The Washington Capitals and General Manager George McPhee decided not to make any moves before yesterday's trade deadline, choosing instead to keep this roster intact with an eye on the future. While I understand McPhee's caution and desire to keep this core together, there were a few players who really needed to be traded. Hopefully, we don't look back on this and wish McPhee had been more open to talks.
Let me first clarify my previous article on how the team should approach the deadline. I realize now it may have appeared I was saying "sell sell sell!!!" That was not my point. My point was that there were several players that were not going to be part of this team's future and, with the team struggling and not poised for a deep postseason run, McPhee should be open to possibly moving those players if there was interest. I certainly did NOT want a giant wholesale (at least not until the offseason). This would signal to a team only 1 point out of the playoffs, that the organization was moving on. Not the message you want to send to a team that needs motivation.
Having said that, there are 3 players that McPhee needed to trade. Both Mike Knuble and Roman Hamrlik seem to have fallen out of favor with head coach Dale Hunter and have become regular scratches. Sure, they are older (39 and 37 respectively) and may have lost a step in their game, but they still can provide leadership and solid play. They certainly would have generated a lot of interest from around the league.
Their leadership may ultimately be why McPhee elected to keep them. Hunter's plan might be to save the two veterans and rest them for the playoffs. Then, they will be reinserted into the lineup at a time when their veteran leadership would be most needed. This, however, seems unlikely given the war of words Hunter and Hamrlik have had since Hamrlik's latest struggles. Also, this team is not coasting to a playoff spot, they need every point they can get. Rested players aren't very useful if the team doesn't make the playoffs.
And then there's Alex Semin. Craig Custance of ESPN reported yesterday that Semin would not return to DC when his contract expires at the end of the season. Why oh why didn't we trade him then? Semin's struggles and inconsistencies have been well documented over the years. If chemistry is an issue for the Caps, which it certainly appears to be, then Semin will not be part of the solution. Semin is extremely talented and, with an expiring contract, there's no real risk to a team looking to add an extra offensive boost. If Semin really is on his way out the door, then that's probably known around the locker room. Trading him, therefore, is not a signal that we're throwing in the towel. Admittedly, this team has struggled offensively without Nicklas Backstrom so perhaps McPhee was worried about losing another offensive weapon, but who says you have to trade Semin for draft picks only? Maybe he could have added another offensive player. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he did his due diligence and asked around to find out what he could possibly get in return for the other Ale. My problem is that you don't want to see someone with Semin's value walk away for nothing, which, if the reports are true, McPhee may now have done.
I have taken some shots from people who disagree with me over this, especially in regards to Knuble and Hamrlik. Who says teams have to swap healthy scratches? What's the point? Ask yourself this, if you had both Henrik Lundqvist and Tim Thomas as your goalies, you would trade one. If you had both Tom Brady and Drew Brees as your quarterbacks, you would trade one. Why? Because it is stupid to have someone with that much value warming the bench. Look, there's a difference between Jon Erskine and Hamrlike. Erskine does not have the talent level to consistently give him a spot on the bench. He is a 6 or a 7. Hamrlik has top 4 defensive talent. Erskine is expected to be a healthy scratch, Hamrlik is not. A top 4 man sitting in the press box is a waste, it's not good for anyone. The same goes for Knuble. He's not a fourth line player, he has value. If you don't want to use them, then trade them. Yesterday was one of the quietest deadlines in years because teams complained there were too many buyers and not enough sellers. If McPhee had come out with Knuble, Hamrlik, and Semin, he would have been able to sell very high. Now, while Hamrlik is still under contract, Semin and Knuble will both be free agents at the end of the season. Semin is as good as gone and Knuble has no reason to re-sign here just to be a healthy scratch.
For the most part, I applaud McPhee's caution. There are numerous examples of deadline deals for rental players that just haven't panned out. I'm not arguing that we should have traded all of our prospects or draft picks for a few rentals and I'm not arguing we should have sold everyone for peanuts. All I'm saying is we have two players rotting on the bench who certainly could have generated interest. We have a player with incredible offensive talent who reportedly has one foot out the door. There were plenty of teams desperate to make a move. How many draft picks/prospects/players did we miss out on by not trading players we aren't using? Are we going to watch Knuble and Semin walk away for nothing? I hope these are not questions that will end up haunting McPhee.
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