Red Alert: Caps Injuries Healing edition

The Washington Capitals are slowly resembling the roster they started the season with.  Here is the odd thing — there have been so many injuries and substitutions that both the Capitals and their AHL affiliate Hershey Bears, have to learn to play as a roster again, as calls ups are sent back and Caps return to the fold.  With Tyler Sloan and Sean Collins sent to Hershey, the last of the injuries, the injuries to the blue line, seem to be fading.
John Erskine will make his return tonight against the Edmonton Oilers.  Tarik from the Washignton Post has a great article up on Erskine, who has been out of the Capitals lineup since November 24, with a concussion.

Erskine said after yesterday’s practice that he has been “symptom free” for more than three weeks. He also said he’s excited about returning, but like many players who have suffered multiple concussions within a short time span, the 28-year-old said he has some concerns.

“My main worry is whether I’m more prone to get another concussion that much easier,” he said.

I am sure Brian Pothier rings in the mind of John Erskine.  Pothier suffered a concussion nearly a year ago and still has not be able to make his return to the Capitals, although it appears he has made significant strides.
Bruce Boudreau is excited at the opportunity to have Erskine’s physical presence back on the blue line.

“He’s a presence out there,” Boudreau said. “So people (A) don’t take liberties and (B) people think that he’s a physical guy, [but] he’s a pretty good defenseman, too. He played 20 minutes a game in the playoffs last year and was quite accountable on every shift. He has some faults like everybody else. But he’s a good acquisition when he’s out there.”

As we saw in the game against Montreal, the Capitals need a physical defenseman on the ice that won’t allow opposing skaters to just plant themselves in front of the Caps net.  I have not been the kindest writer toward Erskine, often very critical of his untimely penalties and questionable decision, but Erskine does provide a physical presence, a ‘brutality’ streak that reminds opponents he is on the ice. 

DC Examiner looks at the state of the Washington Capitals.  Great article.  This franchise has been in economic trouble for years, lagging with a sub-par roster and a failure to energize the Verizon Center and the area for ice hockey.  Now, in the strong grip of a substantial economic crisis, the Capitals are suddenly blossoming, both financially and fan-wise.

But Capitals owner Ted Leonsis believes outside forces generated by the downturn are propelling his team toward prosperity.

“Washington, D.C. has become the most important city in the country because it’s not just about politics any longer,” Leonsis said last week. “It’s now about money … and all of that action is now here in Washington. We are the new New York.”

In fact, the NHL in general is having a relatively health year in nearly all categories, TV ratings, merchandise sales, and ticket purchases.  The damage of the 2004 labor lockout still exists, but it is beginning to wane as the NHL is slowly picking up popularity.  Slow is not happening in DC though.

The Caps have drawn seven consecutive sellout crowds to Verizon Center and 11 overall through 21 home games. Attendance though 21 home games last season averaged 13,837 per game. This season, that number has swelled to 17,960, a 30-percent increase. Washington ranks 13th in the NHL in attendance and eighth among the 24 teams based in the United States. The franchise record for a season average is 17,341, set in 2001-02.

The Wizards are awful do to injury and the Verizon Center simply isn’t the same.  The brand new nationals Park most of the time is barely half full.  FEDEX may be ‘sold out’ but empty seats are growing.  But, at the Verizon Center, when the Red Wave comes, the Verizon Center is sold out, the crowd is energetic, and the Sea of Red floods Washington, DC.
Why?  Simple.  The Capitals have built a winning franchise that doesn’t just win, but is exciting to watch, have great personalities, and they have the best damn player in the NHL, under contract, for the next 12 years.  In essence, there was a plan for success, carried out by a professional front office, and executed magnificently.  Why does DC have?  A winner.  A winner that will likely be consistent for years to come, given how young the Capitals are, and the prospects still to reach DC.
Perhaps the Lerner family, owners of the Washington Nationals, should follow the Leonsis model.  Perhaps Dan Snyder should look at how the Capitals built success, look how Leonsis allowed a professional front office to build the franchise, and he should do the same.

“It doesn’t matter now if we play or have practice, all the time lots of crowds and I can’t remember [it being like this],” Ovechkin said. “This is my fourth year and this is the best atmosphere ever in Washington.”

“Our work isn’t done, but we’re pacing a little bit ahead of our plan,” Leonsis said. “If we can win a Stanley Cup in the next couple of years we will totally flip. Because this city, loves, loves, loves the big winner.”

In other words — Ted Leonsis GETS IT!
Corey Masisak is already looking past Edmonton, on to the much anticipated matchup between Washington and struggling Pittsburgh.

The reason: The meeting is the first between the teams since the Capitals’ Alexander Semin gave an interview to a Russian reporter in which he made unflattering remarks about the league’s most famous player, Sidney Crosby of the Penguins.

“What’s so special about [Crosby]?” Semin told Chesnokov. “I don’t see anything special there. Yes, he does skate well, has a good head, good pass. But there’s nothing else.”

For me, I am hoping this is a huge focus for Pittsburgh.  Because if it is, look for guys like Tomas Fleichmann and Brooks Laich to hurt the Penguins, while they focus on Alexander Semin.
Canadian troops will be honored tonight at the verizon Center.  This is not the first time the Capitals have gone out of the way to honor the northern neighbors.
Looking at NHL and Caps attendance things . . . The NHL is headed toward record revenues and attendance for the 2008/09 season, despite a deepening global economic crisis.

The league has never been in better shape off the ice as well as possibly on it, Bettman said.