George McPhee stars in "The Dealer"

Wow, what a day, right Cap fans? It's 9:55pm and the smoke has cleared on Trade Deadline Day and for the first time in over 5 years the Caps weren't selling, they were most definitely buying! Okay, in case you live in Alabama or something, here's what transpired today:

--The Caps acquired veteran Goalie Cristobal Huet from the Canadians for the second round pick in the 2009 they had acquired when they traded Brian Sutherby to the Ducks last fall.

--They traded Ted Ruth, a 19 year old D-man drafted in the second round in 07 (currently playing for Notre Dame) to Columbus for center Sergei Federov.

--They traded winger Matt Pettinger to Vancouver in return for winger Matt Cooke, a feisty "agitator" according to all of the experts I read and heard today.

--The Caps finished their day by trading career minor leaguer Joe Motzko to Atlanta for Alex Giroux.

This is where I planned on complaining about how George McPhee never makes a significant trade unless he is unloading players, like during the '04, 06' and 07' seasons. However, "The Undertaker" scored some serious points with not only myself but with the majority of the hockey world today by adding to a young, exciting and up-and-coming hockey club without subtracting much of anything. He still didn't pull off a blockbuster, but he didn't need to.

So what does this all mean? Huet becomes one of three goalies on the roster, a rarity in hockey. I fully expected to hear that Olie Kolzig or back-up Brent Johnson had been traded, but that is not the case. It is a weird and perhaps risky situation, but with less than stellar netminding in the last month or so, getting Huet not only gets a younger, virtual #1 goalie in the building, but might be the motivation required to get the other goalies to tighten up and show the young guys on the team that its time to go for the playoffs. Plus, Huet comes very cheap, for the afore-mentioned 2nd rounder, and is an unrestricted free agent after the season, as is Kolzig. Godzilla is 38 in April. The Caps have some young goalie studs in their system that need a few years to be ready and Huet might very well be the guy to bridge the gap until Simeon Varlamov or Michel Neuvirth (both 19 and playing in Europe) are ready for the big time.

As for Federov, 15 years ago it would have been unheard of that Federov would come here. But here he is, with his 1,133 career points and three Stanley Cup rings. The Caps were in desperate need of a play making center once they lost Michal Nylander early this year. They lacked depth and skill and even though Federov is 38, he still has upside and is a UFA after this year. The power play needs his help, and he would allow Viktor Kozlov to go back to the 1st line with Ovie and Backstrom, creating balance.

The Caps beat the Wild Tuesday night 4-1. Brooks Laich scored a career high 4 points, Eric Fehr had a goal and an assist and Tomas Fleichman had two assists. That line of Laich, Fehr and Flash dominated from the opening face off. Laich seems like he may be breaking thru from gritty forward with scoring touch to a true scoring center. He had already scored a career high in goals and points this year before Tuesday night. Fehr is rounding into shape and Flash...well, I say the jury is still out. He is inconsistent, mostly, but is showing "flashes" of being more than a guy always a step behind the play, ala Todd Krygier.

Now, the swapping of Matt's seems like a good trade to me and its my favorite out of all the trades in the whole league. The loss of Pettinger is a shame, I always like Petty, but he's a goal scorer. However he had only two goals this year and has played terribly. He is from Vancouver, so maybe the change of scenery will rejuvenate him. I keep hearing what a pest and what an "Agitator" Matt Cooke is and this is why I like this trade. Ever since Dale Hunter retired, the Caps haven't had that guy who gets under the skin of the other team, gets them off their game and makes them take dumb penalties since Hunts reired. Cooke apparently will fill the void, and I think in order to win, you need a guy like that.

The other trade was Joe Motzko for Alex Giroux. Giroux is a career AHLer that scores a ton. He played for the Caps farm system a few years ago and this deal was strictly for minor league depth.

All in all a pretty cool day. Thanks for following along, if anyone did. The Caps kept most of their draft picks, all of their core players, all of their prospects and have three capable goaltenders. After they whipped the Wild into submission following all of the trades and without any of the guys they traded for, it puts a little bounce in your step to think that the rebuilding is probably over and this season may end with the Caps in the playoffs. Imagine how good Ovie will be under that spotlight!

NHL Trade Deadline Extravaganza!

12:58pm... I had not planned on blogging until after the deadline, but since the Caps are already making noise and some other names we all know fairly well are involved in trades so far, I figure I will blog as long as I get new info and have the time.

The Caps traded their 2nd round pick from 2009 to Montreal for Cristobal Huet, a French Born number one goalie. Now they have three goalies, Huet, Olie Kolzig and Brent Johnson. That means someone is going elsewhere. Since Kolzig is a free agent at the end of the year and he is 37, unfortunately it probably means he is heading out of town. Kolzig didn't take part in the morning skate--which he usually does not when he is scheduled to start--but since Johnson is clearly the number two goalie on the team, it might make you wonder if something is up. Kolzig is three wins shy of 300.

The second round pick in 2009 came from Anaheim in the Brain Sutherby trade, so we basically traded a 4th line checking center for a number one goaltender. Not bad.

1:05pm ... Jeff Halpern was part of the Brad Richards trade. Richards and goalie Johan Holmquist go from Tampa to Dallas and Jussi Jokinen, goalie Mike Smith and Halpern go to The Bolts. I have to admit I laughed when I saw this, since Halpern went to Dallas because Ulf Dahlen is an assistant coach there, the two are good freinds and Halpern wanted to win. I bet he gets booed harshly when he makes his next appearance at Verizon Center.

1:19pm... ESPN.com is reporting that Sergei Federov might be headed to Washington. Huh?! Him and Ovechkin together would be a site to see, back when Federov was healthy and banging Anna Kournikova. That was like 12 years ago!

1:28pm... OK, washingtonpost.com and the Hockey News are confirming that Columbus traded Federov to the Caps for Defensemen Ted Ruth. Who the hell is that you ask? A 6'1", 19 year old American that we drafted in the second round last summer. I'm looking for more about him, but I don't remember hearing to much about him in the past. Federov is a UFA in the summer, so this doens't cost us any money. I will try and find out how good he is.

1:35pm... Tarik-El Bashir said in Capitals INsider on www.washingtonpost.com that not only did Kolzig not take part in the morning skate, but Brent Johnson had already left the building. Kolzig doesn't skate in practice on game days, but who is in goal if Johnson isn't there either? The plot thickens.

1:42pm... Ted Ruth was not rated one of the top ten prospects in the Caps Farm System, so reports "The Hockey News". So, we gave up nothing for a playmaking center in Federov to replace Michel Nylander. He can only help the power play. "The Hockey News" says that the addition of Huet basically guarantees us the Southeast Title. Huet played for Boudreau in the minors in the Kings organ-eye-zation, so there is a realtionship there. Interesting...

1:56pm... Scott Burnside of espn.com is reporting that the Caps also have added agitator Matt Cooke from Vancouver for Matt Pettinger. Haha! I told you Drew! I like Petty, but he was awful this year and we need someone to light a fire under us and pester the other team into bad penalties, ala Dale Hunter. I was thinking we might go for Michel Peca, but apparently Matt Cooke is the guy. Doesn't score more than 10 or 12 goals a year, 60 plus PIMs (had 111 PIMs in 2001) and since Clark is still hurt and Pettinger was a nonfactor all season, this looks like a good deal. Not too mention that Pettinger is from Vancouver. Maybe a change will help him out. Wow, I was already planning my "Fire McPhee because he nevers pulls the trigger unless its a firesale" blog, but I guess I have to blow that up and start over, eh?

3:02pm... It's after the deadline and we still have three goalies. Stay tuned for one of our guys to go; the paperwork is still probably going thru. Every year there are numerous trades that aren't announced until after the deadline expires. Paperwork and what not. Have Mike Chase explain it if you don't understand. I will be on later tonight to analyze all of today's movement, but I have three appointments now and have to run. Thanks for joining me and check back later.

The Curse Continues

See!? I told you all that I was a Jinx! The Fucking Giants won the Super Bowl?!?!?!?!?! You have got to be kidding me?! The Fucking Giants?! Yes, I said the "Fucking Giants". I know I supposedly retired the "F" word from this blog a few years ago, but after what I witnessed Sunday Night, I need to pull it out for today.

I can not believe that the Patriots played so poorly. I can not believe that the Giants defense played so well! I can't believe Eli Manning won a freaking Super Bowl! I can stand the fact that New York has another championship and now we all we have to listen to it for the next year. I can hear it now, those Yankee/Giant fans who will say that this was pay back to the New England region for the Yankees losing to the Red Sox in '04. I am so sick of Boston and New York right now because...well because I live in DC and right now, we got Alex Ovechkin and that's it!

Perhaps the worst thing about Eli and the Giants winning the Super Bowl is all the new conspiracy theories that are sure to grow legs and run roughshod over all of us. All year long I heard from some people who shall remain nameless (my sister Meg) that the NFL was at the head of a conspiracy to ensure the Patriots would go undefeated. It was said that was why Spygate was covered up. The league wanted the financial windfall that would certainly come from a team going undefeated and winning the Super Bowl. Having the Patriots play New York only ensured that even more people would be watching, boosting ratings and revenue to record levels.

Now, we know that was not the conspiracy at all. That was all a smoke screen for the real conspiracy, to get the other Manning a Super Bowl Ring. Oh they fooled us! We all were so focused on the Patriots and Brady's boot that we didn't see this coming! I'm sure this is only the beginning. Within the next year or so, we will see the all Manning Super Bowl. Imagine that! Two brothers, each with a championship, battling it out for favorite son! Now that's good drama! And to think my jinx has helped facilitate all of this chaos. I should be ashamed!

Oh, the Jinx of John Murray is worse than I thought. The Curse of Les Boulez has got nothing on me. I can't believe what has happened since my last post, other than the aforementioned Super Bowl. Here's a rundown:

-The Caps beat the Canadians last Thursday to revenge their 4-0 butt-whooping from last Tuesday. Ovie scored 4 goals, one the game winner in overtime. I thought my jinx was a bunch of hooey. Of course, I had to push my luck and I decided to go to the Caps/Thrashers game at Verizon Center Saturday night. Caps lost 2-0 after outshooting Atlanta 36 to 13! I sat behind the penalty box and still didn't get on TV. I am jinxed.

-The Wizards have not won a game since before my last post. The got walloped by the Lakers and Kobe Sunday. The score doesn't matter. The Lakers killed the 'Zards.
(And did you see that the Lakers traded Kwame "I want my Mommy" Brown for Paul Gasol last week? So the Lakers are going to be real real good again? Sounds like a curse to me.)

-The Redskins are still searching for a head coach, with Giants Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo set to interview on Tuesday. So, let me get this straight: we might hire a division rival's coordinator, after they win the Super Bowl, to be our new head coach after Joe Gibbs retires? Yeah, that sounds like a great idea, don't you think? Because it worked out so well for us the last time.

-Eric Bedard has yet to be traded from the Orioles to the Mariners. Reports say the Orioles are holding it up over rules on player physicals and that they are afraid of getting burned by trading for damaged goods. Also, the Orioles are mad at Adam Jones (the central figure in the deal for Bedard) for telling Venezuelan reporters that he was being traded to Baltimore. First of all, the O's are mad that a guy was excited about coming to Baltimore? So mad that they put the deal on hold and canceled his physical? They are gun shy about a trade because they want assurances that if a player fails his physical they will be able to void the deal? Isn't that what everyone does in baseball, sign off on a trade pending a physical? It just keeps getting weirder and weirder up there in Charm City, hun. The Frog Faced Barrister still wields more of a curse than I do when it comes to the Orioles, but I'm sure I am not helping.

Okay, so the Terps won. I don't have anything on that. Since I have never been to a Maryland basketball game, perhaps my jinx does not extend to them. But, I did not watch the game this weekend so perhaps that was their saving grace.

So what do we do now that my jinx has started to pick up speed and we all may be in grave danger. After losing sleep over this for the past few nights, I might have finally come up with a solution; perhaps this evil power I have acquired can be used for good.

If you have some serious money on a game, tell me who you want to lose and I will root them on! Say you hate the guy in the cubicle next to you because he never stops bragging about his team. No problem, call me and I will cheer for his team so they lose! Or maybe you hate a player on some team because he dissed your team/city/etc. No problem. One game with me being his fan and he's done for. Perhaps that is the only way to stave off Armageddon. You all have to agree that something must be done soon. If not, I fear that things will spiral out of control exponentially and before you know it, the Fucking Rangers will win the Stanley Cup.