The Forwards

In what was quiet off-season for the Caps most of the change that did occur was on the front line. Departing were Kozlov, Federov, and The Donald, while new arrivals include Brendan Morrison and Mike Knuble. I won't miss either of the Russians. To my way of thinking Kozlov was a consistent underperformer and at times just seemed invisible. You'd think someone with his size and skills and skating most of his shifts with OV would score 10 or 12 goals just by accident.
By the end of last year Federov was routinely pissing me off with bad penalties and mediocre play. I'll have to take everyone's word on the "positive effect in the locker room" argument.

Brashear's departure is a wash for me - for every time you were glad you had him, there were two other times you'd roll your eyes over some mis-deed. I still remember that game in Boston two seasons ago where he almost single-handedly took the Caps out of the playoff drive with a triple-minor in the closing minutes that turned a seeming 2-1 victory into a loss.

Like Federov, who's spot he will presumably be taking, Morrison is a seasoned veteran with an ability to score points. Formerly a bit of an iron man, he is coming off a couple of injury riddled seasons and is eager to prove that his career is not over. This acquisition was a low risk move for the Caps that has way more up-side potential than down. At worst, Morrison should provide the same value as Federov.

The biggest move of the off-season - and a bit of a surprise - was the Mike Knuble pickup. I give Philly credit - they went out and made the big name defensive acquisition I've been begging the Caps to make for the last couple of seasons. (Remember when in a short run of seasons we had Rod Langway, Scott Stevens, Kevin Hatcher and Larry Murphy - and hooted Murphy out of town because he wasn't good enough? Good times.) But if the cost of Bob Probert is giving up Knuble for salary cap room ... I'm not so sure. My sources in Philly tell me we're going to be quite pleased with Knuble - in any event, he seems to be exactly what the Caps need - a gritty productive winger with a nose for the net. He figures to spend much of the season skating with OV so do the math: OV takes about 510 shots on goal per season (and those are just the ones "on goal") and only(!) scores on 60 or 70 of those. That's a lot of loose rubber laying around.

So here's a line by line breakdown. Based on last year's playoffs and pre-season combinations these should be the more-or-less standard line combinations.

Ovethckin-Backstrom-Knuble
This line could be a truly fearsome combination. Backstrom is one of the best passer/playmakers in the league and having Knuble skating across from OV should give him even more room. Expect to see BB shift gears and put Semin in Knuble's spot when the situation warrants - when those three guys can get clicking it can get sick out there. Either way this could be one of the best lines in the NHL.

Fleischmann-Morrison-Semin
There's a lot of open questions on this one. Finding the right combination to support Semin - a potential 50 goal scorer - and give the Caps a true one-two punch will be high on BB's to-do list in the early season. Fleischmann started out last season displaying the goal-scoring touch management has been promising but then went ice-cold after December. Additionally, he's not been cleared for contact through training camp due to the blood thinners he's been taking as a result of his bout with DVT. See the discussion on Brendan Morrison above - we know what he's been capable of in the past - its hard to know whether he can once again be productive. The good news is that the Caps are strong at center (hell - they've got a $5.4M center who can't even get ice time). The bad news is that they are lacking true left wingers and if Flash can't get it going there may not be too many options that would result in a first-rate second line.

Fehr-Gordon-Clark
Again, there are open questions here - and one of the reasons Giroux is getting a good long look-see in camp. Fehr is coming off surgery on *both* shoulders this Summer and has not yet been cleared for contact. Clark is coming off two full season's worth of injuries and it remains to be seen if he can get back to his former level of play. In a worst-case scenario, this line fades into irrelevance. Expect to see either Giroux or Laing start the season on this line.

Laich-Steckel-Bradley
This line was assembled in last years playoff run and were a tough, productive lunchpail line that any coach would be pleased to have. The challenge will be keeping them together. Given the current lack of depth on the left side Laich will probably see ample time on the second and third lines.

Oh, and can we all agree that Nylander is finished as a Capital?