contract

Now that Washington Capitals General Manager George McPhee has signed his top priority this offseason in Nicklas Backstrom, he can begin to focus on his other pieces.

Capitals 3rd line right winger Eric Fehr is a restricted free agent this summer.  He made $771,750 last season.  In order to retain his services, the Capitals will have to tender him at least a 1-year Qualifying Offer of 110% of his 2009-10 Salary, which equates to $848,925.  Judging by other forwards around the league, Eric Fehr should be offered a multi-year contract worth quite a bit more than that. 

 #16 Eric Fehr

Remember Sergei Fedorov?

Sergei Fedorov left the Capitals in May 2009 to play with his brother Fedor in Russia after a season and a quarter as the second line center, but when offered the chance to play with his younger brother.  With Fedorov turning 40 in December and the Capitals not offering him the $4 Million they did for the 2008-09 season, it was likely his last chance to make some real money before he retired.

 #91 Sergei Fedorov

When he was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets on February 26, 2008, Fedorov brought a veteran presence to the lineup and served as a mentor for many of the younger players, particularly the Russians.  He stabilized the forward lines after the injury to #2 center Michael Nylander and gave Caps coach Bruce Boudreau a second scoring threat at center to relieve the pressure on rookie center Nicklas Backstrom.  A sure-fire Hall of Famer, Fedorov had been one of the most dominant centers in the NHL for years, a physical specimen in his prime who scored 483 goals and 1,179 points, not to mention winning the 1994 MVP and 3 Stanley Cups and another 176 points in 183 playoff games.  He brought confidence and a swagger to the dressing room, but he was a shell of his former self, and as the 2009 playoffs closed, he was gassed after playing too many minutes. 

Game 7 Prediction

This is for you, Johnny-Come-Lately sour-puss, old time Caps fans who can't forget the past, and for all those crazy Habitants who really think Montreal will win.  If you're a bandwagon fan, hop on.  You won't be sorry you hitched a ride on the Caps Wagon, even if you leave for baseball in a few weeks, but don't tell us about our team if you just started watching last month.  For you old timers - This is not the same team you watched in Landover.  For you Habs fans - this is in English. 

The Washington Capitals will take the ice with a new look/old look team.  Deciding he needs some more experience on the ice, George McPhee brings Craig Laughlin, Alan May, and Ken Sabourin out of the studios back onto the ice for one final choke-job.  Laughlin, a veteran of the 1985 and 1987 choke job teams, leaves the Comcast color job to don his old #18, which he takes back from Eric Belanger along with the rest of his teeth by laughing-gassing him on the dentist's chair. Unfortunately for Locker, his jersey is in black and white, since nobody can seem to remember him playing on a color TV set.  Alan May, veteran of the 1992 choke team, leaves the Comcast studios and wins a game of rock-paper-scissors to take #16 back from Eric Fehr.  Fehr reverts to his old #14 since Tomas Fleischmann has been declared dead after going missing for so long.  Ken Sabourin, the radio color analyst and veteran of the 1992 choke job, once was the proud wearer of the number 8.   He loses his jersey number Rochambeau battle with Alex Ovechkin, who countered Sabby's scissors with the response "Russian Machine never loses," and instead takes his other Caps uniform number, #2.

Capital Inflation - New Career Highs

Much has been made of the tremendous offensive season the Capitals are having collectively and the scoring exploits of certain team members, but I thought it would be instructive to show just how many career seasons are going on right now for the Caps:

-Nicklas Backstrom has set a new career high in Goals (29) and Points (89).  His previous highs set last season were 22 Goals and 88 Points.

-Eric Belanger has set new career highs in Assists (25) and Points (39).  His previous highs were 24 Assists and 37 Points.

Hurricanes 4, Capitals 3 (OT)

The Hurricanes wanted it more tonight, scoring a goal in overtime to send the Caps to Tampa on a losing streak.  The game had a great tempo to start, few whistles and chances at both ends.  This was the game the Caps appeared to miss Alex Ovechkin, as they were not able to get the goals tonight.  It took a clutch goal from Eric Fehr with 10 seconds left to even get to overtime.  At least someone was celebrating:

It would have been nice to have some warning the Hurricanes would play so hard, but it was too late by the time Craig Laughlin made his pronouncement.  Admiral Ackbar wasn't happy:

Lightning 3, Capitals 2

The Capitals let a game slip through their grasp tonight.  They had the hangover of winning the Southeast Division with 15 games to go in their season, and didn't attack Tampa Bay nearly enough to score at even strength.