Olympic Fever

Over the past week or so, NBC has been starting to cover the Olympic trials on their sister channels like USA and Universal HD. Something that brings great joy to my wife who was a high jumper in college. The other night we witnessed one of the most exciting races in the Men's 800 meters.

Now let me preface this by saying my wife could care less about sports in general. When I am watching hockey, she rolls her eyes with every goal I celebrate, and gets peeved when I get upset over a blown call or a stupid penalty. Don't try talking hockey with my wife either, she could care less. When ever I have news or think something is exciting and I share it with her, I usually get a "I really don't care" stare from her.

But the roles were reversed the other night when we watched the track and field Olympic trials. She was on the edge of the couch, getting more and more excited as we watched the decathlon events high jumping and pole vaulting. Then we watched the Men's 800 meter race that feature 3 runners from Oregon, the home boys since the trials are being held in Oregon.

When the race starts the three Oregon runners were near the back for most of the race, until the last turn. Out of nowhere all three put it into overdrive and all three beat the field and will be going to Beijing for the Olympics. You can see the video here on nbcolympics.com. My wife was so excited she was jumping around the living room and screaming about how great a race it was.

I caught myself rolling my eyes. It was a great race, but I was never a huge track and field fan. But thinking about it, I get to see the Caps play every year for near 8 months out of the year. She only gets to watch elite athletes realize their Olympic dreams every 4 years. So I let her jump and scream and grunt with the runners and jumpers. It was fun to see the fan side of her emerge as we watched all of the events. She even gave me a few pointers on how to high jump using our bed as the "pit."

I guess our house has already caught Olympic fever.

Laughable

Corey Masisak caught up with Olie Kolzig's agent Art Breeze:

Q: What was the interest level like for Olie yesterday?

Breeze: He was one of the most sought-after unrestricted free agent goaltenders yesterday. There were several aggressive suitors. He is a class act, and I think he can still be a dominant goaltender in this league. Tampa’s gain is going to be Washington’s loss.

Q: Was there any communication with Washington yesterday?

Breeze: None whatsoever. And you can put that in big, bold letters.

Haha, haha, haha, ooh, that Breezy. Whew.

Seriously, if I ever felt down about myself, unsure and feeling depressed, remind me to hire Art Breeze.

Caps Stay Busy

The Capitals have signed free agent right wing Graham Mink and free agent defenseman Tyler Sloan. Mostly a move to keep some talent in Hershey. It's a minor move, but keeps some depth for the Caps down the road if the injury bug hits.

Mink returns to the Capitals system playing only 5 NHL games (all with the Caps). Sloan returns the the Bears after two solid seasons in Hershey. Not really the news we were hoping for today, but at least some one is working over there at Kettler.

The Morning After

There is a mix of feelings toward the Capitals' moves on free agent Tuesday. At first there was a lot of animosity headed in the Caps' management way when GM George McPhee seemed to have botched the Cris Huet deal and went with a less capable goaltender in Jose Theodore >>>. Then that flipped when it had been revealed that Huet was actually given what they had asked for and still went to the open market. McPhee afraid he would be with out a number one goaltender at all, made the move he thought he had to to get a number one goaltender.

Huet dismissed the offer that they themselves told McPhee they would sign for and headed for open market. When all was said and done, Huet got a better contract with Chicago. Which already has a "number one" in Nic Khabibulin. In a way it's funny that both Capitals' goaltenders, Cris Huet and Olie Kolzig, went to different teams that already have number ones (in Kolzig's case he is right back into a situation with 3 goaltenders in Tampa with Mike Smith and Karri Ramo).

With Huet going the open market route, the next best thing was Theodore who was willing to sign on for less time and money. Think of it as a "patch" until the Caps young talent can get their feet wet. Although Theodore, while inconsistent, is no "patch." He is a good goaltender. Will he produce the numbers for the Caps that are comparable to Huet's? Maybe not, but he is no slouch either. When his game is on, Theodore is a playoff goaltender and has the ability to sway a game or two. If you want to draw side by side comparisons, Huet has never made the second round of the playoffs, Theo has (not to mention got cozy with Paris Hilton). If the Avalanche had a healthy squad in front of him, Theodore could have done a shade better too.

The Capitals do have some talent in the pipeline in the goaltender department and are certian that their prospects are a year or two away from the big show. The Caps didn't want to be bogged down with a lengthy contract if the likes of Simeon Varlomov was ready to play in the big league after spending some time in the minors and making his way through the system. If Huet signed for four years and Varlomov has to sit on his keaster to wait out the contract.

The job isn't done. Green check, a goaltender check. Now onto the RFA's with the likes of Eric Fehr, Boyd Gordon, Shaone Morrisonn and Brooks Laich need to be re-upped and UFA Sergei Fedorov. I still think the Fedorov deal will take the Caps almost up to training camp as he weighs his options. Obviously it helps that Alex Ovechkin is in constant contact with him and has been his number one campaigner.

While those other contracts will take some time to iron out, development camp is around the corner. Just a week away, we will see the likes of goaltender Simeon Varlomov, defensemen Karl Alzner and Josh Godfrey, and forwards Oskar Osala, Francois Bouchard and Mathieu Perreault. Can a few of these players finally make the jump to the bigs? Its about time to find out.

P.S. If you were curious, NHL network is replaying the 2008 playoff series with Minnesota and Colorado. Your chance to see Theodore in action over the next week or so.

Huet Gone, Kolzig Gone, Welcome Jose

The goaltender situation just couldn't get ironed out. Cris Huet wanted a longer contract, George McPhee was only going to give him 3 years. The result, Huet makes the move to Chicago for a 4 year, $22 million contract. And the Capitals felt they had no choice but to pick up what they could.

Jose Theodore comes to Washington with a so-so career record. Plus the Capitals got him for a deal, 2 years, $9 million contract. Theodore did play well in the first round of the playoffs last season, and helped his team make the second round, a fact that Huet did not. Theodore should bring some of that calm butterfly demeanor to the Caps net. Let's hope he got that hair thing all figured out.

Huet seemed the perfect fit, but the hold up was 1 year. McPhee offered 3, Huet wanted 4. As a result Olie Kolzig signs a one year contract with the Lightning. Wha? Kolzig was rumored to head to Ottawa, to sort of settle things down goaltender wise. But the move to Tampa actually makes sense. They will use him in conjuction with Mike Smith, and when Smith's game starts to get in consistent bring in Olie.

The market apparently wasn't very kind to Kolzig. Who could only muster a mere one year, $1.5 million contract. Leaving his future very much in question. Will his competive nature help the Lightning or hurt them? Is Kolzig past his prime? We will have to wait to see. It will be interesting to see the Caps play against their former team leader. Kolzig will definitely be in a back up capacity with the contract he signed. Maybe even a back up, back up capacity, don't forget Karri Ramo.

Will Thoedore's contract give Simeon Varlamov the time he needs? Is he a good enough goaltender to get the Caps back to the playoff landscape? Is he healthy enough? Much of these questions will haunt Caps fans for the off season. Let's hope good things are to come.

Update: according to Tarik:

I just heard from a source that Huet asked the Caps for three years, $15 million and the Caps offered it to him. But Huet told them he wanted test the market today and see what might be out there. Now it's looking like he'll sign a four year deal with Chicago for $5.6 million per.

Did GMGM jump the gun thinking Huet wasn't going to sign?

Green Will Stay A Cap (updated)

For another 4 years. Mike Green gives the green light to a 4 year $21 million contract that will pay the defenseman a modest $5.25 million a year. Consider this a steal, since many were discussing Green signing for no less than $6 - $7 million. Green will talk with reporters via phone conference at noon.

GMGM's comments on the signing:

“Mike has developed into an impact defenseman in the short time since we drafted him, and he will be a key part of our team moving forward. We look forward to his further contributions as we continue to improve the hockey club.”

But cap space will be squeezed with others that need to be signed. With Green locked up, whose next? Huet?

Now we will have more adventures like these to look forward to.