Capitals Ready to Offer Defenseman Volchenkov Deal

Five weeks before free agency starts and the Capitals may already have their first target. Ottawa defenseman Anton Volchenkov is set to become a free agent this off season. Though both Volchenkov and the Ottawa Senators have expressed interest in working out a deal, the talks seem to have stalled. "I'd like to re-sign him," said Senators GM Bryan Murray, "but the dollars don't work at the present asking price." With sources saying that Volchenkov has put his house in Ottawa up for sale, it looks like he will be moving on and Washington will be the most likely destination.

Washington is definitely interested in the tough defensemen and is reportedly willing to offer him $5 million a year in a multi year contract. The team hopes to sell him with a large offer, the chance to play with a contender, and the chance to play with numerous star countrymen such as Alexander Ovechkin and Semyon Varlamov. Reports also say that the Capitals will ask Ovechkin to talk to Volchenkov to sell the deal.

While we are still five weeks away from free agency and Volchenkov is a long way off from donning the red, white, and blue jersey, this is an encouraging step from the Capitals. Volchenkov is the tough, gritty, defensive minded type of player this team so desperately needs on their back line. He was one of Ottawa's top defensemen and is consistently one of the best shot blockers in the league every year. Volchenkov's style of play is a "stay at home defenseman" who lines players up for big hits, but is reluctant offensively. This contrasts very well with the rest of the team's very aggressive style. It shows that the team has recognized the need for that defensive stalwart.

The only problem is the price tag. $5 million a year is a very steep price. The Capitals tend to outbid other teams for free agents and they do not always get their money's worth, Michael Nylander being the most obvious (and one of the most expensive) examples. It is also unlikely that the Capitals will sign only Volchenkov and wait for the season to begin, so with more players to sign, the team will need to free up some cap space. Jose Theodore's departure cannot be far off. The team will also have to decide on Alexander Semin's future sooner rather than later. Fans would hate to seem him leave and the team would hate to let him go without getting equal value in return, but such a high priced deal may force an early exit to one of the team's superstars.

Caps Struggling For a New Identity

One period through Wednesday night's game in New Jersey, the Capitals seemed to be on the right track. They had frustrated the New Jersey Devils allowing only six shots on goal which came mostly from outside. They were easy saves for goalie Semyon Varlamov and the Capitals had a 1-0 lead. There wasn't much offense as the Capitals seemed to struggle with the idea that it's not one or the other, offensive or defensive, that they can play strong on both ends. This, however, was not a major concern because it is assumed by everyone that Ovechkin will bring offense back with him when he is able to suit up again. The goal for the next few games is to instill a defensive mindset in a team that had practically none. Through one period, the Caps seemed to have done just that. The final period of the game told a very different story.

The Caps still seemed to be in control at the end of the second period. They had allowed 11 shots, but the Caps defensive style of play was clearly frustrating the Devils who were constantly forced into offside calls and outside shots. The Devils did manage to tie the game, but it was off a fluke goal by Brian Rolston who's pass was blocked by defenseman Mike Green into the net. The only penalties the Caps had taken to that point was a slashing call to Alexander Semin and a fight by Chris Clark. The team then proceeded to implode in the third period. The stalwart defense was gone as the Caps allowed 15 shots. The discipline was certainly out the window as the Caps took four penalties, including two awful, unnecessary penalties by Semin. The Devils proceeded to score twice on the power play and Washington found themselves in a hole they could not climb out of, losing 3-2. Varlamov's good performance in net was wasted as he received the first regular season loss of his career.

Many may walk away from this game unconcerned. Ovechkin's out and we lost by one, who cares? There are several reasons why this game was a bad sign for the Caps. First, even without Ovechkin, I would argue this team is a playoff caliber team. This team is full of talent and there is no excuse to lose a game that they had control of for two periods. Second, the complete lack of discipline is very troubling. Key penalties have really been a problem for this Caps team and last night is a good example of how quickly these penalties can change a game. The Caps allowed the Devils to take control with these penalties. Semin's performance was especially bad. With Ovechkin gone, Semin needed to step up his game by picking up some offensive slack and not committing the dumb penalties that have plagued his career. His response, three penalties including one with less than four minutes to go in the game while the Caps were down by two. He simply skated past Travis Zajac in the neutral zone and tripped him for seemingly no reason. Bruce Boudreau was clearly upset as Semin was not on the ice at the end when the Caps pulled Varlamov in an effort to tie. It is performances like that that make NHL analysts speculate about trading Semin come the trade deadline. With the salary cap going to be a problem over the next few years, if Semin won't step up and contribute more than just dumb penalties, you could see him moved for a defensemen the Caps proved again they desperately need.

Discipline and defense. Without either of these things the Capitals will not win a Stanley Cup. What they showed last night is that with absolutely no offensive spark, they can still take control of a game against a good team as long as they stay out of the penalty box and play strong defense. Add Ovechkin to that mix and you have a very dangerous team. Add Ovechkin to what we saw in the third period, you have team that will still win their division, but probably not much else.

Defense Questions Still Remain For The Caps

Last night, the Capitals took on the Philadelphia Flyers. Both teams are expected to be major competitors for the Eastern Conference Championship. In the off season, Philadelphia picked up all star defenseman Chris Pronger to shut down teams' top scoring line and goalie Ray Emery. How'd they do? Both Alexander Semin and Alexander Ovechkin scored twice and the Capitals were able to put up five total goals against the revamped Philadelphia defense. So mission accomplished for Washington? Not quite. The Caps still lost 6-5 in overtime highlighting the major problem facing this team. While the Caps have no trouble scoring (15 goals through 3 games) they still are having trouble keeping the puck out of their own net (11 goals allowed in 3 games).

The Caps made no off season acquisitions to fix this problem choosing instead to rely on the development of their younger players to full the void. The results? Karl Alzner was reassigned to Hershey during the off season, and Tyler Sloan has yet to play a game. Neither, it seems, will be making much of an impact on the blue line this year. Instead the Caps will rely on the questionable play of Jeff Schultz (physical but often inconsistent) and John Erskine (who contributes fights and bad penalties and not much else). The Caps made the right move in the offseason by letting go of enforcer Donald Brashear who was a great fighter but could barely skate. If, however, that means Erskine gets a full time spot on the roster, then the Caps have taken one step forward and two steps back.

And let's not forget about the goaltending. Simeon Varlamov got the start last night, but after allowing four goals in the second period, he was pulled for Jose Theodore. While I do believe Varlamov is the future of this franchise and on the verge of becoming a great goalie, I do think he needs to get it going. The Caps have made it clear this year that they want to compete for the Conference championship and the Stanley Cup. If they hope to do so, they will need stronger goaltending.

Luckily the Caps can fix this pretty easily with Michael Nylander. No I'm not talking about playing the forward at center, I'm talking about trading him. For whatever reason, the Caps' center has fallen out of favor with Coach Bruce Boudreau and has been a healthy scratch for all three games this season and most of last season. Nylander is the second highest paid player on the team (behind guess who). The Caps have already expressed concern over cap space next season as many young players are going to be looking for raises due to their development and maturing play. Despite not playing, Nylander still has some value. By trading him, the Caps can gain a 2nd or 3rd line caliber defenseman while freeing up a lot of cap space.

The fact is, the longer they sit Nylander down, the lower his trade value becomes. He's too good and too expensive to just sit on the bench, so why not trade him? The Caps still need some defensive help and this seems like a pretty simple solution.