The Nightmare is Over

Mrs. DCO probably put it best when, shortly after Marian Hossa’s wouldn’t-have-counted-anyway last-second shot trickled harmlessly if-tantalizlingly through the crease, she said, “Someone had to lose, and I’m glad it was the Penguins.” With this godsend of a loss, we are now free from the mental anguish that has plagued us all since Pittsburgh threw their final regular season game against the Flyers so they could match up against Ottawa in the first round. Yes, the Senators, who were swept in the regular season by the Capitals long before it was fashionable, and common, to sweep the Senators. The Peguins’ shell-curling-up-in on that last day denied the Caps a chance to again take down Ottawa in four, and left the Chosen One and his lackeys an open door into the second round and beyond.

We watched in horror as we realized we had to first choose between the Penguins and Rangers. After but a few moments, it was clear we had to, extremely grudgingly, root for New York (I still choke on my keystrokes writing that). Once that trial was passed, it was on to perhaps the greatest conundrum in Washington sports outside a Cowboys-Eagles NFC Championship: Flyers vs. Penguins for the opportunity to play for the Cup. Was there more a sinking feeling in recent hockey history as knowing that one of these reviled franchises, one with the aforementioned Anointed One and one with Danny Briere, would be within but four victories of defiling that fine silver chalice? It was enough to (almost) make an optimist’s heart wilt.

But we got through it and, as always, were able to find something positive in the experience. A celebration of a quarter century of Philly sports dominance was worth seeing the Penguins become Eastern Conference champions – provided they lost the next round. And lose they did, despite Sidney Crosby’s “performance for the ages” in Game 3 and Evgeni Malkin’s imminent breakout heralding, accidental game-winning-goal-assisting Game 5. Rescuing us from more Crosby coddling was Conn Smythe winner Henrik Zetterberg, who tied lil’ Sid for the playoff points lead (often scoring goals) and denied him yet another pair of his birthrights: leading the playoffs in points, and possibly the Conn Smythe itself.


The last week has been a hectic week for DCO, with both members immersed in working obligations in the Central timezone, hence the paucity of posting. All is well now, however, and we are ready to bring you another summer of Nats’ successes (on the field and in the draft room), Capitals’ trophy-collecting and roster-strengthening, Redskins’ gearing-up for a season of continuity, Wizards’ doing the same, and United’s staging of another comeback from a less-than-ideal start. That we get to enjoy such a summer without glowing stories of Crosby’s heroic secondary-assist dishing, his superior “vision” for being able to skate into the offensive zone and drop the puck to a defenseman (a move nobody else has ever pulled off, ever), his unprecedented two-goal game in the Finals, and Malkin’s inspiring 3-point Cup Finals performance makes it all the sweeter.

At last, the only hockey news in front of us is good news. Alex Ovechkin will collect a couple of trophies on June 12. Bruce should collect another, and Nick Backstrom is a prime deserving candidate for yet another. Then we wait on imminent signings of next season’s third-line center Sergei Fedorov, and next season’s starting goalie, Cristobal Huet. Still more goodness follows, with a key free agent signing here and there, followed by a training camp featuring a healthy Michael Nylander, Chris Clark, and Brian Pothier, then on to a division-title-defending season culminating in a Cup run, perhaps with a sweep of the Penguins thrown in. It’s (finally) going to be a good summer.

Crosby Contract Good for Caps

Rest assured, this will be the only piece we ever post with the word "Crosby" and the phrase "good for Caps" (excepting extreme circumstances involving early retirement, the dissolving of the Penguins franchise, an unlikely trade, or a move from Mario Lemieux's house to Jaromir Jagr's). With that in mind, let’s look at the good fortune Washington reaps from Sid’s new 5-year, $45 million contract.

If Alex Ovechkin’s cryptic “it’s a little bit secret” response to questions about a contract extension (plus pure common sense) is to be interpreted to mean the Caps are in negotiations to extend his soon-to-be-expired (after this season) rookie contract, we can assume that both parties are looking at comparable contracts around the league. Before today, the only close benchmarks were the gratuitously overpaid Daniel Briere (8 yr./$52M), Chris Drury (5 yr./$35.25M), and Scott Gomez (7 yr./$51.5M).

While Briere’s contract may not be completely ludicrous (if you have a fetish for diminutive centers who specialize in doling out cheap spears while hiding in the comfortable shadow of a defenseman twice their size), the Rangers giving out $7 million+/year contracts to a pair of guys who didn’t top 70 points last season was at the very least a disturbing harbinger of future contracts (will the likes of David Vyborny, with his Gomez-like numbers, demand similar terms in future negotiations?). The Crosby Precedent, with it’s $9 million/year average, presumably puts a reasonable limit on individual player salaries in a way that the ever-rising NHL cap cannot.

With a comparable contract at last in place, the Capitals can safely offer Ovechkin a fair-market deal before he becomes a restricted free agent next summer. With the jilted Kevin Lowe’s ridiculous offer (since matched) to Thomas Vanek as a potential benchmark, RFAs may not be as unattainable to a deep-pocketed (or desperate) team as they used to be. It’s not hard to imagine the Rangers or a like-minded-and-financed team making an equally over-the-top offer to Ovechkin next July, which the Caps would then have to match (or lose their franchise player, then their already tenuous fanbase, then their franchise), to the likely detriment of the rest of the squad. The NHL “cap” on individual player salaries (no more than 20% of the total salary cap) is no protection against such a thing. With the team cap rising from $39 million in 05-06 to $50.3 million only two years later, it’s not hard to envision a “cap” of $11.5 million+ or more for individual players within a year or two. It’s a salary that our friends in New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, or Toronto would be more than happy to provide, probably with an insanely front-loaded contract.

In the end, Crosby may have saved the Caps a few million dollars over the next several seasons, enough to put another Viktor Kozlov or two on the roster. So thanks, Sid (also the only time such a phrase will appear), for restoring some relative form of sanity to the league. Too bad your submissive servant Commissioner can’t do the same.

Stycke av Pussel

That's Swedish (roughly, according to some online dictionaries) for "piece of the puzzle", and that is precisely what the Washington Capitals secured yesterday. Center Nicklas Backstrom, big-time scorer and phenom from the Swedish League, will join the Caps next year in the NHL. Marvelous. It was widely bemoaned that Backstrom was not in Washington this past year, but in retrospect that is a good thing. Having Backstrom last year would not have made the Caps that much better and would only have counted a year towards his free agent elligibility. Now, DCO believes, a slightly older and more seasoned Backstrom is a step towards propelling the Caps to greatness.

Time to look again to the offseason, and the acquisition of a quality defenseman and at least one of the following: a top-line center, another quality defenseman, a scoring wing. Regarding the top-line center, DCO re-emphasizes its insistence that this player NOT be Daniel Briere (aka, King of the Groin-Spearing Tools, soon-to-be-aka King of the Eliminated From the Playoffs Before Their Hockey-Media-Mandated Stanley Cup Championship Tools). Several commentators on Capitals Insider have similarly expressed their distaste for "Mr" Briere's cowardly spear-centric play, and we encourage all, especially Caps' management, to read. Please, Ted, George, et al, by all means make a play for Chris Drury or Scott Gomez, but not this idiot.

But back to the positive. Having Backstrom here next season will be huge. Add a few more players to a fast-maturing set of youngsters, and big things will happen. Keep an eye on guys like Boyd Gordon (who could be primed for a breakout year as a shut-down checking center) and Matt Pettinger (25-goal scorer if he stays healthy). They are former first round picks who may finally be showing some real promise.

What's that you say, it's too early for predictions for next season? Nonsense. How's this: Caps will make the playoffs as no lower than the 6th seed. We're as sure of that as we are that the Nats will not lose 100 games. Put it in the book.

Capitals' Captain Not Ejected for Spearing

Yes, the Capitals lost their season finale 2-0 to the Buffalo Sabres. However, they also lost where it's more important, being outscored in cowardly spearing penalties 1-0. Once again, Sabres captain Daniel Briere got into a little tussle and retaliated in the best way he knows how: spearing Caps defenseman Milan Jurcina in the mid-section after Jurcina shoved aside Briere's pathetic attempt to fight with the big kids. Unlike December 26, when Briere also showed his bravery by spearing Alex Ovechkin in the groin, he was caught and ejected. While DCO applauds the 5-minute major and game misconduct penalty, we still await word of Briere's arrest, prosecution, and subsequent imprisonment (where a hockey stick will do him no good in prison yard brawls), as well as an explanation as to why he was permitted to play in Buffalo's season finale in Philadelphia today.

Meanwhile, Capitals captain Chris Clark did not spear anyone, and finished off a career-best season with 30 goals and 24 assists. While GM George McPhee has received plenty of criticism for his moves over the years, acquiring Clark last year was an undeniably fantastic move. DCO would like to see Clark back on the top line with Ovechkin next year, centered by a quality pivot who does not have a penchant for groin spearing.