Could “the long road back” be, finally, leading back into Caps’ country for Brian Pothier? He’s been at practice on a more regular basis lately, including this morning.
Perhaps it’s a pipe dream, but adding Potsy into the active mix of defensemen might just be the solution from within to shore up the Capitals blueline, an area that may be just one of two possible weaknesses in this 2008-09 Caps team.
Chris O'Meara - AP
Most observers of these Caps harboring Cup aspirations for the team would love an upgrade on defense, a steady, veteran presence. Hardened, determined. We could think of no more fitting solution than 31-year old Pothier, who has certainly been through hell and (almost) back.
It’s been an awfully long time since we’ve seen Potsy skate, so let’s review his creds:
Before his concussion injury last season, he played in 38 games and, in that time, had the fourth-most even strength TOI/60 (behind Shaone Morrisonn, Tom Poti, and Mike Green) and stood with the fewest goals against on ice per 60 minutes (2.09), again at even-strength, of any regular (excluding a 7 game stint by Sami Lepisto), by far. For Corsi rating fans, he was 3rd best amongst Caps D in that stat, and was also +4 at even strength. And let’s not forget that roughly half of his 2007-08 season’s work occurred during the woeful, Hanlon-end portion of the campaign.
He also skated the second-most in ice time at even strength amongst Caps backliners in 2006-07.
Now, with this season’s current blue line corps, he wouldn’t factor significantly into special teams, but it’s the quality minutes at even strength that we’re after, anyway.
If Pothier does become available and proves healthy by the trading deadline of March 4 (an enormous leap of faith), that would leave the team with 9 capable defensemen, obviously necessitating some sort of move.
Further, while Chris Clark’s and Brent Johnson’s LTIR status colletively free up about $3.445 million of cap space, Karl Alzner’s salary, plus Pothier’s $2.5 million per, totals $4.175 million. Add to that the estimated modest hit by recent waiver claim Staffan Kronwall ($244,000, all numbers herein from nhlnumbers.com), and that leaves at least almost $1 million in salary to shed.
But maybe, for GM George McPhee, its easier to trade from depth and make the tough decisions on which players to retain, extracting as much value in return (draft picks, prospects, or budget depth at checking forward) from those to be dealt, rather than having to craft a swap for a specific player, or handful of possibilities, to fill an immediate need.
On an off-day, we can only dream.
3 comments
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February 9, 2009 at 12:56 pm
TG
He should retire and spend time with his children. I’m sure he wants to play, but one more hit and we’re talking Eric Lindros here.
Brian, enjoy your time off, keep the money in the bank, and relax. It’s not worth the potential damage you could do to yourself, and your family.
February 9, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Ben
I seriously doubt he is the solution. It would be a small miracle if he came back this year – an epic miracle if he matched his fitness and form before the concussion – and an impossibility that he will provide the physical, disciplined upgrade we desparately need. I see him more as Poti-type and less as the bruiser and crease clearer we are lacking.
That said, if the question is “is our D-corps better with a healthy Pothier?” the answer is yes.
February 9, 2009 at 2:54 pm
dmg
Call my cynical, but I’m not sure Pothier really has the intention of coming back to the NHL. If he goes to rehab, practice, and so on, he’s still collecting his $2.5 million this year and he doesn’t have to risk another blow to the head. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him go through this season and then retire over the summer.
That said, if he did return I think it would significantly help the Caps blue line.