The Caps have been without a real tough guy enforcer since Brashear left in the off-season. Earlier today it was announced that they traded away Captain Chris Clark (4g, 11a) and Milan Jurcina (0g, 4a) for Columbus Blue Jackets enforcer Jason Chimera (8g, 9a). He won't play in tonight's game against Carolina, though he will reportedly be in attendance.
There are some interesting implications in this trade for the Capitals. First and foremost is that they are now without a team captain. Part of me believes that this might be so that they can name Alex Ovechkin as captain, possibly to level some of the ground between him and Sidney Crosby, who has been the Penguins captain for a few years now. Now, personally, I don't think Ovie is captain material, but then I don't think Crosby is either. I'm not sure who I would name as captain, but I could see a guy like Knuble stepping up to the job.
The loss of Jurcina is a bit more significant to the team, even though his numbers might not show it. He's a solid defenseman, which the team is really lacking in, but he also hasn't been getting much ice time this year. He's the kind of player who is good, but you don't really notice him that much.
Chimera has a decent offensive track record, but his real contribution to the team is his ability to scrap and rough players up. Ovechkin is capable of taking care of himself, but I'm sure the Caps management would like to see him take less risks with his body, so a semi-dedicated enforcer to the team is an important addition. And, to help prove that point, it's worth noting that Chimera was the player responsible for the fight in November that resulted in Ovie missing a few games with an injury.
Weird symmetry there.
Also worth factoring is that Jurcina and Clark have a combined salary of around $4 million while Chimera comes in at a relatively paltry $1.87 million. This, alongside finally freeing up Michael Nylander's $5 million salary earlier, gives the Caps some significant wiggle room with their salary cap -- space that is sorely needed if they are going to maintain the powerhouse Ovechkin/Backstrom/Semin line for years to come.
Either way this trade has to come as a bit of a blow to both Clark and Jurcina who have been with the Caps for five and four years respectively, and Clark has been the team captain for four years. The Caps are currently the number one team in the entire league with 54 points while the Blue Jackets are third from the bottom with 35 points.
While not as bad as the playoff with debacle long-time Cap's staple Olaf Kolzig from a few years back, this is still a bit of a sad way to pay respects to some dedicated Cap's veterans. Ultimately the NHL is a business, and the management has to make decisions that will earn them the most money, but it's still a depressing move when you look at it from a legacy point of view.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment