Caps Wonder if a Healthy Friesen Is a Good Fit

Capitals left wing Jeff Friesen, here surrounded by Bruins, missed 28 games with an abdominal injury. (By Jonathan Newton -- The Washington Post)

When the Washington Capitals acquired Jeff Friesen in September, team officials were excited about adding a goal scorer and veteran leader to a lineup that was in need of both.

Four-plus months and one serious injury later, the Capitals still are wondering how -- or if -- Friesen fits into their plans. Is he a part of the rebuilding team's future? Or should he be traded to a contending team in exchange for a draft pick?

It's one of the many questions facing the Capitals as the March 9 trade deadline approaches. The direction the team chooses will, to some degree, depend on the 29-year-old left wing's play in the three games before and the five games immediately after the NHL's 16-day break for the Olympics. That stretch of eight games begins tonight at MCI Center against the Florida Panthers.

After playing through an abdominal injury in October and early November before missing 28 games because of it, Friesen returned to the lineup in mid-January. But his play has only recently begun to resemble that of the five-time 20-goal scorer the Capitals thought they were getting when they acquired him from New Jersey.

"He's got his speed back and is the guy we all had in our mind's eye before he got injured," Coach Glen Hanlon said after yesterday's practice at Piney Orchard Ice Arena. "He's finding a way to get away from coverage and has had quite a few scoring chances. It's just going to be a matter of time before he gets his scoring touch back."

Sooner rather than later would be best for Friesen, who has two goals and two assists in 25 games. He becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and his salary for 2006-07 and beyond -- whether he's paid by the Capitals or another team -- could be determined by his offensive output over the final 29 contests. One of the game's fastest skaters when healthy, Friesen is the Capitals' second-highest paid player at $2.28 million.

"This season has gone how it's gone," Friesen said. "If I had 25 or 30 goals right now it would be a little different. But I've never looked at the game that way. I'm not looking for a long-term contract. I just want an opportunity to play and help the team win.

"The past five or six games, I've felt better and better," he added. "I've finally felt I was up to speed. Injury-wise I feel great. Hopefully I can get things turned around."

Hanlon is giving Friesen the opportunity to do that. He skated a season-high 18 minutes 16 seconds last Tuesday against the New York Islanders and scored his second goal. The past two games, he's ranked among the team's ice-time leaders for forwards, logging about 17 minutes per game, significantly more than the 14:53 he's averaging for the season.

Ice time, Friesen said, is the key.

"I just want to play in a role where I can get the most out of myself and help the team," he said. "People have success in some places and then you look at them on another team and you wonder what happened. It's about the role you play. If you are not put in that role, it's hard to produce. And, on the same hand, you have to produce when you are out there."

Center Brooks Laich said: "Jeff is starting to hit his stride. That's a tough injury to come back from. You can't expect to be 100 percent right away. Lately he's been playing awesome."

But with Friesen's future to be determined, playing well and scoring are two completely different things. He's confident he can make the latter happen.

"I feel like I'm in top game shape now," Friesen said. "And that's a good thing. I want to focus on the last few games before the break and then come back and play my best."