Assuming there isn’t a change made behind the bench — General Manager George McPhee has said Bruce Boudreau’s job is safe, but he used the word “expect” when asked if the coach would return — the first move should be to subtract at least one of the “Young Guns” from the equation. Such a move would let the others know that the status quo won’t be tolerated while also stirring the mix of core players that has grown complacent.
Despite the individual struggles of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom during the regular season and playoffs, it’s unfathomable to think McPhee would even field a phone call regarding either of them.
Ovechkin is under contract through 2020-21 season and Backstrom is signed through 2019-20, and for better or worse, they figure to be mainstays in Washington until then.
It would make sense if the possibility of trading Mike Green is discussed, however. He gets an “incomplete” on his 2010-11 report card after missing all but 49 regular season games with a pair of concussions and Game 4 of the Tampa Bay series with a leg injury. His susceptibility to injury is concerning, as are his postseason struggles and the precipitous drop off in goals and assists for a player who was once considered one of the world’s premier offensive defensemen. Green has one more season remaining on his contract at $5.25 million, and the expected return of Dennis Wideman from a leg hematoma could make him expendable.
Alexander Semin, too, would seem to be a candidate to be dealt. The 27-year-old veteran of six NHL seasons was assessed 71 minutes in penalties, the most on the team among non-fighters. He’s averaged 65.8 games in the regular season over the past four campaigns. And, for the second straight postseason, he disappeared when his team needed him most, finishing the Tampa Bay series with a goal and an assist as the Capitals were swept.
The most stinging indictment of Semin’s play came courtesy of Vyacheslav Bykov, the coach of the Russian national team. Bykov invited Ovechkin to Slovakia for the world championships; an invitation for Semin was never sent out.
He could be an attractive option for a team looking for offense and a box-office draw for a club struggling to fill seats. That said, his $6.7 million salary next season, and impending free agency the following summer, figures to make him a tough sell.
The Capitals also must address the lack of leadership and accountability in the dressing room. In two of the past three seasons, McPhee added a veteran in his mid- to late 30s with a Stanley Cup on his resume at the deadline. In 2008, it was Sergei Fedorov. In February, it was Jason Arnott.
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