So where do the Capitals go from here? With no additions at the NHL trade deadline, Washington general manager George McPhee has pulled a Norman Dale from “Hoosiers”: “My team is on the floor.” Or ice in this case.
The problem? McPhee didn’t want to give up young assets or draft picks to add a third-line center like Buffalo’s Paul Gaustad. He has too many of those already. But legitimate second-line centers like Montreal’s Tomas Plekanec weren’t available. And so many teams remain in playoff contention that the number of sellers was limited to a handful of teams already out of contention.
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“The theme of this year’s deadline was that everybody wanted to add and there was no one selling,” McPhee said. “There were probably three or four sellers, and a couple of them are in our division, so you’re not going to be able to do much with them. Everyone seemed to want our players, but they wanted to give us futures and prospects, and I wasn’t interested in doing that.”
What he’s left with is a team missing star center Nicklas Backstrom (concussion) and lacking the depth at center to compete with the top teams in the Eastern Conference. McPhee is happy with his blueline. Jeff Schultz is playing better hockey since returning to the lineup earlier this month. Mike Green is rounding into shape after Jan. 17 surgery for a sports hernia. But is that enough? Or should he have flipped some of his five unrestricted free agents?
“[Teams] can sell [unrestricted free agents] and get some futures,” McPhee said. “But it’s not going to help them win this year or make the playoffs. And there are a lot of teams in that boat.”
– Brian McNally
