Welcome to the Southeast Division Steven

The Tampa Bay Lightning won the draft lottery and the right to select Steven Stamkos with the #1 overall pick in the draft. So next season we'll have to look forward to playing against a team with Vincent Lecavalier and Stamkos as their top two centers. Of course they still have to sign Lecavalier to a long term deal as he is eligible for free agency following the '08-'09 season, and we'll have to see how bad his shoulder injury is. But Tampa and the Southeast Division got a lot better today.

Official Retraction

Okay, I'd officially like to retract my previous post that declared the Capitals as players for the #1 overall pick and the rights to Steven Stamkos. With the moves made at the deadline, the team obviously has no aspirations of finishing in the top 5 for a spot in the draft lottery. No, the Caps have decided to add to their lineup and compete now for a playoff spot.

You have to give GM George McPhee a lot of credit with these deadline moves. The Caps gave up next to nothing to acquire a #1 goaltender in Cristobal Huet, a former #1 center in Sergei Fedorov, and an agitator in Matt Cooke. All of these assets were had for a grand total of Anaheim's 2009 2nd-round pick, which we received for Brian Sutherby, defensive prospect Theo Ruth, who is a freshman at Notre Dame and is still multiple years away from seeing an AHL rink let alone an NHL rink, and Matt Pettinger who I would say didn't even deserve to receive a jersey on a nightly basis anymore.

Huet, Fedorov, and Cooke will all be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season. But that doesn't mean that they will all depart this summer. It's not as if teams will be lining up to sign a 38 year-old center, or a 29 year-old winger with a career average of about 20 pts/season. If either or both of those players fit well with this team, the Capitals will pay up and bring them back this fall. Huet on the other hand, will most likely be the best free agent goaltender available this summer. His performance down the stretch could earn him a big payday. McPhee will have to make the decision of whether or not he is worth the money it would cost to keep him here. To say the 3-way goaltending battle down the stretch will be interesting is an understatement. Hopefully the cream will rise to the top and one of the three will establish themselves as the #1 man.

As the New York Giants proved this season, once you get into the playoffs anything can happen. With the best player in the world on their side, can Ovechkin take his game to yet another level and lead the Caps on a Stanley Cup run this year? Only time will tell.

The Stamkos Countdown is Now On!!!

After the past weekend of disappointing outings, the time is now to start the official Stamkos countdown. The Caps are currently two points out of the 5th worst record in the league, a spot currently held by the Atlanta Thrashers. They are also still only four points out of the final playoff position currently held by Buffalo. If they finished with one of the 5 worst records, they would be in the draft lottery for a chance at the #1 overall pick and the right to select Steven Stamkos. Remember last season the team that finished in that position was none other than the Chicago Blackhawks, who ended up winning the lottery and budding star Patrick Kane. Just think at what our lineup would look like next season with Backstrom and Stamkos as our top two centers. The dream is still alive.