Your savory breakfast links:
- Previews of tonight’s rematch with the Flyers from Vogs and NHL.com, and be sure to check out our SB Nation pals over at Broad Street Hockey for the other side of tonight’s matchup.
- The trade deadline is at 3:00 pm today – be sure to check in here for coverage of any moves and open threads throughout the day.
- Not one to wait until the last minute (this time around), George McPhee was a busy, busy boy yesterday:
- First up, it was a fourth-round pick to Anaheim for winger Dustin Penner. [Rink, Vogs, Caps, Ducks, NHL.com, WaPo (and again), CSNW, SB Nation, Puck Daddy, THN, AP, SportsXchange, WashTimes, Talk the Red, Pressbox DC, GM On A Couch, Patriot-News, LA Times, CBS Sports, DSP, THW]
- Penner had a bit of a whirlwind morning, but took a few minutes out of his trip to chat with local media. [Monumental, RMNB]
- Fun fact: Dustin Penner is from Winkler, Manitoba, hometown of Eric Fehr… [WaPo, CSNW]
- …but while he does have a friend in town, apparently he’s looking to crash with someone a bit higher up. [FTW, CSNW, RMNB]
- By the way, if you’re wondering why everyone keeps making those pancake jokes, well… this is why.
- Then it was time for the long-awaited Martin Erat trade, as McPhee sent the winger (along with prospect John Mitchell) to Phoenix for defenseman Rostislav Klesla, prospect Chris Brown and a fourth-round pick. [Rink, Vogs, Caps, Coyotes, NHL.com, SB Nation, Puck Daddy, AP, PHT, CBS Sports, The Score, Pressbox DC, Talk the Red, CSNW, WashTimes, Spectors Hockey, Yahoo!, DSP, RMNB, Patriot-News, SHOE, AZ Central, Five for Howling]
- The passage of a year has made the swap of Erat and Michael Latta for Filip Forsberg look even more lopsided. Hooray! [THN]
- First up, it was a fourth-round pick to Anaheim for winger Dustin Penner. [Rink, Vogs, Caps, Ducks, NHL.com, WaPo (and again), CSNW, SB Nation, Puck Daddy, THN, AP, SportsXchange, WashTimes, Talk the Red, Pressbox DC, GM On A Couch, Patriot-News, LA Times, CBS Sports, DSP, THW]
- Two trades in the books, but we all know that McPhee is unpredictable – so he may not be done yet. How did yesterday go, and what does he need to do today? [CSNW (and again), RtR, THW]
- Breaking down a busy day of trades on the eve of the deadline (and check out the viewing schedule for Deadline Day). [Frankovic, TSN, KK]
- Your Capitals Minute for today. [Capitals Voice]
- News and notes from out at Kettler yesterday:
- In general. [Monumental video (Oates, Brouwer, Backstrom, Hillen, Rinkside Update/Beagle)]
- The Caps are bracing themselves for today’s deadline – because like us, they have no clue what GMGM is going to do at any given time. [WashTimes, CSNW]
- After three games with the big club, forward Nicolas Deschamps was returned to Hershey… leaving the team with ten healthy forwards after the day’s trades. Hmm. [Caps, Patriot-News]
- It’s official – Traktor Chelyabinsk will miss the KHL playoffs, and Evgeny Kuznetsov is free to come to DC. Maybe. Almost. Perhaps. [WaPo, WashTimes, CSNW (and again), RMNB (and again)]
- 2014 first round pick Andre Burakovsky is developing quickly – and quite well – in the OHL. [NHL.com]
- Meanwhile, Kuznetsov, Burakovsky, Riley Barber, Tom Wilson and the next generation of Caps’ prospects could be the key to the Caps opening their next window of opportunity. [Peerless]
- Do the Caps really need a top-four defenseman? [RMNB]
- Sunday’s loss to the Flyers was yet another moment this season where the Caps snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. [Talk the Red]
- Finally, happy 57th birthday to Paul Gardner, and happy 96th (!) to the very first general manager in Caps’ history, Milt Schmidt.