The Magic 8-Ball

So . . . the Washington Times reports today that a return to the Caps by Peter Bondra is up to the player. The current thinking is that his choice is down to Atlanta and Washington.

What to make of this . . . I suspect this is a matter of money and place. I’m guessing Atlanta offered more money or more years, or both, but Washington offered a competitive amount while offering the intangible of coming back to where he built his career.

Just another wrinkle in the new free agency/salary cap era.

Atlanta might be a playoff team this year and has some decent up-and-coming players. The thought of playing along side of Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley has its charms. Then again, the possibility of playing with Alexander Ovechkin and tutoring Alexander Semin and Eric Fehr (at least in training camp) in the finer points of the sniping art must pique his interest as well.

So, will Bondra sign with Washington? After asking the magic 8-ball, and having it tell me to “concentrate and ask again,” it told me . . . “yes definitely.”

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Dainius Zubrus has been signed. A big, skates-like-the-wind guy who can play any forward position and has a propensity for scoring goals off various body parts. And, he’s still only 27. He could very well center the Alexanders – Ovechkin and Semin – this year. If ever there was a year for a break-out season . . .

So, is THIS the year he breaks out and fulfills his (once upon a time) vast potential? The magic 8-ball says . . .”it is decidedly so”

Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it.

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Continuing a long and proud tradition, the Caps signed another former Penguin – Matt Bradley being this year’s pick-up. Bradley is somewhat typical of what the Caps are doing, at least in the short term. He’s relatively young (27), has some size, but most importantly, he can skate and he’s cheap. So, the question for the magic 8-ball is . . .

Can a line of Matt Bradley, Brian Sutherby, and Matt Pettinger be a decent checking line?

“Yes, definitely.”

....hmm.

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But back to Alexander Semin . . . last year, he failed to report to Portland and was subsequently suspended by the club. Now, there is an issue about his military status. It raises the question . . . will Semin even be in Washington this year?

Magic 8-ball, you’re up . . .

. . . “outlook good"

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One last question . . . "is this #@%& ball broken?"

"yes"


-- The Peerless