Your savory breakfast links:
- One day of free agency in the books, and the Caps wore out their bank account:
- First up? A new backup goaltender, as the Caps inked former ‘Cane Justin Peters to a two-year deal. [Rink, Monumental (Peters conference call), CSNW, WaPo, Patriot-News, RMNB]
- Ah, but then things got interesting as the next domino to fall was none other than ex-Penguin Brooks Orpik… all for the low, low price of $5.5 million a year for the next five years. [Rink, Vogs, Monumental (Orpik conference call), WaPo, WashTimes, CSNW, NBC4, CBS Sports, Puck Daddy, Post-Gazette, RMNB, Caps Outsider]
- Look! Highlights! [Monumental video]
- And joining him shortly after, fellow former Penguin Matt Niskanen, whose seven-year, $40.5 million deal was one of the biggest contracts of the day. [Rink, Vogs, Monumental (Niskanen conference call), WaPo, WashTimes, CSNW, CBS Sports, Puck Daddy, Post-Gazette, Frankovic, RMNB, DSP, Stars & Sticks]
- All of the action wasn’t limited to signing unrestricted free agents – the Caps also locked up one of their own, re-signing Michael Latta to a two-year deal. [Rink, WaPo, RMNB]
- The Caps’ brass checked in with the media to discuss the moves of the day. [Monumental (MacLellan, Reirden), Ted’s Take, WaPo, RMNB]
- After a busy day of shopping, the verdict is in and apparently the Caps are… losers. Welp. [Yahoo!, The Score]
- They weren’t the only ones spreading some cash around; the rest of the Metropolitan (and the League) was making some moves, as well. [CSNW, TribLive, AP]
- The Caps may have added some new names to the roster, but it looks like they will also be subtracting one, as Mikhail Grabovski will test the market. [WaPo]
- And because of that, signing Niskanen shouldn’t be the last move they make. [F Street Faithful]
- They did do one thing they set out to do from the start, though, and that was to address the team’s defensive depth. [WaPo, WashTimes, AP, Sports Xchange, DSP, WNST]
- Meanwhile the Penguins say goodbye to some familiar faces. N’aww. [TribLive, Pensblog]
- Brian MacLellan does seem to be a change from his predecessor… but is that change necessarily a good thing? [CSNW, F Street Faithful]
- Doing a little farm work:
- Defensive depth bolstered, the Caps turned their focus to the AHL, signing Chris Conner (another former Penguin), Jon Landry and Mike Moore to two-way deals. [Caps (Conner, Landry/Moore), Patriot-News (and again)]
- As expected, goalie David Leggio is on his way out of Chocolatetown after signing a deal with the Islanders. [Patriot-News]
- What lies ahead for the Bears this offseason? [THW]
- Finally, happy 38th birthday to Tomas Vokoun… and happy 56th to our old friend George McPhee.