Sunday Open Thread

by EmilyB on Jun 12, 2011 8:00 AM EDT in Caps Clips

It's a one-link Sunday Open Thread as we learn that the Columbus Blue Jackets will not be extending the contract of old friend and former Caps captain Chris Clark. Is it, as PHT posits, the end of the road?

Tweet Comment 21 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Clark had two very nice years with the Caps, got injured in the early part of the 2007-2008 seasons and never was the same player. Kept being so injury prone. A real shame.

A player I always liked during his tenure with the Caps. Enjoyed meeting him at Kettler a few times.

I considered the trade of him for Chimera as a good trade for the Caps but was still sad to see him go.

Is it the end of the line for Clark? Depends on if he takes a lot less money. Or will he become a coach with someone?

Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.

by CapsFan75 on Jun 12, 2011 9:18 AM EDT reply actions

Clark was in-studio with NHL Live a few weeks ago. I couldn’t help thinking at the time that his career might be over. He’s 35, and as already mentioned has had injury problems, some not of his own making. He got paid as the result of a couple of good years with Washington; looking at his career stats prior, those were the exception, not the norm. It’s still sad to see someone go out like that, though.

Don’t try to figure Sasha out. Just ride the wave.

by gfcaps fan on Jun 12, 2011 9:43 AM EDT reply actions

I think he was in a different role for Calgary. He had a grinding line role there, for the most part. And then on the Caps, he was in a top line role for those two good years and did well. But then came the injuries… If I remember correctly, there was the shot that broke his jaw, knocking out several teeth. He had parts of cadavers put in his mouth and was known as “Captain Cadaver” for a while.

He had groin problems in 2007 which were what eventually derailed that season.

During 2008-2009, there was the “hairline” fracture of his hand that resulted in him wearing a cast and being out for a long while — much of Nov and Dec. Then, there was the game (Detroit) where I had assumed he was a healthy scratch. The Caps won it but I had a bittersweet feeling and was wondering if Clark no longer had a role on the team. I assumed he’d be back the next game (on the next day) since a certain other player was in the dog house but no Clark that day either. So, then the very next day, it was announced that he was having season surgery to his hand. (Obviously, not a healthy scratch. And I’m sure the team management was aware that he was hurting.)

Rocking the Red for teams on the banks of the Potomac and at the Gateway Arch and Singing the Blues about Hockey.

by CapsFan75 on Jun 12, 2011 10:28 AM EDT up reply actions

Total class act. Period. Sad to see injuries (as mentioned above) take the toll they did. Also felt awkard when, as C, wasn’t producing (but was injured). Can’t imagine how frustrating that was for him.

by ralCapsFan on Jun 12, 2011 10:12 AM EDT reply actions

Clarkie

I was at the Caps/Vancouver game when he took a shot to the ear. One tough SOB. Always liked the guy. Thought he brought character to our club. Best of luck to him.

Interesting he only made the playoffs 2x in his NHL career. He deserved more than that….

by CapsDegenerate on Jun 13, 2011 1:10 AM EDT up reply actions

Also, we should wish Frederic Cassivi a happy 36th birthday. He recently became a US citizen!

You perhaps knew me better as "Your Nation's Capital." Same great commentary, now with 100% more transparency!

by EmilyB on Jun 12, 2011 11:53 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs

Now THAT is a great pull! Am constantly amazed and grateful for your alls (how is that for grammar) hard work every morning. Guess that is why I love reading here…love it. Thanks!

by ralCapsFan on Jun 12, 2011 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Happy birthday, Freddy, and congratulations!

met his parents at a Caps game several years ago and they were just over the moon to see their son in an NHL sweater. Very excited for him.

Caps fans aren’t on the ledge; they’ve already jumped, and are merely trying to drag others into a mournful descent with them..--Stienz

Pledge Drive 2010-2011: SO KIDS CAN!! Help build a playground

by RedBirdie on Jun 12, 2011 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Didn’t I read (or hear on the Old Barn) that he’s living in Hershey?

"I remembered when he said that and I kind of looked at him during the warm up and told myself that I got to shut these guys out tonight." - Michal Neuvirth, 02.06.11.

by bagace on Jun 12, 2011 7:56 PM EDT up reply actions

I believe he is an investment adviser for Wells Fargo in Hershey

Caps fans aren’t on the ledge; they’ve already jumped, and are merely trying to drag others into a mournful descent with them..--Stienz

Pledge Drive 2010-2011: SO KIDS CAN!! Help build a playground

by RedBirdie on Jun 12, 2011 8:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Bryz

Bryzgalov sounds like a pretty bad teammate. Would make for quite the drama in Philly.

There is nothing in Bryzgalov’s postseason resume to indicate he’s simply a $60 million payday away from being that guy. Then there is Bryzgalov off the ice

    • The guy who disappears into protected areas of the dressing room when he has a bad night, leaving his teammates to take the bullets and defend him.

    More than once, heads were shaking and eyes were rolling around the room when Bryzgalov left the building after a 6-0 or 5-1 loss, took the next day off and waited for the heat to die down before resurfacing.

    Good luck in Philly with that, Bryz.

    • The guy who practiced when he felt like it, took a night off when it suited him (look at the teams Jason LaBarbera(notes) faced last season), and had his often strange and combative comments to the press explained away by the organization.

The Philly media isn’t quite the same as Phoenix, plus…

When Phoenix Coyotes GM Don Maloney traded the rights to free agent Ilya Bryzgalov to the Philadelphia Flyers, he said the goalie was “looking to be one of the top-paid goaltenders and one of the top-paid players in the league.”

He’ll have a big contract to live up to after only a couple of elite seasons. That ought to be a roller coaster ride.

Get me a tub of Häagen-Dazs because I'm depressed.

by jaytown99 on Jun 12, 2011 12:33 PM EDT reply actions

Linky?

You perhaps knew me better as "Your Nation's Capital." Same great commentary, now with 100% more transparency!

by EmilyB on Jun 12, 2011 12:47 PM EDT up reply actions

First quote here, from a AZ columnist.

"...what're you gonna do?"

by Rainbow, Kitty, Beer on Jun 12, 2011 1:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Looks like all can be found in the Puck Daddy piece on the subject.

I still think the Flyers sign him, and I think they should. He won’t have to face the Red Wings much out in Philly.

"...what're you gonna do?"

by Rainbow, Kitty, Beer on Jun 12, 2011 1:21 PM EDT up reply actions

He’ll have a big contract to live up to after only a couple of elite seasons. That ought to be a roller coaster ride.

A little longer than two seasons, I think.

As we say so often, goalies are a different breed. What matters, I think, is that he’s shown that he can bounce back and not let bad games derail his season.

Red Line Station and @RedArmyLine, featuring coverage of the most frustrating team in the NHL
To help with basic Timeonice functions.
If I reference a lot of stats, just assume I haven't seen anything to contradict or invalidate them.

by red army line on Jun 12, 2011 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions

Last year in the playoffs, I was shooting the breeze with a couple of the Washington writers, they were talking about how detested the kid is in the Caps locker room (a few of the players later corroborated this).

It had something to do with the fact that he didn’t come out of the shower when this reporter was on deadline and wanted to talk to him after a tough loss on the road, in Toronto. … Sometimes a reporter gets a grudge and passes the word around on a guy and then other reporters get it and run with it.

/just sayin’

by Yoshietree on Jun 12, 2011 1:42 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed, I don’t care all the much if guys talk to the press or not immediately when the press wants then. Goalies are weird dudes. I actually don’t know if it’s that bad that Brzygalov takes a game off, he knows his own body and what it needs. Who’s to say he didn’t have some sort of tweak or whatever. Maybe taking a game off occasionally kept him from getting injuries.

I’ve read a few translated Russian interviews of Brzygalov. I got the impression that he is a very intellectual guy, he spends his free time reading complex Russian novels. He apparently doesn’t have much in common with most of his teammates and he doesn’t spend a lot of time with those teammates.

by vtcapsfan99 on Jun 12, 2011 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions

I am constantly amazed by the entitlement felt by the media with regards to sports figures.

Aim for the head baby Jesus

by Doncosmic on Jun 12, 2011 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m seeing that Lowetide and Matchsticks and Gasoline are doing prospect profiles for some of the top-end draft prospects. Probably worth a read, if you have time.

by red army line on Jun 12, 2011 2:07 PM EDT reply actions