A little more on the Michael Nylander situation. The Grand Rapids Griffins (awesome name, by the way) have written on their website that Nylander will be in the lineup Friday night. Remember, Nylander is on a conditioning assignment and according to the NHL collective bargaining agreement those can’t last more than two weeks. That’s also the reason Nylander wasn’t subject to waivers.
Will have to check with the Caps when Nylander’s conditioning stint officially begins and ends. If the clock started Wednesday he would be eligible to play in five AHL games between now and Nov. 4. If the clock starts Friday then Nylander could play in a sixth game. Of note – all six of those games are at home. Grand Rapids opened the season with five road games. So no bus rides for Mr. Nylander.
This whole things has turned into a fascinating game of wills. The Caps have made it clear to Nylander that he will never, ever play another game for them. They signed a second-line center in the offseason (Brendan Morrison). They refuse to use him as a winger even during an injury crunch. They won’t use him at center on either the third or fourth lines. Now, the Caps argue that they did all those things last year and Nylander wasn’t an effective player. And it’s hard to dispute that. If a guy isn’t a fit for a given system – or with a given coach – the team has a right to move on.
But Nylander had his say, too. He has a no-movement clause in his contract that expires after this season. He has made it clear he will not just retire quietly and head home to Europe to play even if he’s not wanted here. The Caps may still come to terms with a Russian club or another NHL team willing to take him. But Nylander will get his money – $5.5 million this year and another $3 million next year for a total salary-cap hit of $4.875 million – one way or the other. He came to camp in shape. As far as we can tell, he’s caused no problems. And he’s said the right things – that he wants to stay in Washington and has no desire for a trade. There should be a solution available over the next two weeks. Because if Nylander is skating circles in practice on Nov. 5 or sitting next to us in the pressbox that weekend you have to wonder if he will be on the roster all season. There won’t be a better chance – unless he plays some games for the Caps – to showcase his skills. They need the cap space and the roster spot. He needs to play hockey. We’ll see how creative general manager George McPhee – and Nylander, for that matter – can get over these next two weeks.
