Friday, July 11, 2008

And now...Phase III: Arbitration

We had the draft, then we had the opening of the free-agent signing period. Well, today Boyd Gordon re-signed on a one-year deal at $725,000. That leaves only Shaone Morrisonn among the restricteds. His arbitration is scheduled for July 24th .

And what comes after that?...Well, Phase IV of tweaking personnel is going to be an interesting set of "ifs." If Brian Pothier and/or Chris Clark are not ready (Pothier's availability seems unlikely to the point of "will he retire?"...Clark appears iffy for the start of the year), then the Caps look to have $51.4 million in cap room tied up in 20 roster spots, not including Morrisonn. Five of those spots would be defensemen, meaning there could be room for a Karl Alzner, a Sami Lepisto (who, oddly enough, is not included among either the parent roster or prospects on the official site...no, we do not suspect a conspiracy), or a trade.

13 spots would be occupied by forwards, which doesn't make for any sense of urgency, but could create an opportunity for someone in this week's development camp.

The Caps will continue to be an interesting team to watch as we move forward in the "off" season.

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