Goodbye Khabi, Hello Nyls?

by J.P. on Sep 30, 2008 1:15 PM EDT

You had to know this was coming:

"If Chicago Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon thought he was fooling anybody this summer when he said Nikolai Khabibulin had a future in Chicago after signing Cristobal Huet, that sham came to an end Monday when the Hawks put Khabibulin on waivers.

"The Blackhawks are trying to clear salary cap space by getting rid of Khabibulin and insiders say the player they’re targeting now is Washington Capitals center Michael Nylander, who has three years left on his contract with a salary cap hit of $4.875 million.

"Sources say the Blackhawks have already made two serious offers to the Capitals for Nylander and believe he would be a good candidate to replace Robert Lang and play with oft-injured Martin Havlat."

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Comments

After the kind of performance he's put up in the preseason, I'm sold on him. I hope Ted and Gabby tell Tallon where to stuff it. If Nylander keeps up the way he's going, he'll be worth every penny of his cap hit and then some.

(And who else thinks Scotty Bowman put him up to it, if it's true?)

by this space for rent on Sep 30, 2008 1:29 PM EDT reply actions

So, they wanna give us Toews or Kane...?

by wittcap79 on Sep 30, 2008 1:39 PM EDT reply actions

or Barker?

by wittcap79 on Sep 30, 2008 1:43 PM EDT reply actions

At this stage of the team's development doesn't it seem like Nylander is the type of player we would want to acquire instead of deal? Unless the return is just absurd (and who knows after the deal with Huet), I just don't see the logic.

by Chris on Sep 30, 2008 1:46 PM EDT reply actions

"Gretzky was traded"...
That's all I have to say.

by ~Mark on Sep 30, 2008 1:53 PM EDT reply actions

Plus, you have to think that McPhee deals are the ones no one sees coming. Since when is he predictable?

by Debcapsfan on Sep 30, 2008 1:53 PM EDT reply actions

man I hope we keep Nyls. If he stays healthy he's good for 80 points this year.

by Sombrero Guy on Sep 30, 2008 1:57 PM EDT reply actions

This year when he plays Flash scores (at least in preseason) that alone should make him worth keeping.

by Anonymous on Sep 30, 2008 2:02 PM EDT reply actions

@my earlier comment -- err, my mistake, that'd be GMGM. blame me typing too fast.

Point stands, though. Caps'd be fools to trade Nylander right now, IMO.

by this space for rent on Sep 30, 2008 2:31 PM EDT reply actions

@ Mark,

Of course Gretzky wanted out and Emdonton needed the $10 million cash they got in return. I appreciate the sentiment but the situations are a little different.

by Joe on Sep 30, 2008 2:33 PM EDT reply actions

What's interesting is that they'll still have to pay for Khabi's salary while he's on the Wolves, and won't they have to pay half if he's claimed on reentries?

by Ogre on Sep 30, 2008 2:53 PM EDT reply actions

According to HockeyBuzz.com, the Caps are about $2.7MM over the salary cap. I'm not sure what the consequence of being over the cap is (luxury tax/fine?) but I can see GMGM wanting to get under the cap for a variety of reasons.

Just sayin'...

by AJD on Sep 30, 2008 2:53 PM EDT reply actions

I have three words: No-Movement Clause. Nyls isn't going anywhere unless he wants to, and he seems pretty happy here.

And I agree, after this preseason we'd be idiots to trade him. If I'd have known the cost of resigning Feds would be losing Nylander, I'd have waved goodbye to Sergei in a heartbeat. He does bring intangibles and he is good for the Russian kids, but the man just won't put up points in bunches like Nylander will.

That said, they offer Toews, then we'll take it.

by Murshawursha on Sep 30, 2008 3:00 PM EDT reply actions

"According to HockeyBuzz.com..."

That right there tells you how accurate those figures are.

Never trust anything you see on that site.

Anyhow, I don't see Nyls going anywhere.

by keydet on Sep 30, 2008 3:00 PM EDT reply actions

@keydet:

Good to know.

No-Movement Clause is a good point.

by AJD on Sep 30, 2008 3:04 PM EDT reply actions

I think the assumption that Nylander isn't going anywhere b/c A) he has a No Movement Clause and B) wouldn't waive it may be faulty (and not on that first part).

by JP on Sep 30, 2008 3:07 PM EDT reply actions

Wait a sec--

They traded Lang for nothing to shed salary, now they want to trade for a more expensive player to replace the cheaper guy they gave away?

Wait. What?

I disagree with JP (it seems like you feel Nyls has a 10 to 20% chance of being traded)--I think he stays, both because he wants to and because Feds is old and Backis is young and injuries happen.

by bil on Sep 30, 2008 3:22 PM EDT reply actions

I think the assumption that Nylander isn't going anywhere b/c A) he has a No Movement Clause and B) wouldn't waive it may be faulty (and not on that first part).

Really? 6 kids, already started school, a guy who's a family man. Of course you can always make things uncomfortable for him to the point where he may relent, but I don't think waiving his NMC would be very attractive to him. Why do you think it may be?

Chi is already in cap trouble. What could they give up to get Nyl that gets them under the cap and doesn't make the Washington's cap situation not worse? This rumour makes no sense.

by rananda on Sep 30, 2008 3:23 PM EDT reply actions

what the hell would we want from Chicago aside from Toews/Kane (their future)?

not going to happen unless its some crazy 3 way/team deal

by NS on Sep 30, 2008 3:24 PM EDT reply actions

regarding Hockey Buzz's Cap number, they also have Schultz listed as a prospect and not on the roster, they have Alzner on the team already and they aren't factoring in the 2.5 million exemption we have if Potheir remains on long term injury reserve. McPhee and other people have said the Capitals are "fine" with the cap.

by Sombrero Guy on Sep 30, 2008 3:43 PM EDT reply actions

Sorry, the Caps would be stupid to get rid of Nylander at this point.

by I Rock the Red on Sep 30, 2008 3:48 PM EDT reply actions

Enough already! Coach said himself last night that Nyls is "a man on a mission." I think you want that mission to be yours, and not trade a guy like him, with his track record, and with something to prove.

The lazy journalism is really tiresome too - the Tribune piece says we're a couple million dollars over the cap, with no mention of Pothier's situation.

by pepper on Sep 30, 2008 3:48 PM EDT reply actions

Last time you posted about moving Nyls the inmates revolted and accused you of being un-American. Or un-Swedish. Or whatever. My how things change in a week...

by Tyler on Sep 30, 2008 4:04 PM EDT reply actions

@sombrero guy:

Did not know about the exemption due to Pothier being on the LTIR. Glad you enlightened me.

Regarding Nylander being on a mission, I can dig it, and if he's healthy I think he's a tremendous contributor. But that's a big "if". He's old and old guys break down.

And no matter what anyone says, I still think Erskine is a liability, and the club would love to replace him, without resorting to playing either a rookie (Alzner) or near-rookie (Lepisto) for key, protracted minutes. I can well believe that GMGM would love to improve that roster spot. But who can they trade? Kozlov and Nylander are the obvious candidates to me...

by AJD on Sep 30, 2008 4:06 PM EDT reply actions

If Pothier remains on LTI, and if you move Schultz into the lineup and send Alzner down the Caps are more than fine but only have 6 d-men. If you Lepisto starts up, they're still under the cap using hockey buzz numbers but only by like $189K or something.

McPhee has said in an interview on Tarik's blog that the Caps are fine and there are loopholes the fans don't know about, so I hope that is the case and I hope Nylander is here all season.

by Sombrero Guy on Sep 30, 2008 4:55 PM EDT reply actions

With Nylander on the team, Pothier on ITIR, 7 D Men (excluding Alzner), 14 forwards, and 2 goalies...the Caps are about 18k below the cap.

Clearing the space would be a good idea eventually. If it's not Nylander, it should be someone else. At the same time...there is not a pressing need right now to make a move as they can field a full squad without much pressure.

Alzner might get the short end of the deal to start however.

by strungout on Sep 30, 2008 5:26 PM EDT reply actions

I think we should just roll with what we've got unless the deal is too sweet to pass up. I don't think it's going to happen.

by mavis on Sep 30, 2008 5:29 PM EDT reply actions

The salary cap talk should be left with the professionals.

by Anonymous on Sep 30, 2008 5:30 PM EDT reply actions

I've said it before, and I'll say it again-there are two positions that are absolutely key to winning a Cup; goalkeeper and center icemen. Right now the Caps have, top to bottom, maybe the best and deepest group of centers in the league. That's a huge advantage. Losing Nylander drops the Caps back to the middle of the pack. So why if we know this, would McPhee and Bruce purposely weaken their greatest strength? The answer is they wouldn't. My guess is that the idiot at the Hockey News is oblivious to the Pothier situation and seeing that the Hawks want a center, put 2 and 2 together and came up with ten. Of course, he totally ignores Nyls no-movement clause, his happiness here in DC and his desire to be part of the most exciting team in the NHL. It's clear to me that the Hockey News is in love with Chicago and, much like with the Pens, they assume everyone wants to play there. Of course, I'd bet a $100 right now that neither Ken Campbell or Bob McKenzie (who wrote a similar story) have ever asked Nylander if he wants to leave. My guess is they don't want to ruin a good scoop. It's your blog, JP, so I can't tell you what to write, but for me this story is certainly getting old.

by b.orr4 on Sep 30, 2008 5:31 PM EDT reply actions

A couple of issues...

1. If Nylander is old, Fedorov is older, and staking this season on his health as the full-time second line center is a heck of gamble. Much more so than having two veteran guys in addition to the shiny young toy skating with Ovechkin.

2. Nylander is signed for the next three seasons, while Fedorov is mostly gone after this one. Trade Nylander, and you have nobody manning the second line when this roster should be hitting its prime. The Caps' options would be to resign a then-40-year-old Fedorov, hoping he doesn't break down; praying Morin or Perrault suddenly turn into elite prospects to make the jump sooner or later; or find a replacement on the market. Which means either giving up even more team pieces to get back somebody of Nylander's talent, or paying through the nose in years and money (see: Erat's contract), in higher quantities than what we have with Nyls, which would actually worsen the salary cap issues with Semin and Backstrom's contracts coming up.

The only way I'd be happy with a Nylander trade to Chicago is if Toews is the return.

by exwhaler on Sep 30, 2008 6:02 PM EDT reply actions

I can't see why this would make sense for the Caps unless the GM involved is named Waddell or Milbury (figuratively). In other words, the GM is an idiot and offers a deal the Caps couldn't refuse. Even if the deal had a huge upside, Nylander isn't easily replaced and besides, he has to be willing to leave. We don't have any insight into that but hello, he has a wife and six kids!

There are cap friendly options in the pipeline but they're not ready yet and this organization needs to concentrate on winning consistently and continuing to re-build their fanbase. I hope this goes away quickly and doesn't become a distraction.

by Lisa on Sep 30, 2008 6:34 PM EDT reply actions

couldnt agree more b.orr, this is getting really really old, lets make it a story when it becomes a story, instead of chasing down every rumor out there

by Anonymous on Sep 30, 2008 7:21 PM EDT reply actions

hes not going anywhere...move on

by Sam on Sep 30, 2008 7:27 PM EDT reply actions

If we were convinced Perreault were ready this year, I'd be in favor of trading Nyls & Jurcina for Seabrooke & a 2009 Chicago 2nd round draft pick.
...problem is that Perreault is not ready. Jay Beagle is a good player, but he's a 4th line center type.

by Doug on Sep 30, 2008 8:08 PM EDT reply actions

Bob McKenzie is not Larry Brooks, and he is not Al Strachan.

by Tyler on Sep 30, 2008 8:37 PM EDT reply actions

I must speak up for my favorite player - I read that last year Fedorov had a concussion, an arm injury and a leg injury. With all that, I believe he only missed 14 games. He is amazingly fit, he is not "old," he's given us a year when he could have gone anywhere, because he wanted to be part of this team. If he chooses to play another year I hope it's here in Washington and I hope he plays in the Olympics as well. All of our veterans bring great talent, experience and insight to the game, not to mention leadership, and they are great to watch. This team should stay together just as it is. The D will set up, give them a little time. We don't need anything from anybody.

by Flying Cloud on Oct 1, 2008 2:06 PM EDT reply actions

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