"Forward Mike Knuble is heading to his fifth NHL team.
The 36-year-old has signed an two-year contract with the Washington Capitals worth $2.8 million a season.
The 6-3, 230 pound forward has played for the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and the Flyers."
-TSN
over 2 years ago
David Getz
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\O/
Now that makes me feel much better, if only because it should stop some of the kvetching.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
This was the only FA that was an obvious fit for the Caps plans. I’m glad GMGM didn’t waste any time and went out and locked him in to a reasonable deal.
by Rob Parker on Jul 1, 2009 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
A little pricey but not insaneterms – gives us some added PP presence and cojones in front of the net. Nicely done , GMGM.
You don’t often get a 25+ goal scorer for under $3M. I tthink this is a very reasonable and well-placed deal. GMGM really does know what he’s doing.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
You do when he’s going to turn 38 and he’s not really better than a second liner on most teams. Too much money for this deal.
I'm so sick and tired of the refs explaining the calls like this is the NFL.
37 actually, but my only concern is his age insomuch that it’s dicer coming back from injuries when you are that old and you are more injury prone. (yeah, yeah, iron man for the last two years, but that doesn’t stop my worries.)
terms of the deal seemed fair market value.
Russian Machine Never Breaks
Definitely more money than I thought it would take, but Knuble was the one reasonable UFA out there that seemed to fit all our needs.
Now if we can find a second-line center and offload one of our ugly cap-eater contracts (Nylander or Theo) that’d be stupendous. We can keep the powder dry for a deadline deal for further defensive help depending on how the young kids develop this year.
I think the Caps just shot their wad and this means Laich at 2C. Still, all things considered a very solid UFA signing.
I dunno if I like that one unless Johnny really is totally healthy and has not already signed elsewhere.
With Neuvirth developing quickly in Hershey, I’d rather take my chances with Johnson than a grumpy and mechanics-poor Theo as a mentor to Varly.
Rumors are that Edmonton is also looking at Josh Harding (RFA) and Scott Clemmensen as well as talking to the Caps about Theo.
Agreed. I just think that having Theo stay is ok. Not ideal, but ok. Having Varly and Neuvy w/o a veteran is absolutely not ok. I don’t know how long Johnson will wait around for Theo to be traded before signing elsewhere.
Knuble on the roster makes Laich a much better 2C
by Gould Old Days on Jul 1, 2009 3:32 PM EDT up reply actions
I see better players for Brooks to play with. It eases some of the pressure.
by Gould Old Days on Jul 1, 2009 6:33 PM EDT up reply actions
I hope to god Knuble is the second line. I like Ovechkin-Backstrom-Semin and Laich-Nylander-Knuble. TOTALLY different dynamic between lines.
I'm so sick and tired of the refs explaining the calls like this is the NFL.
you know, I’d like to see if Knuble can get some value out of Nylander. If that happens, it’ll be a frikkin’ miracle.
by Gould Old Days on Jul 1, 2009 6:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh, Nyls will get his shot. But I doubt he’ll be the 2C by the end of the year
by Gould Old Days on Jul 1, 2009 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Like I said, I think our top two lines become:
Ovi-Backstrom-Knuble
Laich-Nylander-Semin
Putting Laich on the wing gives each of these lines a net-crasher, and as SA-Town said, Ovi, Backstrom, Semin, Knuble, and Green is a sick, sick power play.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
You guys will love this guy if for no other reason for his production against Pittsburgh….13 goals and 5 assists in his last 21 reg season games against the Pens. He just has a knack for scoring against the Pens.
Pensburgh.com -- it's like the Max Talbot of blogs*
*not just because we only work for 12 minutes a night
by Hooks Orpik on Jul 1, 2009 3:12 PM EDT reply actions 8 recs
Popular move
I saw this signing being announced on TSN. Everybody loved the move. Pang, McGuire and Jay Meester were oohing and ahhing at this signing.
Let’s hope Boudreau can teach the the PP to put the puck into the middle of the ice as opposed to the perimeter.
Now let’s get Theo shipped to Deadmonton and we are set.
by CleartheTrackherecomesShack on Jul 1, 2009 3:12 PM EDT reply actions
I’m not so sure on that one. Can Johnny take enough starts to keep Varlamov fresh and sharp for the playoffs? I know Neuvirth is close, but I hesitate there, I think we need Theodore for another year, like it or not.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
It’s all conditional. If they use that space to pick up a quality player (say Marleau, for the sake of discussion), I do it in a heartbeat because what Marleau adds to the team is worth a lot more than the drop off between Theo and Johnny.
It’d have to be a pretty good player to take that kind of risk in goal, IMO. I guess we’ll see, but it leaves me edgy.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
Didn’t we learn last year that we aren’t winning in the playoffs with Theodore? I don’t see any risk in this at all. Let Johnson, Varly and Neuvy rotate or sign an inexpensive goalie as insurance. Theodore should be moved if the opportunity arises – no question. IMO anyway.
Russian Machine Never Breaks
I’m talking regular season — I don’t like the idea of Varly going down in the regular season or losing all confidence because he’s overworked. We know he’s got those issues.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
Ideally: Varly and BJ split 40 games in the regular season, Neuvy plays 60 games in Hershey.
Or Varly/BJ/some random goalie for $1.5 per season cover the regular season (to keep Neuvy’s workload in Hershey).
This much I know, the regular season ain’t shit. If we qualify 8th, I don’t care, as long as we are in full gear by April. We’ve lost two game 7’s at home in the last two seasons. The Pens just won two road game 7’s to win the Cup. 1st, 4th, 8th…just so long as we are healthy and ready when the playoffs start.
Russian Machine Never Breaks
See what DMG said. I hesitate on moving Theo for those reasons. It better be good to take that risk.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
Veteran goalies come out of nowhere and play near Theodore level all the time. You cold get Gerber/Fernandez/Biron on a 1 year deal and gain cap space for the trade deadline. Not sure if those 3 in particular are available, but just using them as an example.
Russian Machine Never Breaks
Throw in the fact that Johnson’s got injury issues and Neuvirth might not be NHL ready yet and you have to know you’re getting something valuable with that extra cap space you gain by moving Theo.
by David Getz on Jul 1, 2009 3:51 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Meh. If he’s healthy Johnny is likely a more consistent and downright better goaltender than Theodore. Even if he can’t play 40+ games, the extras can be made up by Neuvirth (he needs to get some spot duty anyways).
I’m not averse to keeping Theo obviously, because as you say there is risk involved. But if the team trusts that Johnny is healthy (and they’d probably have to to make a move such as this) I think you need to take the chance if it’s given to you and shed the salary, use it to better the team either now or at the deadline.
Why would they trust that he’s healthy? Given past performance ….
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
I’m loving how much this is freaking out philly fans.
Bricks are being Sh*t.
"And next year it will be ours."
Well, that does make it an excellent move.
by CapitalCentre on Jul 1, 2009 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Now that is a vote of confidence.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
Not a horrendous loss, but not a good one either.
by Ben Rothenberg on Jul 1, 2009 7:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Only thing is his body is getting a bit off-warranty for pro-athletes, but definitely the kind of player the Caps need at a price they can live with
I DON'T love this
I don’t necessarily hate it, either, but this guy turns 37 in 3 days. I would have been content to roll with what we had, explored trades, or picked up cheap pending UFAs at the deadline.
Russian Machine Never Breaks
It’s pretty easy to add grit at the trade deadline, if you have a little money to spend.
Russian Machine Never Breaks
Money, first round picks, and high end prospects. Salary may be cheap at the deadline, but the total cost damn sure is not.
We’re not talking Pronger here, we’re talking a Knuble/Guerin type. And for comparison sake, that was a whopping 5th round pick. Granted, you can’t always be the ones fleecing the Isles…
Russian Machine Never Breaks
Guerin is the one everyone points to but almost every other deadline deal you can think of ends up being overpaid. Morris was terrible. Carcillo was terrible. Obviously Zhitnik for Coburn goes down in history. Tkachuk has been sold for too much.
Not true. Ruth for Fedorov was not overpayment. Neither was Huet for the 2nd. Neither was the deal for Cooke.
Right man at the right price
McPhee is a lying liar who lies. And I’m thrilled about it.
by Gould Old Days on Jul 1, 2009 3:34 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Try to imagine him in that celebrity poker tournament…
by CapitalCentre on Jul 1, 2009 3:38 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't think he lied.
He said that if something came along that made sense for the Caps, he’d definitely be interested. He saw something that made sense that fit within the Caps’ budget, and he jumped, pretty fast.
I just hope this shuts the bashers up.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
This “did he lie? or dissemble? or mislead? or play poker?” conversation is a conversation that would only take place in DC. What is the definition of is?
by Rob Parker on Jul 1, 2009 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Hah!
I always hated that guy…Now he’ll be my best friend if he can put up another 25+…
Now Brash can make up with Betts for that hit…
"You will remember the night you were struck by the sight of [18] thousand fists in the air" -Disturbed
Per TSN, Edmonton signed Khabi, so looks like we’re stuck with Theo.
Also, Cole got basically the same deal as Knuble to re-up in Carolina (+$200k/year). I’m still pleased but surprised he didn’t get more.
Not a bad move for Edmonton – I think they got an upgrade in goal out of Khabi.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
What were the terms?
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
Oh man. That’s a STEAL.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
Except that he is 36. If he gets hurt at any time during the 4 YEARS then the cap hit stays on the EDM books.
Oh, I thought he was younger than that. Fair enough. But still, I think that’s a good signing for them.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
We’ll only know if it’s good in retrospect. If he stays healthy then yeah, the dollar value is good. But if his body breaks down they are going to have a tough time resigning all the young talent they have in their system over the next few years.
And, if I understand correctly, even if he retires it stays on their cap or something.
It’s a risky deal for EDM, but definitely the best goalie available. I would think Chicago would have been happy to pay Khabi that if not for their intrepid Huet signing.
Wow – Erik Cole re-signed for 2.9 million for 2 seasons. Worth more than Knuble? I know he’s younger, but more injury-prone.
From Corey’s Twitter, re Knuble:
GMGM: “Our scouting staff was unanimous – he was the guy we wanted.”
And by Scouting Staff he means “those awesome guys (and gals) at Japers!”
by MetalCap on Jul 1, 2009 4:50 PM EDT up reply actions 6 recs
Agreed on the rec. The dumb, silly, rhetorical question — does that mean you all are terrific scouts, or he just responded to fan demands?
There are folks on F Street who read the Rink, but I don’t think McPhee is one of them. I don’t think he cares one whit what we think.
by Gould Old Days on Jul 1, 2009 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh, and that too has me thrilled. He’s more experienced than us and he has access to better information than we have. Very dangerous when a GM starts listening to fans cough cough Gainey cough
by Gould Old Days on Jul 1, 2009 6:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, I was responding to the Gainey thing. Gainey isn’t even listening to the fans. I am completely perplexed as to what he’s thinking. Gomez, Gionta, and Cammalleri is the solution to size down the middle?
Ah. It’s late, I missed the shift in the thread. Also, I think my head started spinning when I tried to catch up on the late day signings. Someone’s going to analyze if we need to worry about the competition, right? I’m just hoping that teams that made a lot of signings end up with a conglomeration of good players who can’t get it done as a team.
Try The Peerless for analysis of how these moves affect the Caps.
Here’s my take. Tampa got a little better, but I don’t think it’s enough to pass both Florida and Carolina (much less DC). Florida got worse, but picked up some parts that will help them. Carolina didn’t get any better, and Atlanta ain’t a threat. The Atlantic and Northeast teams we care about are basically treading water for next year and some of them are selling out their futures just to accomplish that.
In the west, Detroit and San Jose aren’t any better or much worse (even with Hossa moving). Calgary got better — they’re a serious contender now with Iginla, Kipper, Bouwmeester, etc. More importantly, Keenan’s been replaced by more effective coaching. Chicago sold out some of their future to get better on paper now — but I don’t think today’s moves will actually help them much for next year and it’ll really hurt them after. Vancouver and Anaheim did what they needed to remain contenders. I don’t think anyone else in the west did enough to become a contender.
by Gould Old Days on Jul 2, 2009 12:05 AM EDT up reply actions
PHI, MON and PIT all have a little bit of work to do so there is no point evaluating them now. It’s too soon to tell what the landscape is going to be like in October. I think Chicago got better (mostly because of the Madden signing, Hossa wasn’t a huge upgrade over Havlat), but again even in the West there is a lot of work to be done.
Well, I don’t think we’re done yet either. I think our next step is to evaluate what’s down in Hershey (development camp) and to se who accepts their QO’s out of the RFA’s we qualified. I’m guessing most of them will, but we’ll see.
"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Delores Ibarruri
so based on capgeek.com projections, giving our RFA’s a qualifying raise, and leavin off Mo, it looks like we’ll have about 1.5 million in cap room, give or take
Because now I can justify browsing and commenting during the work day with the argument that I am promoting my business.
Just saw that Jared Bednar, coach of the ECHL champion South Carolina Sting Rays, accepted an assistant coaching position for the CGY AHL team. Guess he won’t be promoted to Hershey.
I think the Hershey job is Mark French’s to lose. But I’d have liked to have seen the club keep Bednar in the fold, maybe as an assistant in Hershey instead. Seems like a good guy and you can’t argue with the success.
by Gould Old Days on Jul 1, 2009 6:42 PM EDT up reply actions
It’s the right amount of risk — 2.8 Million over 2 years. If he falls apart, the team isn’t totally hosed.
by Gould Old Days on Jul 1, 2009 6:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Who's the 2C ???
I think the Caps just shot their wad and this means Laich at 2C. Still, all things considered a very solid UFA signing.
by CaliCapsFan.
I think it means that Nyls is the 2C.
by Sct112.
The verdict…..according to this report by Yahoo! and quoting GMGM….
“With Washington creeping close to this season’s $56.8 million salary cap as a result of Knuble’s signing, McPhee said Knuble represented the team’s biggest offseason move and that the Capitals were comfortable going into the season with Brooks Laich(notes) as the second-line center instead of trading for an established pivot.”
Laich is our man for the opening season drop…..
I love the Knuble signing. Brings toughness we need and a scoring touch. Almost like a Dale Hunter I think….
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Southeast Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Florida
|
53 | 25 | 17 | 11 | 61 |
|
Washington
|
54 | 28 | 21 | 5 | 61 |
|
Winnipeg
|
56 | 26 | 24 | 6 | 58 |
|
Tampa Bay
|
53 | 23 | 24 | 6 | 52 |
|
Carolina
|
55 | 20 | 25 | 10 | 50 |
(updated 2.10.2012 at 3:26 AM EST)
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