OK, so we ran out of time...

...but there are a few other prognostos to go for the awards:


Calder Trophy

The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season.

Finalists:

Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets
Bobby Ryan, Anaheim Ducks
Kris Versteeg, Chicago Blackhawks

Who will win: Steve Mason
Who should win: Steve Mason


Pearson Trophy

The Lester B. Pearson Award is presented annually to the "most outstanding player" in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the National Hockey League Players' Association.

Finalists:

Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Who will win: Go read the Hart Trophy prognosto.
Who should win: Alex Ovechkin


Selke Trophy

The Frank J. Selke Trophy is an annual award given to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season.

Finalists:

Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks
Mike Richards, Philadelphia Flyers

Who will win: Pavel Datsyuk
Who should win: Ryan Kesler


Lady Byng Trophy

The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.

The Finalists:

Pael Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings
Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils
Martin St. Louis, Tampa Bay Lightning

Who will win: We don't care
Who should win: We don't care

Awards -- The Hart Trophy

The Hart Trophy citation reads…

The Hart Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the player judged to be the most valuable to his team. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association in all NHL cities at the end of the regular season.

The Finalists…

Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings

Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins

Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

The Tale o’ the Tape

We’ve said this before, the award is not for the “best” player – that’s the Pearson. This award is for the player who is “the most valuable to his team.” It is not even a league-wide MVP award, although it serves in that capacity. But back to the point. We’re here to consider who among these finalists (or other league players) was “most valuable to his team.”

The Case for Pavel Datsyuk…

Pavel Datsyuk is the most accomplished two-way player in the game. Fourth in scoring, third in plus-minus, fourth in the league among forwards (50 games, minimum) in Corsi rating, ninth in points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, tops in the league in goals for/on ice per 60 minutes, best differential among the finalists in goals for/goals against per 60 minutes. He was second among the league’s forwards in takeaways and had by far the best ration of takeaways to giveaways among the three finalists for this award (1.78 to 1.16 for Evgeni Malkin and 0.56 for Alex Ovechkin). He – ugh… -- tied for second in game deciding goals in the Gimmick and was tied for eighth in total Gimmick goals. He was by far the top scorer for the Wings in victories (67 points in 50 wins in which he appeared, almost as many as the total points recorded by Henrik Zetterberg (73) and Marian Hossa (71)). Against the 17 teams in which he skated more than once, he was a “minus” player against only four of them. He was worse than minus-1 against only one team he played against (Pittsburgh, minus-2.). He recorded double-digits in points in every month of the season, except April, in which he had six points in six games. He led his team in points, assists, plus-minus, power play scoring, and tied for the team lead in shorthanded points. He is the most complete player among the three finalists.

The Case for Evgeni Malkin...

Malkin is the best all-around offensive talent in the game. First in assists, first in points, third among all forwards (50 games, minimum) in goals scored per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, first in primary assists per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 (19 percent better than second place Marc Savard), tops among the finalists in penalties drawn per 60 minutes at 5-on-5. He led his team in goals, assists, points, power play goals, power play points, tied for first in shorthanded goals, and was second in plus-minus. He tallied points against every team he faced more than once. He had 32 multi-point games and had five games in which he had at least four points (Ovechkin had three and Datsyuk one). He had 79 points in Pittsburgh’s 45 wins; compare that to third leading total scorer Chris Kunitz, who had a total of 53 points in 82 games.

The Case for Alex Ovechkin...

Ovechkin is the most dynamic, game changing talent in the game. First in goals, first in even-strength goals, second in power play goals, third in game-winning goals, 22 percent more total goals than second place Jeff Carter, 27 percent more goals-per-game than Carter, fifth in power play assists (second among wingers), tops in power play scoring, second in first goals scored in games, eighth in hits among forwards (neither Malkin nor Datsyuk are among the top 150 forwards). After dealing with a family loss that likely contributed to a slow start (2-3-5 in his first nine games), he finished 54-51-105 in his last 70 games – a 123-point scoring pace. In those last 70 games, he went consecutive games without a point only once. He closed with a rush – his 7-13-20 in his last ten games equaled the combined scoring of the other finalists, Malkin (3-8-11) and Datsyk (3-6-9).

This isn’t as cut-and-dried a race as last year, mainly because the finalists’ negatives complicate things. In the case of Datsyuk, he has a more varied game than either of the other two finalists (he is also a finalist for the Selke Trophy), but there is a certain “managed” element to his game. He finished 46th among forwards in average ice time, a product of the team around him being so talented and so deep. He didn’t have to log 20-plus minutes a night; he played more than 20 minutes 27 times in 81 games. In fact, no Detroit forward averaged 20 minutes (Henrik Zetterberg average 19:52 a game). The flip side of this, however, is that Datsyuk might be the most economical, most efficient player in the game with as much production he gets out of so little comparable time.

In Malkin’s case, he played – and perhaps always will play, whatever his own statistical results – in the shadow of Sidney Crosby. Crosby generally draws the best defensive opponents, which gives Malkin the opportunity to be more productive. One could argue that Malkin put up large numbers in Crosby’s absence in 2007-2008 when Crosby was injured. Well, this isn’t an award for 2007-2008. Then there is the matter of defense. The edge many give Malkin over, say, Ovechkin is that Malkin plays at both ends of the ice. Well, maybe, but the matter might be more complicated than that. Against teams in the East that made the playoffs, Malkin could score – in 34 games he was 12-22-34. But in those 34 games, he was -10 and had “plus” numbers against only Montreal and the Rangers. The flip side of that coin is that Malkin beat up on the bottom feeders. In 14 games against Buffalo, Atlanta, and the Islanders – all playoff watchers – Malkin was 10-25-35, +25. Against the rest of the league, he was 25-53-78, -8. Good, but Hart Trophy worthy?

We said in our look at the 2008-2009 season that Ovechkin “slipped a notch” this year, and it wasn’t because he ended with “only” 56 goals. There were clear flaws in his game, in both numbers and style. He was viewed by some as being a little too focused on the offensive end of the ice. There was the decrease in his plus-minus numbers. There was the fact that his differential of goals for/goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 was worst among these finalists. And, if you look at the ranks of the finalists for this award in various statistical categories among NHL forwards, Ovechkin and Malkin are side by side…

These are immensely gifted players, and each has his own case to make that is quite different from the others. They also have their shortcomings, either in talent or in production. In the end, we think that the vote will come down to what the Hart really does reward – the most valuable player to his team. And if you were to take any of these players away from their teams, the most telling effect would probably be felt by Washington, as much for the energy Alex Ovechkin brings to the rest of the team as his numbers. We think that tonight’s winner of the Hart Trophy will be…

Alex Ovechkin


…but to tell the truth, if we had a vote? For the most valuable player to his team? We’d vote for Columbus' Steve Mason.

Awards -- The Norris Trophy

The Norris Trophy citation states…

"The James Norris Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season."

The finalists…



Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins






Mike Green, Washington Capitals







Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings




It is possible that for only the second time since 2000, a defenseman other than Nicklas Lidstrom will win this award. There hasn’t been this sort of dominance in a performance award since Wayne Gretzky won eight Hart Trophies in succession, ending in 1987. It makes for an interesting race as Lidstrom goes for seven in the last eight years. Unlike the past few years, Lidstrom does not come into this competition as a prohibitive favorite. In fact, he is probably going to finish third in this race. It will not be for lack of performance. Lidstrom finished third among defensemen in scoring, was third in plus-minus, was third in power play scoring, tied for fourth in power play goals, tied for third in game-winning goals… and was tied for 168th in hits, proving that one need not be a big bopper to leave a mark. One might be tempted to say that even with these results that Lidstrom slipped a bit, and statistically that would be correct. He had more goals this year than last (16 to 10), but fewer assists (43/60), fewer point (59/70), a lower plus-minus (+31/+40). He did have more power play goals (10/5) and almost as many points (33/34), so any drop off, numerically speaking, was slight. Lidstrom’s problem, if he has one, is the lofty standard he has set for himself. The season he had – excellent by anyone’s standards – was “normal” for him. We’ve become spoiled.

For Mike Green, there is a paradox. On the one hand, he is now – at 23 – the premier offensive defenseman in the game, having posted 129 points in 150 games over the past two seasons, and he was the only defenseman to post more than a point per game this year. He had the highest points-per-game mark since Paul Coffey in the abbreviated 1995 season, and his points per game lead over the next best finisher among the top-20 defensemen in scoring (0.25 points per game over Andrei Markov) made Green’s as dominating an offensive performance by a defenseman in recent memory. And that’s Green’s problem, too. He is seen not only as an “offensive defenseman,” but as one who fills that role at the expense of defense. The numbers don’t bear this out, at least not as much as Caps fans have come to believe. Green finished second overall among defensemen playing at least 50 games in Corsi rating, and while he finished 52nd in goals-scored against per 60 minutes at even strength, that was only five spots behind Lidstrom and three spots ahead of the third finalist for this award, Zdeno Chara.

Zdeno Chara has knocked on this door before. Lidstrom has always been in the way. This year, the numbers argue that Chara might once more come up short. He had fewer points than Lidstrom (50 to 59), a lower plus-minus (+23/+31), fewer game-winning goals (3/4), more power play goals (11/10), but fewer power play points (28/33). He also had a worse goals scored-against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 than Lidstrom. But Chara’s problem might not be Lidstrom here. It might be teammate Dennis Wideman. The unsung Wideman had as many points as Chara (50), a better plus-minus (+32/+23), had nearly as many power play points (25/28), and more even-strength points (24/20). Chara did have a better Corsi rating and faced better competition at 5-on-5, but there really wasn’t that much difference between the two, statistically at least.

These are very different defensemen, style-wise. Lidstrom is the very embodiment of the elegant, yet effective defenseman. He performs his task with what looks like a minimum of energy expended. If the art of the position is in making it look easy, Lidstrom is an artist. Green is, in many respects, the new-age defenseman of the post lockout era. He is offense-oriented, one of the motors that makes the Capitals hum. But he has an old-school quality to his game too – the old time puck rushing defenseman who can carry the puck with momentum through the neutral zone. To a point, he is a faint echo of Bobby Orr, except that Orr could actually finish those 180-foot rushes. Green doesn’t often finish those plays. Chara is the most physically dominating, most intimidating defenseman in the league. But he has also made himself a competent skater, able to compete in this faster post-lockout version of the NHL.

Chara has a running mate in Dennis Wideman, who can take some of the heat off. Lidstrom has Brian Rafalski, who could pick up some of the marginal drop off in numbers that characterized Lidstrom’s game this year. Green does not have that sort of running mate on the Capitals, who still suffer from a lack of experience and talent on the blue line. That could make a difference in the end.

If we were prognosticating about this a month or two ago, we’d be thinking that the winner of this award will be…

Zdeno Chara

We still think he’ll be the winner. But if we had a vote…

Mike Green

…yeah, yeah…it sounds like a Caps fan.

Awards -- The Vezina Trophy

The Vezina Trophy citation reads…

"The Vezina Trophy is an annual award given to the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at this position as voted by the general managers of all NHL clubs."

The finalists...




Niklas Backstrom, Minnesota Wild










Steve Mason, Columbus Blue Jackets








Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins






Easy, right? Best goalie. No “most valuable to his team;” no “adjudged to have contributed the most.” Just “best.”

Well, maybe it’s not so easy. Tim Thomas, Steve Mason, and Niklas Backstrom finished 1-2-3 (in that order) in goals against average. They finished 1-10-3 in save percentage (50 games played, minimum). They finished 6-5-9 in wins. They finished 10-3-1 in shutouts. Their switching their order among the statistical categories looks like three cars drafting one another at Daytona.

Thomas played the fewest games of the trio by far (54, compared to 61 for Mason and 71 for Backstrom). After a somewhat unlucky start to the season (1-1-2, despite a 2.67 GAA and .920 save percentage), Thomas would lose consecutive games in regulation only once, and that was in February, when the Bruins’ were well on their way to the playoffs with a 39-10-7 record. Boston was the only team that was close to having a +1.00 goal per game differential for the year (0.97), and 11 of Thomas’ 36 wins were by at least three goals. But he was also 15-5-7 in one goal games. Only nine times in 54 appearances did he surrender more than five goals. The argument against Thomas is that he played on a dominant team that made his job easier. And, he played in comparatively low number of games. If he wins, Thomas would do so with the fewest appearances since Patrick Roy appeared in 54 games in route to a Vezina Trophy in 1990.

Backstrom suffers the same lament that has followed Martin Brodeur over his career – he plays in a defense-first system that is geared toward allowing few goals (while scoring few of them). The Minnesota Wild certainly did play on the margin (+0.21 goal-per-game differential this season). But there is always a chicken-and-egg notion about such things. Did Backstrom post such fine numbers because the Wild play defense first, or did the Wild have such a goals-against-per-game result because of Backstrom’s superior play? It’s something that will not help Backstrom, if you look at his backup – Josh Harding. Playing behind the same set of skaters, Harding had a much worse win-loss record (3-9-1), but he had a better GAA (2.21 to 2.33) and a better save percentage (.929 to .923).

Mason had a somewhat freakish season. He posted a shutout approximately once every six appearances, the most frequent whitewashing since Dominik Hasek had 13 in 71 appearances in 1998. He was 18-4-7 in one-goal games. From November 15th through January 2nd, he had a 17-game streak in which he did not allow more than three goals. Here is the amazing thing about that streak; he did not win a game in which he allowed more than two goals (he was 10-6-1 overall), while posting a 1.32 GAA and .950 save percentage in the 17-game run. He was not playing for a team that gave him much of a cushion. Then, he contracted mononucleosis and played through it before being finally diagnosed with the condition and placed on injured reserve in early February. But Mason faded late in the season. He was 2-3-3 in his last eight decisions, 3.02, .883, and he allowed fewer than three goals only once in those eight games.

All three goalies have arguments for and arguments against. There doesn’t seem to be a dominant goalie in this trio, but that might reflect a changing of the guard and the absence of a Martin Brodeur, a Henrik Lundqvist, or a Miikka Kiprusoff. We believe that the winner will be...

Tim Thomas

But if we had a vote…

Steve Mason

Awards -- The Jack Adams Award

Now that this Stanley Cup nonsense is over, it’s Awards Week. First up in our prognostos, the Jack Adams Award…

"An annual award presented by the National Hockey League Broadcasters' Association to the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success. The winner is selected in a poll among members of the NHL Broadcasters' Association at the end of the regular season."

The finalists:


Claude Julien, Boston Bruins












Todd McLellan, San Jose Sharks











Andy Murray, St. Louis Blues










Well, we’re covered here. The three conventional categories of coaches who get nominated are represented. We have the coach of a team that was seen by many at the start of the year as a very talented club that could challenge for the President’s Cup and the Stanley Cup (McLellan). We have the coach of a team that didn’t get a lot of attention as a championship contender, but which leaped to the top of the heap early and stayed there all year, confounding critics with a mix of talent and devotion to hard work and discipline (Julien). And, we have the coach of the plucky, if talent-starved team that starts slowly (seven games under .500 as late as January 2nd), then catches fire and jumps into the playoff eight (Murray).

There isn’t the compelling story this year that there was last year, one that carried Capitals Head Coach Bruce Boudreau to this award. The picks this year are rather conventional and, to a degree, familiar. Murray has been a head coach for all or part of nine seasons in the NHL, Julien for six seasons, and while McLellan just completed his first season behind an NHL bench, he spent three years as an assistant with the powerhouse Detroit Red Wings.

The award citation states that the award is given to the coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success. One might be impressed by Claude Julien’s success with a team that some didn’t think would make it to the playoffs this year, but while the Bruins did finish with a 24-point jump over their 2007-2008 finish, last year the Bruins finished the second half of the year 21-13-8 – a 100 point pace. And while this team had a bit of roster turnover, there wasn't a lot, and it was healthier, too (20 players played in at least half the games, 18 played more than 60).

McLellan had the hardest path to his nomination. He was new to a team that: a) had talent, and b) had been a chronic playoff disappointment. Even though this is an award for regular season accomplishment, there was a “so what” air hovering over any success the Sharks might have – it was expected. And in that sense, if the Sharks slipped a notch or two, it could have been seen as a product of McLellan’s talent, or in this case, lack of it. That San Jose shot out of the blocks ((8-2-0 after ten games, 16-3-1 after 20, 25-3-2 after 30) put to rest any notion that McLellan would somehow squander the Sharks’ talent or that he couldn’t cope with expectations.

For Murray, it was his highest win total of his career (41), and it was accomplished with a team that lost top defenseman Erik Johnson on the eve of the regular season and with a collection of players who might otherwise be thought of as being something less than star quality. It was a team that struggled at even strength (19 players finished on the minus side of the ledger, and the Blues were 21st in 5-on-5 play), but did finish in the top ten in power play (8th) and penalty killing (3rd), suggesting a strong work ethic and an ability by Murray to get the most out of this squad.

But for sheer contribution by a coach, there was a coach who engineered a remarkable turn around with a team under the spotlight. He took over a team in mid-season (actually, with 25 games to play) and at risk of missing the playoffs, despite being a pre-season Stanley Cup favorite. He took over a team lacking direction, looking like a team with mismatched style to talent, an also-ran with a 27-25-5 record, and led that team – largely with the same underachieving personnel – to an 18-3-4 finish and a playoff berth.

As for the award, we expect that the winner will be...

Claude Julien

Julien would certainly be a worthy recipient. But even though he’s not a finalist, if we had a vote…

Dan Bylsma

Hired Stick...er, Gun

Jack Morris was a pitcher who toiled for 18 seasons in major league baseball. The first 14 of them were spent in the employ of the Detroit Tigers, with whom he won a World Series title in 1984. His last four seasons, however, were spent as a “hurler-for-hire” who shopped his talents to contenders, settling in Minnesota, Toronto, and Cleveland, and winning titles with both Minnesota and Toronto.

Why are we thinking of Jack Morris this morning? Well, because we’re wondering, where is Marian Hossa going to end up next? Last summer he rolled the dice, concluded that the Detroit Red Wings had a better chance than did the Pittsburgh Penguins to win a Stanley Cup… and lost.

Where to now, Marian?

Detroit? He could re-sign with the Red Wings, but that whole “come back next year with steely determination to vanquish those who vanquished me” is so derivative. It’s so “Sidney.”

Pittsburgh? Yeah, right. We’re not seeing Hossa going all Brenda Lee… “I'm sorry, so sorry. Please accept my apology, but love is blind, and I was too blind to see…”

Washington? Hey, the Caps need a right winger… Hossa’s a right winger. The Caps could use a guy with some playoff experience… Hossa’s been in the last two Cup finals. The Caps have this “red” theme… Hossa’s looked good in Ottawa red and Red Wing red. Washington has no cap room… Hossa wants $6 million a year. OK, so much for that.

Chicago? Hmm… there’s that whole “slay the Red Wings dragon” angle they could play, with Hossa playing the St. George role.

San Jose? Well, if you want to get as far away as possible from Detroit and Pittsburgh, this is as good as place as any, and they play pretty good hockey there… at least until April. Hossa would fit right in.

Philly? Mmm…not unless he learns how to play goalie. But Philly shoves anybody back there.

The Rangers? Hey, they have cap room to burn. They also have 11 roster players who are restricted or unrestricted free agents, and another spot opened up when Markus Naslund retired, so they have a lot of hiring to do. We’re surprised Larry Brooks hasn’t yet penned a column on Hossa’s imminent arrival (he’s busy pining for another Marian at the moment). Besides, they probably still have some old “Hossa” jerseys around.

Montreal? Hey… they might have some old “Hossa” sweaters lying around, too.

Carolina? Nuthin’ could be finah than to get paid in Carolina playin’ ho-o-o-o-o-o-ckey. And it’s not like Hossa would be unfamiliar with the surroundings. He’s played hockey the Southeast before. Oh, my mistake, he played in Atlanta.

We’re just getting this odd lyric spinning through our head…

“A check in the hand may be quite Kontinental…but L.A. is a guy’s best friend.”

The Worldwide Leader In...

...sports that don't involve a stick, ice, and pucks of vulcanized rubber? We were clicking here and there and came upon last fall's predictions from the "experts" at ESPN on who would win what in the NHL this year. Here is how they saw the fight for the Stanley Cup...

So...none of them had the Devils winning in the Atlantic. All of them had Kool-Aid shooters on the Habs 100th anniverary thing. The Capitals did win the Southeast (Linda Cohn's nod to former colleague Barry Melrose notwithstanding). The Red Wings were a no brainer -- my dog Koho could have picked that one. No one had Vancouver in the Northwest. Only Pierre LeBrun had the confidence to pick the Sharks in the Pacific. For the record, here were our picks (correct ones in bold)...

Southeast: Washington
Atlantic: Pittsburgh
Northeast: Montreal (we drank the Kool-Aid, too)
Central: Detroit
Northwest: Calgary
Pacific: San Jose

We had our brain fart moments, too. Like Dallas making the playoffs, but Vancouver missing the cut. And then there was our picking Boston 10th, but it's not like we were alone in that gaffe.

Only E.J. Hradek had the Penguins coming out of the East, and as such was the only "expert" to predict a rematch. We have no idea what Matthew Barnaby and Linda Cohn were thinking.

As for the individual awards, the panel of "experts" saw things this way last fall...

Linda Cohn earns a measure of redemption for picking the local favorite to repeat as the Hart Trophy winner, and she was the only one to at least get a finalist right. Everyone drew a blank on the Vezina finalists, but be honest... did you have Tim Thomas, Steve Mason, and Niklas Backstrom?

As for the Norris, E.J. Hradek, Matthew Barnaby, and Pierre LeBrun at least got finalists in their picks. But then again, no one was predicting that Dion Phaneuf would have a face-plant (for him) of a season in Calgary, and fewer still probably thought Mike Green would make the leap all the way to the final three.

The Selke? Well, a Red Wing got a lot of attention, but it was Henrik Zetterberg (three votes), not Pavel Datsyuk (one). Points to John Buccigross for getting Ryan Kesler.

For the Calder, there was a pandemic of Stamkos Flu running through ESPN studios. No one had Bobby Ryan, Kris Versteeg, or Steve Mason. Shoot, there might not have been a dozen fans in North America outside of Chicago or Lethbridge, Alberta, who could spell "Versteeg" in October.

As for the Adams, we have no idea what David Amber was thinking, except maybe that was the only coach's name he recognized, "Gretzky." We won't even comment on Ms. Cohn's and Mr. Buccigross' pick, only to say that organizational loyalty is a wonderful thing, except when it's not. OK, we will make one comment. If you're not picking Tampa to win their division, let alone go any farther, what on earth made you think Barry Melrose was going to win the Adams, John? That he had better hair (or at least more of it), than Bruce Boudreau?

We're going to have our own awards prognostos later in the week (hopefully before they're actually handed out). In the meantime, a word to the ESPN'ers...

Leave prognosticating to the prognostifessionals.

Brother, can you spare a dime (and a plane ticket)?

According to Kevin Paul Dupont, of the Boston Globe, the likely opponents for the NHL Winter Classic to be played on New Year's Day 2010 at Fenway Park in Boston are the Boston Bruins and the Washington Capitals.

Any donations our readers might like to make to send The Peerless (and what would he be without the cousins -- Cheerless and Fearless?) to Beantown will be gladly, eagerly, even wantonly accepted.

Thanks to The Official for the update.

The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Ten Players With a Story

Next up in looking at the 2008-2009 season “by the tens” we’ll look at ten other players who made a contribution. Such players, called upon to fill in when injuries strike or when other players are in a slump, are important ingredients in any team that aspires to be a winner. It is the “depth” that is essential to success. They can also be the players who in their brief appearances have something of a story to take with them and leave with the fans. These are players -- in no particular order -- who played in fewer than 30 games but who had their moments in those brief glimpses.

Brett Leonhardt

Theme: “All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up.”

Talk about living the dream. Former college goalie gets tapped on the shoulder while at his desk in the afternoon to get ready to take warm-ups that night. Yeah, kid, with the Capitals. Is there a guy in the Washington metropolitan area who ever laced up skates that isn’t at least a little jealous of that guy? December 12th was certainly a big night for the big goalie, but there were a lot of folks in the stands watching him on that December night who were thrilled, too. And he still has his own player page.

Jay Beagle

Theme: “Put me in coach, I’m ready to play…”

For Jay Beagle, a March 2008 free agent signee by the Caps, it wasn’t so much his three regular season games that merit attention. The Caps were 1-1-1 in his cup o’ coffee with the club. But he was there at the end – the last four games of the playoff season in the second round against Pittsburgh, chosen to skate instead of Michael Nylander. He didn’t log much time – barely 14 minutes combined in the four games – but it might have been something he took back to Hershey to help the Bears on their own championship drive.

Andrew Gordon

Theme: “Tonight what heights we'll hit, on with the show this is it!”

If you’re going to make a debut in the NHL, where better than to do it than in Manhattan, skating against the New York Rangers? And if you’re going to make your debut there, what better sort of game is there in which to do it than one where you get a shot on goal, a hit, and watch your team roar back from a 4-0 deficit to win in overtime. That was Andrew Gordon’s baptism into the National Hockey League last December 23rd in his only appearance with the Caps this year.

Michal Neuvirth

Theme: "Two thumbs up...way up"

Another kid making his NHL debut this year, in this instance tending goal for the Caps on Valentine’s Day. Not that his debut was the big story, or the win he earned. That was the night that Mike Green set a record for defensemen by scoring a goal in his eighth consecutive game. But at the other end, Neuvirth stoned Vincent Lecavalier on a breakaway in the first period and went on to record 31 saves on 32 shots in a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. He’d follow that up with a couple of more solid performances before getting a hard lesson against the Carolina Hurricanes. He went on to do some schooling of shooters of his own in leading the Hershey Bears to a Calder Cup championship and winning MVP honors in the process, giving fans the "thumbs up" sign all the while.

Tyler Sloan

Theme: “Been there, done that”

Tyler Sloan has seen a lot of North America for a 28-year old. Originally signed by Columbus in 2000, he would end up going touring a variety of AHL teams, finally ending up in Hershey. In 2007 he was invited to the Capitals’ training camp and would be signed as a free agent by the Caps in July 2008. That ended up working out pretty well. He would be an injury recall this year, playing in 26 games for the Caps. The Caps were 16-9-1 in those 26 games. Didn’t seem to hurt the Caps. But Sloan had two moments. He notched his first NHL goal against Dallas, which is always nice. But on his third shift in his first NHL game, he flattened Calgary’s Daymond Langkow, then took a bushel of retaliatory abuse from Rene Bourque, who was docked 19 minutes of penalties for his trouble (none for Sloan). He finished up the year by skating for the Hershey Bears in their Calder Cup victory over the Manitoba Moose, a team that released him… twice.

Keith Aucoin

Theme: “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight…”

So, Keith Aucoin is 5’9”…yeah, right. And in the NHL program he’s 187 pounds… maybe with sand in his pockets. But Aucoin made the most of his brief stays in Washington. He was scoreless in his first four appearances, but finished up 2-4-6, plus-3 in his last eight games. Not bad for a guy who averaged barely ten minutes of ice time a game in the 12 games in which he played. And the Caps were 8-3-1 in those 12 games. Depth (Aucoin played in 38 games for Carolina in 2007-2008) is a good thing.

Chris Bourque

Theme: “Get your motor running… head out on the highway”

Bourque is probably shorter than Aucoin, and his motor might even run hotter. He had four games of duty in 2007-2008, but skated for more than ten minutes in only one of them, and skated in only one of them after November 10th. This year, he doubled the number of games played and averaged almost ten minutes. But his moment came against Buffalo, when he rifled a rebound of a David Steckel shot past Sabres goalie Ryan Miller for his first NHL tally… only 409 behind Dad.

Quintin Laing

Theme: “Indestructible”

One game… two shots, two hits, one blocked shot... and one torn spleen. And he skated with it, seeing as how he was out there for the last shift of the game. The prognosis was for a three to four month recovery period. Since the injury occurred on March 19th, that would have put him to about, well…next week at best. He played in nine games for the Hershey Bears in the Calder Cup playoffs, going 2-2-4, plus-3. The guy is an inspiration for hard work and grit.

Brian Pothier

Theme: “The long and winding road…”

On January 3, 2008, Brian Pothier was hit by Boston’s Milan Lucic. He would not skate in another NHL game for 437 days. At first post-concussion problems, and later vision problems stemming from the hit kept Pothier in a sort of “will I ever play again” limbo. But he returned to the ice on March 16th against Atlanta. He would not make a lasting impression on the game results – he was 1-2-3, even, in nine regular season games and 0-2-2, plus-1 in 13 playoff games. But his comeback was one of the best stories coming out of the 2008-2009 season.

Semyon Varlamov

Theme: “I want to give him the heat and announce my presence with authority!”

Six games… four wins… no losses in regulation… 2.37 GAA… .918 save percentage. Yep, here’s the keys, kid. Lead us through the playoffs. There were the obvious comparisons to Ken Dryden, who played in six regular season games in 1971 (winning them all) before leading the Montreal Canadiens to a Stanley Cup. There were important differences, though. First, Dryden was 23 when he pulled off his heroics. Varlamov wouldn’t turn 21 until the day before dressing for Game 7 of the opening round of the playoffs. Dryden had the advantage of a lifetime to that point spent in the North American game. Varlamov was playing his first season in North America. Nevertheless, there he was, a goalie who had only once in six games allowed more than two goals, thrust into the fire when Jose Theodore had a rough time in Game 1 against the Rangers.

Varlamov led a charmed life, for a time, winning six of his first eight playoff games, going 1.51, .948 with two shutouts in the process. The clock struck midnight though, and Varlamov struggled in his last five games against the Penguins in the second round, allowing at least four goals in the last four games and getting pulled in the second period of the 6-2 Game 7 loss to the Penguins. But it was an amazing performance for a goalie whose time in professional hockey could at that point be compared to the blink of an eye. He was a great story and, for a while, gave the Caps and their fans hope that a rookie could repeat the performance of another 38 years ago.

The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Goaltenders: Jose Theodore

Jose Theodore

Theme: “WYSIWYG”


You don’t often see that acronym anymore, as it is an archaic term dating from the MS-DOS days of computing. But the acronym – “what you see is what you get” – and the vintage of the term seems to fit the subject.

Theodore’s win-loss numbers don’t differ much from those we projected last fall. But where we thought he’d be more of the reason for those wins, he ended up being a guy who benefitted from an offense that could score enough to mask mistakes made by defensemen and goaltenders. And as the ten-game segments suggest, a quality he displayed in previous seasons did not emerge this time around…


In 2007-2008, Theodore started slowly – 7-8-1 in the 2007 portion of the season – before closing with a 21-13-2 record in the new year portion. This year, a slow start could be forgiven as the product of backstopping a new team with high aspirations, as long as a fast finish was in store.

Theodore had that slow start – 4-3-0, 3.44, .877 covering seven appearances in his first ten-game segment, including a disaster of an opening night when he was shelled for four goals on 17 shots in less than 30 minutes. On two other occasions in that segment he allowed five goals. While he fought back from that debacle, his first three ten-game segments (covering through December 12th) was a somewhat lackluster 8-6-1, 3.08, .888, and he had been effectively benched in favor of Brent Johnson in early November (tht run ended when Johnson was injured).

Theodore climbed out of that hole to post five straight segments in which he posted a save percentage over .900 – he finally topped a season mark of .900 for good on March 10, in Game 68 of the year. But it was only in the fifth segment, covering games from January 6 through January 31st, that it could be said that Theodore was the goalie folks were expecting – he was only 5-3-1, but he posted his lowest segment GAA (2.31) and highest save percentage (.916).

After that fifth segment, Theodore didn’t really ramp up his game, and in fact he finished in rather mediocre fashion. After that fifth ten-game segment, he was 14-8-3, 2.97, .901, and ominously enough ran through the last 22 games 9-6-2 in 17 appearances, 3.04, .899. That wasn’t a hot goaltender going into the playoffs.

But here is the odd part – in 23 games against the other seven teams in the East that made the playoffs, Theodore was 14-3-4, 2.61, .912. Generally, he was fine against Eastern Conference teams, going 26-10-5, 2.78, .904. He struggled against the West (6-7-0, 3.14, .889) and was poor against poor teams (4.93, .808 in four games against Atlanta; 3.20, .887 in six games against Florida, 3.00, .894 in three games against Buffalo being the biggest examples).

31 goaltenders played in at least half (41) of their team’s games. Of that group, Theodore finished 27th in overall save percentage and 25th in goals against average. Only one goaltender finishing below Theodore in both overall save percentage and goals against average played on a playoff team (Chris Osgood… go figure).

Then there were the playoffs. Theodore started them, and he finished them. He did neither well. His indifferent performance in Game 1 of the opening round series against the Rangers – four goals on 21 shots in a 4-3 loss – earned him the baseball cap in favor of Semyon Varlamov (a rookie with all of six games of NHL experience) until the rookie finally melted down in Game 7 of the second round against the Penguins. Theodore came in for 22 minutes of mop-up time to close a year that didn’t end the way anyone might have wanted.

And that playoff line – 0-1-0, 3.71, .818 – continues a disturbing trend as the team moves forward. In each of his last three seasons in which he appeared in both the regular season and playoffs he has posted worse playoff save percentage numbers than he had in the regular season, and he’s had a worse GAA in the last two playoffs than in his regular season.

The concern at the start of the season was whether Theodore could be consistently good enough to backstop a championship contender. That really wasn’t the problem. He had a few decent stretches over the course of the season, but all in all, he just wasn’t an especially productive goaltender. He was one led by the offense to a 30-plus win season more than he carried the team there. A lot of that might be the still-green nature of the defense in front of him and the style the Capitals prefer to play, a hell-bent-for-leather pressure game that will leave goalies exposed from time to time. That has to figure in any evaluation of the position. But the Caps’ style is what it is, and the question now is whether Jose Theodore is the right goaltender to play behind such a team. That he wasn’t in this year’s playoffs is telling.

Grade: C-

The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Goaltenders: Brent Johnson

Brent Johnson

Theme: “you still here?”


Brent Johnson’s season ended after gutting out a 7-4 win over Ottawa on February 1st. It was his first start in eight games, only his third in 16 games. His injured hip (an injury dating back to a November 12th game against Carolina) just would not let him continue any further, and he underwent surgery, ending his season.

It was a most unfortunate end for Johnson's season given his performance to date. His ten-game segments in an abbreviated role suggest that he was on his way to his best season since arriving in Washington, perhaps his best since he won 34 games for the St. Louis Blues in 2001-2002…


In his first three segments he was 9-4-2, 2.36, .922, and had supplanted number one goalie Jose Theodore for a time, playing in five straight games in early November, ending with that hip injury that took him out of a game against Carolina. In 15 appearances he had allowed more than three goals only once.

After that, though, Johnson was obviously playing hurt – 3-2-0, 4.09, .870. In the only appearance in which he allowed fewer than three goals, he had come into the game in relief of Jose Theodore, playing in less than nine minutes before Theodore would return in a wild, come-from-behind 5-4 overtime win against the Rangers on December 23rd.

Even with all that, though, Johnson’s season had a Jekyll and Hyde quality to it. He was undefeated in regulation at home (9-0-1) with a 2.08 GAA and .932 save percentage. But he was 3-6-1 on the road, 3.65, .882 on the road. He was 11-3-2 against Eastern Conference teams, 2.62, .919. Against the West – 1-3-0, 3.52, .860.

When we looked at “benchmarks” by positions two years ago, we said this of Johnson…

“Playoff aspirants can’t afford to give away games when the number one
goaltender isn’t on the ice.”

In his previous three years with the Caps, Johnson fought hard, but there were a lot of games that just got away. He was 22-35-10 in his first three years with the Caps, generally backstopping a team that wasn’t very good. In 2007-2008 – his third year in that set – he improved to 7-8-2, and that was on a team that didn’t make the playoffs until Game 82 of the regular season.

This year, he was providing solid, even superior efforts when called upon, especially when Jose Theodore struggled early. That his season ended prematurely was one of those twists of luck that might have a player asking, “why now, why me?” But Johnson doesn’t impress us as that sort of player, and it is that sort of temperament that makes him well suited to the role he plays on this team. Going forward, the question will be whether he gets to play that role for the Caps. With the performance of Semyon Varlamov in the playoffs, a long look will be given to the youngster as a backup (at the very least) next season. He, with Michal Neuvirth, who cemented his own place among goalies-in-waiting with his Calder Cup performance, is the future of the Caps. That future seems to be rushing forward.

But Johnson still seems to have fuel in the tank, assuming he comes all the way back from hip surgery. If the Caps were to move Jose Theodore, Johnson could be a more-than-adequate backup for a Varlamov. However, there is considerable risk in turning over the keys to a rookie – and Varlamov will be a rookie – goaltender. Can Johnson fill in for long stretches if he struggles?

Those are matters to be pondered another day. For today, and this season, Brent Johnson did almost everything one could ask of a backup goaltender. When healthy, he was arguably the best goaltender on the roster. And even after he was injured, he fought gamely to give the Caps a chance when called upon.

Grade: A-

The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Defensemen: Jeff Schultz

Jeff Schultz

Theme: “A good scapegoat is nearly as welcome as a solution to the problem”

That anonymous quote seems to fit young Mr. Schultz rather well. Instead of accepting Schultz for the player he is – a steady one who plays angles and anticipates, who does not sacrifice position for the big hit, fans would seem to want to take the clay that is a defenseman with about two years of experience (174 games, to be precise) and remake him into… Chris Pronger.

Schultz’ curse is that he is a positional defenseman in a Pronger-like body (they are virtually the same size – 6’6” and about 220 pounds). And that’s probably going to be his curse for as long as he plays the game. He might develop more of a physical edge as he gains experience, but he plays a certain way, and that way is not to go for the bone-crunching hit or the bug-on-a-windshield smear against the glass. Compound that with the fact that a defenseman of his size playing the style he does can look ungainly at times, and it makes for a difficult row to hoe with respect to how fans view him. The facts are these…

- He was second on the team amond defensemen in even strength ice time per game, second in shorthanded ice time per game.

- He was fourth in points among defensemen, despite missing 18 games.

- He was second in plus-minus, despite missing those 18 games

- He took only eight minor penalties this year (we’ve noted folks – including ourselves – praising Karl Alzner for having taken only one)

- He was second on the team among defensemen in total goals scored when he was on the ice.

- He had the second best goal differential per 60 minutes at even strength on the team (+0.61, second to Mike Green’s +1.36)

His ten-game segments suggest an up and down sort of year…


There was a solid start, scoring wise (seven points in his first two segments), followed by something of a drought. What he was able to do consistently was finish on the plus side of the ledger – he was even or better in five straight segments (and that even came in a segment in which he played only one game). However, at the end, he faded. From Game 61 to the end of the year, 0-2-2, minus-5 in 21 games, although hey, he hit more often (25 hits in those 21 games).

And that leads us to some unfortunate numbers for Schultz as we delve deeper. He was last among defensemen on the team with 50 or more games played in his Corsi rating. He followed up his five goal season last year with a single goal this year – a shorthanded empty netter against Pittsburgh in January. Despite that second best goal differential at even strength noted above, he has the second highest goals-against per 60 minutes at even strength, while the quality of competition he faced was third among the six defensemen playing at least 50 games for the Caps. For a “positional” defensemen, he did not position himself in front of a lot of shots. He was last among the defensemen (50 games, minimum) in blocked shots per 60 minutes at 5-on-5.

As a penalty killer, Schultz faced the second worst quality of competition among the six Caps defensemen playing at least 50 games. Yet, he still was only fourth among the Caps D in goals scored against per 60 minutes in 4-on-5 situations.

An odd number shows up at this point, and that concerns his home and away performance. Despite the heckling he gets from the home folk, Schultz was a better performer at Verizon Center (0-6-6, plus-14, seven PIMs) than he was on the road (1-5-6, minus-1, 14 PIMs), or at least his numbers came out better.

And here is another odd one, if you’re not inclined toward being a Schultz fan… against the other seven playoff teams in the East, he was 1-4-5, plus-12, with only two penalty minutes in 23 games.

Part of Schultz’s problem is that when he makes a mistake, it’s usually a doozy. He’s like the cornerback in pro football whose mistake is out there for all to see. None was bigger than the game-winning goal scored in Game 1 of the opening round of the playoffs, when Schultz got his legs tangled at the Capitals blue line, and Brandon Dubinsky left him writhing on the ice as the Ranger skated in along to net the winner. It would be the only playoff game in which Schultz would play. Why? Well, not because of the gaffe, but the fact that he had a broken rib that was suffered before this misfortune.

Schultz is yet another one of those arbitration-eligible restricted free agents among the defense. His cap hit of $763,889 this past season was, frankly, a bargain. What that means in terms of a new contract, that’s another matter. Is he worth Shaone Morrisonn money (at least what Morrisonn earned this year). Almost certainly not. But the Caps can fill only so many holes on the blue line, if anyone departs. Since he is in a competition of sorts with two other defensemen for contracts (Morrisonn and Milan Jurcina being the same situation), his return is not a certainty. But for all the nonsense he takes for the contradiction that fans seem to feel between his size and his style, he is what he is – a young defenseman who could one day be a quite effective, if unspectacular one.

Grade: B-

Words to live by

"We don't hang up division championships. We don't hang up conference championships. The only thing you're going to see hanging are [AHL] championships."

-- Bob Woods, Head Coach, Hershey Bears


Photo: Blaine T. Shahan/Sunday News (Lancaster, PA)

The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Defensemen: Tom Poti

Tom Poti

Theme: “Get some ice, I've pulled my groin. My enormous groin.”


OK, we were stuck for groin jokes, so we found that one by Stephen Colbert. But for Tom Poti, this was “The Year of the Groin” (we’re not sure if that shows up on a Chinese calendar). It really wasn’t a laughing matter for Poti, though, who played the fewest number of games (52) in his ten year career because of repeated injury. Poti had four separate stretches in which he lost at least three consecutive games to injury. All of them were attributed to groin injuries. The effect was to leave him with the lowest assist total (10), points (13), penalty minutes (28), shots on goal (48) in his ten seasons. It had a wearying effect, as his ten-game segments suggest…


In his last two segments, in which he played 18 games, Poti recorded only a single point (a power play assist) and was minus-5. In only four of those games was he on the plus side of the ledger.

There is one number in Poti’s season that comes jumping off the page… zero. That is the number of power play goals he had this past year. In fact, he has not yet recorded a power play goal as a Capital, an odd thing since that is one of the talents he was bringing with him when he was signed as a free agent in the summer of 2007. Part of that is the emergence of Mike Green as a force on the power play (18 power play goals this year, the only Cap defenseman to score any), but even Poti’s power play assists dropped from eight last year (itself something of a disappointment) to two this year. Part of that problem might be in that Poti’s power play ice time was almost cut in half this past year (from 2:39 to 1:26 per game).

The more detailed numbers suggest this was something of a lost year for Poti, made frustrating in that he was reasonably productive when he did dress. Among the six Capitals defensemen playing at least 50 games, he was second in goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, second in points per 60 minutes, and maintained a goal differential of 0.00 per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, despite having the highest quality of competition faced among any Capitals defenseman.

Poti’s missing 30 games had its effect on the Capitals. While the team was 33-19 in games for which he dressed (including extra-time losses), they were only 17-13 in those games he missed. Oddly enough, though, in Poti’s longest absence of the year – a 15 game stretch from December 23rd through January 27th – the Caps were 10-4-1, a slightly better standings points pace than their 82-game total.

And, Poti was no road warrior. In 25 road games, he was 1-2-3, even, despite taking more shots (26 versus 22) and getting more ice time (21:33 versus 20:51) in fewer road games (25 versus 27 at home).

What Poti had was a pretty good year against stiffer competition. Against the other seven teams in the East that would make the playoffs, he would finish 1-5-6, +8 in 19 games. He had his only “minus” against the Flyers. His struggles came against also rans – 0-2-2, minus-3 in five games against Atlanta; 0-0-0, minus-3 in two games against Los Angeles; 0-0-0, minus-2 against Buffalo.

His ability to rise to the level of competition was reflected in what was his best playoff season of his career. He scored his first two career playoff goals in this year’s post season, nearly doubled his career total in points (from eight to 15), was plus-8 (only his second year on the plus side). Unfortunately, almost all of that offense was recorded against his former team, the New York Rangers, in the first round. In the second round against Pittsburgh, he was 0-1-1, plus-6. And, there was the unfortunate deflection off his stick on a pass by Evgeni Malkin that was probably the single most important moment in the Penguins’ drive to the Stanley Cup. Had the Capitals won that game in overtime, instead of Malkin scoring the winner, it would have been the Caps taking a 3-2 series lead into Pittsburgh, instead of the Penguins for Game 6.

Until joining the Caps, Poti had never gone through a regular season without scoring a power play goal. Perhaps next year, he can take some of the heat (and ice time) off Mike Green by playing and contributing more in those situations. He’s shown to be perhaps a better defender here – certainly a more mature one – than he’s been at any of his previous stops in his career in Edmonton, Manhattan, and Long Island.

But this season was a year-long struggle just to get and stay on the ice. The frustrating part of it is that when he was out there, Poti was pretty good, especially early in the season, when he still had two good legs (or at least better legs) under him. Nevertheless, he was probably the second best defenseman for the Caps this year.

Grade: B

The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Defensemen: Shaone Morrisonn

Shaone Morrisonn

Theme: “Right timing is in all things the most important factor.”

That quote is more than 2,500 years old, from the Greek epic poet, Hesiod. Sometimes, it seems that long since Shaone Morrisonn was traded to Washington, along with a first round pick (which became Jeff Schultz) and a second round pick (Mikhail Yunkov) in 2004 for Sergei Gonchar. In fact, in terms of service to the franchise, Morrisonn is the longest tenured Capitals defenseman in time spent with the team and games played with Washington. He was obtained in trade on March 3, 2004 and has played 309 regular season games as a Cap.

As the ten-game segments suggest, though, Morrisonn did not improve on his consistency with maturity…


He did not string together two consecutive “plus” segments, which is probably not a good thing for the defenseman who might best pass for a “shutdown” type on this team. He had spikes of penalty minutes and three times had at least three consecutive games with penalties taken. On the other hand, the Caps were 17-8-3 in games in which Morrisonn was sent to the box.

One ten-game segment stands out, Morrisonn’s sixth. In those ten games, dating from February 1st through February 22nd, Morrisonn registered his highest point total of any segment (2-2-4), his best plus-minus (plus-5), the most hits (22), the most shots on goal (nine), and the most penalty minutes (29, including 15 minutes – for a boarding major and a game misconduct – in a 3-1 win over Florida on February 7th). Perhaps not coincidentally, the Caps posted their second best ten game win-loss record of any ten-game segment (7-2-1, including a pair of 5-2 wins over New Jersey and Pittsburgh). It suggests that a more energetic Morrisonn is a more productive one, or at least it seems to go along with more success for the team.

More than most Caps (and there were plenty in this category), Morrisonn suffered in his efforts against Western Conference teams, against which he registered a single point (an assist) and went minus-5 in 17 games. In 55 games against Eastern Conference opponents, he was 3-9-12, plus-9. However, that plus-9 was earned in its entirety from Southeast Division teams in 22 games, not the strongest division in the East. Against the rest of the East, he was 2-3-5, even, in 33 games.

But on the defensive side, and this is where Morrisonn earns his keep, there were some numbers not so good. He was 69th in the league among defensemen playing at least 50 games in blocked shots per 60 minutes (by way of comparison, Tom Poti was 36th). He was tied for 76th in goals scored against-per-60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time, despite being tied for 108th in quality of competition.

For a defenseman who makes most of his contribution at the defensive end, he wasn’t getting a lot of opportunity to make that contribution. He was sixth on the team among those playing at least 50 games in even strength ice time per game (if we include Karl Alzner in the mix, who played 30 games, Morrisonn would be seventh), and he was third (fourth, if you include Alzner) in shorthanded time on ice per game. He also had the shortest shifts, on average, of any defenseman for the Caps this season (ok, Staffan Kronwall had shorter shifts, but he played in only three games).

Here is another set of numbers that have a somewhat disturbing air about them. Morrisonn was 3-10-13, +3 in 2006-2007. He was 3-10-13, +4 this past year. The difference is that he recorded that first set of numbers on a team that finished the year with 70 points, 14th in the Eastern Conference. This year, he recorded almost exactly the same numbers on a team that finished with 108 points, 2nd in the Eastern Conference. The first instance was that of a standout on a poor-performing team, the second that of, well, something else on a very good team.

Last year, Morrisonn had a decent year that earned him a contract of $1.975 million through arbitration. This year was a contract year for him, and while he improved his numbers marginally over last year, his timing doesn’t appear to have been fortunate in terms of suggesting a large increase in pay. In fact, his numbers suggested those of a 4/5/6 defenseman, one who could provide 18 minutes a night (he was sixth on the team in average total ice time), occasionally – if not consistently – provide a bit of a physical edge, and generally finish on the plus side of the ledger (if not overwhelmingly so). It suggests that he, too, is not irreplaceable, although he can be useful. The trouble for Morrisonn here is that his minutes could be Karl Alzner’s next year.

This year, Morrisonn ended up in the usual place, as far as his career numbers go, but he took a rather meandering route to get there. Given his consistent regular season numbers with the Caps, one might be forgiven wondering if this is as good as he will be. Not bad, to be sure, but not a cornerstone, either.

Grade: B-

The 2008-2009 season, by the "tens" -- Defensemen: Milan Jurcina

Milan Jurcina

Theme: “There must be consistency in direction.”

Maybe it’s fitting we insert a quote from Deming here. Because, if we look at the performance of Milan Jurcina this year, we are struck by two things – the occasional stretches of quality performance and the lack of consistency in achieving them. This is reflected in Jurcina’s ten game segments…


Jurcina, to the extent he can be, was a “scorer” early, recording more than half of his season’s points in the first 40 games of the year. Unfortunately, he also had three segments in there in which he was a minus-2 for each. That’s not the sort of result one hopes for concerning a defenseman who: a) is not considered or expected to contribute a lot of offense, or b) doesn’t face top-flight offensive lines on a night-to-night basis.

Jurcina scored less, but moved into “plus” territory in the last half, not registering a “minus” in any of the last four full ten-game segments. That’s probably a more suitable “comfort zone” for a defenseman who is probably a third-pair sort on a contender (his even-strength ice time per game – 15:05, fifth among defensemen with at least 50 games played this year – suggests his being such a defenseman).

If there is a disappointing aspect to Jurcina’s season, it is that he hasn’t become something more of a goal scorer, despite the observation of some that he has a heavy shot. He had six goals in 51 games in his rookie season in Boston and hasn’t come close to equaling that modest total since. As a Capital, he has a total of six goals in 184 games, covering three seasons. This year he had his highest total since that rookie year (three). And this despite his being second on the team in shots on goal and total shot attempts (shots, blocked shots, missed shots).

Regarding the latter point on shot attempts, there is a notion that Jurcina has trouble getting shots to net, that he is slow on the release (he is), and that he is something of a scattershot (ok, he’s that, too). But if you take a look at his ratio of shots on goal to shots not on goal (misses, blocks), he is fourth on the team among defensemen playing at least 30 games, behind Mike Green (the only Cap with a ratio above 1.00), Karl Alzner, and Tom Poti. As much as anything else, that might tell us that the Caps defensemen not named “Green” had their problems.

Defensively, Jurcina was second best on the team among defensemen (at least 30 games) in goals scored against per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time. That is, as much as not, a reflection of the fact that among the same group of defensemen he faced the second worse quality of competition. He also managed a goal-differential per 60 minutes of ice time of +0.10, which was third on the club.

Going back to those ten-game segments, there were two areas in which Jurcina was reasonably consistent. He registered eight penalty minutes in five of the full ten-game segments and ten in another. Jurcina, in fact, tied for the team lead among defensemen in minor penalties taken and had the worst differential of penalties taken to penalties drawn at 5-on-5 per 60 minutes on the club among defensemen and second worst, regardless of position (Sergei Fedorov). Not that it seemed to have an inordinate effect on the Caps results. The Caps were 17-11-2 in games in which he took a penalty (1.20 standings points-per-game, versus 1.32 points-per-game overall)

The other area was hits. After a slow start in that department in the first ten games (12 hits in ten games), he was tightly bunched around the 20 hit mark for the next six segments, and even in the last full segment averaged slightly more than two hits a game in eight games played. He led the team in hits (157) and was tied for 21st in the league that measure.

The odd thing about Jurcina’s whole line is that if one removes his games against the Rangers, it wasn’t a bad year. He was scoreless and a minus-6 in four games against the Blueshirts, a problem he seemed to rectify in the playoffs, when he was 1-0-1, plus-4 in seven games. He had his best regular season efforts against teams in the Northeast Division, against which he was 1-3-4, plus-8 in 20 games.

Jurcina is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this summer. Last year he was an $881,250 cap hit on the team ($912,000 salary). And, he is among a clot of defensemen (Shaone Morrisonn, Jeff Schultz) in a similar contract situation. Jurcina’s numbers and performance do not suggest that he is irreplaceable by any means. However, he just turned 26, and he still has fewer than 300 games of NHL regular season experience. He might not have reached his peak.

In the meantime, though, Jurcina displayed a certain inconsistency in his game, but perhaps not as much as is commonly believed. He might have been (and continues to be) somewhat disappointing on the offensive end, but he otherwise played his role fairly well.

Grade: B-

That's a Wrap

Tonight, Pennsylvania is the center of the hockey universe. The Pittsburgh Penguins defied the odds in winning a Game 7 on the road against the defending Stanley Cup champions and beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 to win the Stanley Cup.

Not long after the horn sounded in Detroit, the Hershey Bears set an American Hockey League record in winning their tenth Calder Cup, a 4-1 win over the Manitoba Moose to close out that series in six games in Winnipeg.

Caps fans might not be pleased with the Penguin win, but it was well-earned. Several players stepped up in a big way for the Penguins in a manner befitting a champion. Marc-Andre Fleury forever silenced his critics (we being occasionally among them) with a sterling performance in a building that has been unkind to him in his young career, one capped by a diving save on a Nicklas Lidstrom drive in the dying moments of the contest. Maxime Talbot was the hero of Game 7, netting both goals for the Penguins in what would be the Triumph of the Grinders in the championship-deciding game, and the rest of the team cobbled together a superior defensive effort in holding a team that had scored 11 goals in three home games to a single tally.

As it was chronicled in many places, no team in any of the major North American team sports had won a Game 7 in the last 18 tries since 1980. It hadn’t been done in the NHL since the Montreal Canadiens did it against the Chicago Blackhawks in 1971, coincidentally the last time a team fell behind 2-0 on the road and came back to win the in the finals.

Congratulations to Evgeni Malkin (Conn Smythe winner), Sidney Crosby (youngest captain to win the Cup), Dan Bylsma (a mid-season replacement behind the bench who in no small way saved the Penguins’ season), and the rest of the Penguins. It was a Cup well-deserved.

For the Hershey Bears, it was another season in a long history of excellence. And perhaps the biggest part of this year’s contribution to that history was the performance of Alexandre Giroux. The Bears’ winger scored on a breakaway mid-way through the first period in tonight’s Game 6 against the Manitoba Moose to drive a stake into the heart of the fans in Winnipeg, giving the Bears a 3-0 lead on their way to the 4-1 win. For Giroux, it would be the emphatic exclamation point on a season for the ages – 60 regular season goals, 15 more in the playoffs, a total of 75 goals for the season that would be the highest total ever achieved in the AHL for the regular season and playoffs, combined.

But Giroux was hardly alone. Michal Neuvirth – this year’s winner of the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as Calder Cup MVP – announced loudly in these Calder Cup playoffs that he is a prospect to be reckoned with in the Capitals’ scheme of things. He posted a 16-6 record, a 1.92 goals against average (third in the Calder Cup playoffs and a Bears team record), a .932 save percentage (fourth), and four shutouts (tops in the Calder Cup playoffs). He became the first goalie in AHL history to win Games 6 and 7 of a playoff series with shutouts, turning the trick against arch-rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the second round of the playoffs.

Then there was Quintin Laing. On a March evening dominated by Alex Ovechkin’s “hot stuff” goal celebration, Laing skated in his only game for the Caps this season – a 5-2 win over Tampa Bay – and tore his spleen. It was an injury that was expected, at the time, to sideline him for the rest of the season. But Laing came back to play in nine Calder Cup playoff games and served as an inspiration to his teammates in their march to the championship.

For Bears head coach Bob Woods, it was probably especially satisfying. In leading the Bears to their tenth Calder Cup title, he can now claim a Cup as a player (1997 Bears), an assistant coach (2006 Bears), and head coach (2009 Bears). He’s earned his place in the long history of excellence achieved by the Bears.

While turnover is a part of any team from season to season, there might be a special poignancy attached to the Bears in this regard as this season comes to a close. There is a certain “graduation day” air attached to it. For players like Karl Alzner or Chris Bourque, it might be the last time they skate for the chocolate and white as they move onward and upward. It might be that guys like John Carlson and Michal Neuvirth – neither of whom started the year in Hershey – won’t be far behind. Oskar Osala could make the jump before too long. And for a player such as Alexandre Giroux, he might move on to another franchise to find a clearer path to the NHL. Bryan Helmer, who captained the team, and Graham Mink, who is in his second stint with the Bears, are unrestricted free agents this summer.

What a last eight months it’s been for the Keystone State. A World Series championship in Philadelphia, a Super Bowl Championship in Pittsburgh, a Stanley Cup championship in Pittsburgh, and a Calder Cup championship in Hershey. You might even throw in a Governor’s Cup for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees of the International League of minor league baseball. It's been a big year in Pennsylvania.

With tonight’s action, hockey comes to an end for the 2008-2009 season. The celebrating isn’t over yet for the Penguins and Bears, but for the rest of us, we’re already looking forward to next season. It can’t get here fast enough.