Your savory Saturday brunch links:
- Japers’ Rink Radio hits the interwaves today at 10 Eastern. Pepper and Russell welcome Penguins beat writer Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, as the Caps and Pens prepare to meet for the last time in this regular season. Then Alan May will join them to talk trade deadline. [JRR]
- The Caps have sent Patrick McNeill back to Hershey, so his NHL debut will have to wait. [Capitals]
- It was a quiet day for the Caps, as they flew from San Jose to Buffalo to prepare for their Hockey Day in America date on Sunday with the Sabres. [CRtC]
- Pressure? There’s no pressure. Surely you jest. [PHT]
- GM George McPhee shares some of his trade deadline philosophy. But not, of course, his strategy. [CI]
- Hmmm. Speaking of trade deadlines, do we like Stephen Weiss? Neil Greenberg runs the numbers for us. [RMNB]
- Managing expectations in the era of an entitled Capitals fanbase. [Caps News Network]
- “Farewell to all that.” Sergei Fedorov announces his retirement from Team Russia and international competition. He will continue in the KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs and has not yet decided about his plans for next year. He also has some nice things to say about the Capitals and a very special gift for his dad. [Sovetsky Sport via googletranslate]
- Congratulations are in order for Matt Hendricks, whose high school is retiring his #10 Blaine Bengals jersey tonight. [Russo’s Rants]
- Extra-special congratulations are in order for Bryan Helmer , who logged his one thousandth game in the American Hockey League on Friday. He is the seventh man overall and the first and only defenseman to reach that milestone. He played this special game on a big stage, in the Saddledome in Calgary, and old friend Alexandre Giroux scored the game winner for him. Congrats, Bryan! [News OK, NHL.com]
- …and don’t miss this fantastic gallery of Bryan’s uniforms and facial hair through the years. My favorites are the ones with him holding shiny silver things. [AHL on Facebook]
- Now on to the kids. The Caps’ prospects are mostly having a pretty good week:
- Dmitry Orlov is on his way to Hershey. [FanShot]
- Cody Eakin is going head-to-head tonight (but not in the Patrice Cormier sense) with his Team Canada ‘mate Brayden Schenn in the Battle of the Monster Trades. [Sportsnet.ca]
- Caleb Herbert has been named to the Western Conference CCM All-Star roster in the USHL. [USHL.com]
- Phil DeSimone recorded two goals and his 100th and 101st point for the University of New Hampshire. [Union-Leader]
- Evgeny Kuznetsov played his second-to-last game of the KHL season. Scroll down to the video with the polar bear breaking a stick in his jaws, hit play, and fast forward to the third period to enjoy another impossibly deke-tastic penalty shot. His goal and assist give him points in twelve of his last thirteen games. [Championat.ru]
