Wednesday Afternoon

Not too much going on in Harrisonburg. I started to do an analysis of where the Caps are salary wise for the 08/09 season compared to where they could be in a few years. But I decided not to finish. Here were a few of the main things I was going to say:

-Nylander and Fedorov are in their mid/late 30's and will probably ride out their current contracts then retire. Feds after this year. Nylander after the 10/11 season. That will free up a combined $8.5m or so of cap room. By then Backstrom could be playing the top line center spot in all-star form and will be looking for a raise. Mathieu Perreault, Anton Gustuffson, Kyle Wilson, Jay Beagle and Chris Bourque will all want to make names for themselves in the next year or two because there will be spots to win up the middle.

-Kozlov probably won't be around after this season, seeing as his contract is up and Fleischmann is hanging on by a very loose thread. Francois Bouchard and Andrew Gordon will both be in Hershey this season. Both/either could be a suitable replacement in a year or two.

-On the other side of the ice, Ovie and Semin have secured the top two left wing sports but beyond that the Caps aren't quite as deep as they are in other spots. Oskar Osala is the highest rated left wing prospect and from what I have read, late round pick Stefan Della Rovere tore it up at this summer's development camp. I'm anxious to get Fleischmann out of there and fill his spot with someone who can actually play.

-On Defense, Green, Alzner, and maybe Schultz are the only ones from the current lineup who I could see them keeping for a long time. Everyone else has yet to prove they are worth keeping after their contracts are up. Morrison is next closest only because he is a good compliment to Green. The Caps are loaded with D-man prospects. Godfrey, Finley, Lepisto, Carlson, I could go on. You have to think that someone out of that bunch will turn into a real NHL player.

-Goal is easiest to predict. Theodore is on for two years at $4.5m each. He is just a filler until Varlomov, Neuvirth, or Machesney are ready. But none of those three will be worthy of Theodore type money when they take over the #1 job.

Any way you look at it, the Caps are loaded with young talent and are very deep at a most positions. And it couldn't have come at a better time. Veterens will retire, freeing up cap room to sign virtually anyone we want. I won't call us this year's Penguins because I think we have done it better than they have. And we have two men to thank for that. Ted and George.