Washington Capitals

Alex Semin is gone; what now for the Washington Capitals?

July 26, 2012

With a one-year deal worth $7 million, Alex Semin is headed to Raleigh to frustrate the living bejesus out of Carolina Hurricanes fans join Jordan Staal as part of a new-look offense for the Carolina Hurricanes.

It's a good deal for both parties. Semin, by hook (not the two-minute variety, with which Semin is very familiar) or crook gets his money and the team is only on the hook for one year. Not a bad deal for a boom-or-bust guy like Semin, even if he is coming off a bust season.

Now just where does that leave the Capitals?

They're not exactly up a creek with no paddle because it was pretty clear that Semin wanted to leave from season's end...

Caps Add Tim Hunter To Coaching Staff

July 24, 2012

Kenny Shackelford

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The Capitals announced Monday that former assistant coach Tim Hunter would be rejoining the staff for the upcoming 2012-13 season.

Hunter spent five seasons as an assistant in Washington under former Caps coach Ron Wilson. He was part of the staff that led the team to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998.

Hunter will be well acquainted with his fellow coaches, having previously coached new head coach Adam Oates, goaltending coach Olie Kolzig, and assistant coach Calle Johansson.

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Caps Name Calle Johansson An Assistant Coach

July 18, 2012

Kenny Shackelford

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The Capitals named Calle Johansson an assistant coach this morning. Johansson, 45, holds the record for most games played as a Capital with 983.

Caps Coach Adam Oates told reporters over the weekend that he was looking for somebody he was familiar with to help him with coaching duties. “To have a guy that played in the game that I’ve had some personal time with is very important to me,” Oates said.

Johansson spent parts of six seasons as a teammate of Oates. He holds several franchise records, including most points (474) and assists (361) by a defenseman.

Since retiring from the NHL in 2004, Johansson has spent most of his...

Caps Re-Sign Mike Green To A Three-Year Deal

July 16, 2012

Kenny Shackelford

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The Capitals announced Monday that they have signed defenseman Mike Green to a three-year deal worth $18.25 million. Green will make $6 million over the next two seasons, and $6.25 million in 2014-15.

Capitals GM George McPhee was optimistic Sunday that a deal would get done, but after Green turned down the team’s qualifying offer of one-year, $5 million, a bit of uncertainty crept in amongst the team’s fan-base.

McPhee told reporters Saturday “I don’t elaborate on these things. But we’re talking and I think there’s a deal to be made there. So hopefully we’ll have an answer today or tomorrow.&rdquo...

Free Agency 2012: Capitals Sign Wojtek Wolski

July 11, 2012

Justin Brannigan

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The Washington Capitals announced the signing of 26-year-old left winger Wojtek Wolski to a one-year, $600,000 contract.

General Manager George McPhee made the announcement Wednesday afternoon, just one week after announcing the re-signings of centers Jay Beagle and Matthew Perreault.

The Capitals will be Wolski's fifth NHL team since he was drafted as the 21st overall pick in the 2004 NHL draft. He was named the OHL's Red Tilson Trophy winner in 2006 as the league's most outstanding player and achieved career-highs in goals (23), assists (42), points (65), and games played (80) during the 2009-2010 season with the Colorado Avalanche and Phoenix Coyotes.

Last...

Jeff Halpern Agrees to One-Year Deal With The Rangers

July 10, 2012

Kenny Shackelford

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The New York Rangers announced Monday night that they had reached an agreement with free agent center Jeff Halpern on a one-year contract worth $700,000.

Halpern spent last season with the Capitals, appearing in 69 regular season games, scoring four goals and tallying 12 assists. He played in just two playoff games for the Caps, as then coach Dale Hunter preferred Jay Beagle as the fourth line center.

The biggest facet of Halpern’s game is his ability to win face-offs. Even as a fourth-line center getting limited minutes, Halpern was second on the Caps in face-off wins with 365 during the 2011-12 season. Only Brooks Laich...

Why Alex Semin is still a free agent—but shouldn't be

July 10, 2012

Carden Hedelt

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Now that Zach Parise is off the market and planning how to spend the next 13 years in Minnesota (there’s a broken mirror joke there somewhere), free agent Alex Semin is probably getting a few more phone calls than he was a week ago.

He’s going to be a second prize to a team that was hoping to land Parise. As far as career stats go, he’s about as close a second prize as they come and some team is going to end up with a guy who is not that far removed from a 40-goal season.

But they’re also going to get a guy less further removed from a 21-goal season with 56 penalty minutes, a four-year low for him.

It’s all about ceilings and floors with Sem...

Capitals Announce New ECHL Affiliation With The Reading Royals

July 10, 2012

Kenny Shackelford

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The Capitals announced Monday that the eight-year affiliation between the team and the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays was coming to an end. The team’s new ECHL affiliate will be the Reading Royals, located in Reading, Pennsylvania.

The decision appears to be made mainly for geographical reasons, with the Capitals' AHL affiliate Hershey also located in Pennsylvania. Caps GM George McPhee said in a recent press release that “We feel the proximity to both Washington and our AHL affiliate in Hershey will be beneficial to all three clubs.”

The Royals are a team with a rather passionate fan base, and have a history of ...

Free Agency 2012: Should the Red Wings go after Alexander Semin or Shane Doan?

July 9, 2012

Christina Roberts

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With Zach Parise locked up in Minnesota for the next 10 years, the list of remaining free agent power forwards has trickled down to only a handful, and the Red Wings are looking for someone to fill in a gap without having to sacrifice their own players in a trade for a forward still locked in a contract.

Jay Beagle Re-Signs With The Capitals

July 5, 2012

Kenny Shackelford

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The Capitals announced Thursday that forward Jay Beagle has re-signed with the team on a three-year contract worth $2.7 million.

Beagle, 26, is a gritty third or fourth line center. He played in 41 games last season, accounting for four goals and one assist. Beagle also racked up 23 penalty minutes.

Beagle became a favorite of interim coach Dale Hunter down the stretch last year and throughout the Caps' playoff run. It was much publicized that Beagle was getting more ice time in the playoffs than captain Alexander Ovechkin.

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