Morrison Into the Fold
As everyone has likely heard by now, the Caps signed UFA Brendan Morrison to a one year, $1.5 million contract with the hopes that he will fill the second-line center position.
It’s easy to look at recent numbers and think that Morrison is maybe not the best fit, especially with his recent injury troubles – but there’s a lot of good to his game and numbers just don’t always tell the tale.
In a conference call with the media yesterday, Morrison explained how injuries hampered his ability to even skate up the ice, preventing him from putting up big numbers even with talented wingers like Selanne and rookie phenom Bobby Ryan. Only as the season wound down and a trip to the waiver wire landed him in Dallas did he start to find his stride again, and after being declared 100% healthy by Caps medical staff it’s hard to imagine he won’t be able to find that stride again skating with the Caps.
He’s not a big guy – 5′10″ and 187 pounds – but he’s always been a great skater and playmaker, two things that will make him a good fit alongside someone like Alexander Semin. At 34 he brings veteran experience and scoring depth, providing the Caps with another potential 20 goal scorer along with fellow Michigan teammate and new Cap Mike Knuble. And the great thing about him is that he, like Knuble, sounds excited to play in DC with a team on the rise – just another sign that Washington is becoming a premiere destination for free agents, something we know hasn’t always been the case.
But let’s be honest…it’s probably just the lure of playing alongside one of the game’s great wingers. Thank you, Tomas Fleischmann, for being the bait that draws the big names in.
So this is just another great addition at a great price for McPhee, who, by spending wisely and selectively, is playing it smart this offseason and avoiding the mistake so many teams on the cusp make. A few veteran players at good prices, realistic contract lengths, character guys who can play a role and know how to work hard…that’s the beginning of a Cup-winning team.
We’re only just about halfway through July, so we all know that the roster isn’t set in stone. There are still tweaks that could be made, extensions to negotiate with a few key players, and Milan Jurcina’s arbitration case coming up in a few weeks (and for a look at how that could play out, be sure to check out the mock arbitration presented in fine fashion by JP and friends). There’s still the problem of being over the cap, of who will make up the six defensemen and who will man the crease next year.
And of course there’s still the question of whether Oxon Hill, MD can contain the craziness that is CapsNation come September.
In other words, lots to look forward to – starting with development camp in just two days! Hockey returns to the nation’s capital. And life is good.
Thanks for the Fleischmann comment it made my morning.
Comment by Malin — July 12, 2009 @ 4:17 am
“So this is just another great addition at a great price for McPhee, who is playing it smart this offseason and avoiding the mistake so many teams on the cusp make by spending wisely and selectively.”
So many teams on the cusp make the mistake of spending wisely and selectively? Why is this a “mistake”? I am not clear on this sentence.
Comment by Johan — July 12, 2009 @ 6:12 am
Sorry, you’re right – poor sentence structure. I meant that by spending wisely and selectively, he’s avoiding the mistakes other teams make (teams that don’t spend wisely and selectively…aka the Rangers).
Comment by CapsChick — July 12, 2009 @ 10:34 am
What a great idea, let’s add an injury prone forward to an injury prone defense corps…Good thing Hershey has a good system or else they might be looking around the fron office for players to fill the spots.
Oh wait, they have done that already…
Comment by Mr. X — July 12, 2009 @ 10:34 am
Mr. X,
Morrison’s games played by season from 2000:
82
82
82
82
82
82
39
81
The guy isn’t injury prone. He had one fairly serious injury in his career.
And I don’t know where you’re going with the Leonhardt reference. The team has depth, the team has quality players at the NHL and AHL levels and the fact that they had to scramble once because of a sudden injury to a guy in a specialty position when their farm team was 1600 miles away doesn’t negate that.
Comment by dmg — July 12, 2009 @ 10:41 am
To be fair, he’s only recently had a run of bad luck injury-wise – and even with that he’s only missed 43 games total since 2000, all of those in basically one season (which wasn’t last season). That’s only six fewer games than Crosby has missed over the last three years…do you consider Sid the Kid to be injury-prone?
I don’t know, for just a one year deal at $1.5 million, I’m willing to take a chance on him.
Comment by CapsChick — July 12, 2009 @ 10:41 am
I wasn’t really going anywhere with the Leonhardt reference but was merely making a joke.
What I was trying to say was that in late fall, there were quite a few injuries to Caps players and they were leaning quite heavily on the Hershey team to fill their roster. They took down some of the better teams in the conference in this scenario. I was paying a compliment to their farm team, next time I will spell it out more specifically.
I think you are right Capschick that a one year contract is worth the gamble for Morrison. I don’t think Crosby is injury prone, I just think he is a big sissy (even if he is fantasy hockey gold).
So one of two things is going on here. Either I am dead wrong on everything I say (which is certainly a possibility) or the rest of you have had so much of the kool-aid that you are unable to see where the issues lie. We can tell ourselves that every player they have and every move they make is great but without anything to show for it (like a Stanley cup) how can we qualify these statements. Yes, we do have some great players, but we also have some pretty big holes that need to be filled.
I only hope the rest of you can tell me what an idiot I am when they win the championship this year.
Comment by Mr. X — July 12, 2009 @ 11:06 am
“We can tell ourselves that every player they have and every move they make is great but without anything to show for it (like a Stanley cup) how can we qualify these statements.”
Is your name by any chance “Tyler”? I’m not sure anyone is insisting that this signing is “great”. I think the general sentiment is that it’s a decent gamble with little downside. I’m also not sure you’ll be able to find anyone hanging around who insists that there aren’t “holes” or that there isn’t room for improvement at other positions.
And how can we “qualify” any of these hunches and opinions and feelings and notions until we see what happens next June? We are all just guessing. Til then.
Comment by Johan — July 12, 2009 @ 11:19 am
“Is your name by any chance “Tyler”? I’m not sure anyone is insisting that this signing is “great”. I think the general sentiment is that it’s a decent gamble with little downside. I’m also not sure you’ll be able to find anyone hanging around who insists that there aren’t “holes” or that there isn’t room for improvement at other positions.”
No, my name is not Tyler and if you had read my response you would have seen that I did agree with the sentiment of this move.
You are also right that we can not qualify hunches or opinions until we see what happens in June which is basically what I presented in the two-way scenario at the end of my response.
But, if you are a one sport person like myself then what are you supposed to do during the offseason? You get the early July free agent signings for excitement and then it is nothing until training camps start. Without taking the time to analyze, speculate, and criticize, what is their left to do? I am just trying to engage in objective discussion as a caps fan. Nothing more…
Comment by Mr. X — July 12, 2009 @ 1:57 pm
“Thank you, Tomas Fleischmann, for being the bait that draws the big names in.” = ROFLMAO – Great One CC…
Comment by Usually Frustrated Caps Fan — July 12, 2009 @ 4:56 pm
What? You act like that’s a joke!
Poor Flash…
Comment by CapsChick — July 14, 2009 @ 9:07 am
If you have to do it, you might as well do it right.
Comment by adipex vx fastin — September 9, 2009 @ 2:36 am
I bookmarked this link. Thank you for good job!
Comment by tramadol 100 contra — September 9, 2009 @ 4:34 am
I want to say – thank you for this!
Comment by adipex physician — September 15, 2009 @ 2:25 pm
Perfect site, i like it!
Comment by cod online tramadol — September 15, 2009 @ 4:23 pm
Perfect site, i like it!
Comment by tramadol 50mg dosage — September 15, 2009 @ 6:21 pm
Beautiful site!
Comment by buy tramadol free shipping — September 15, 2009 @ 8:20 pm
Excellent site. It was pleasant to me.
Comment by tramadol order pharmacy — September 15, 2009 @ 10:18 pm
Perfect site, i like it!
Comment by can tramadol cause cystitis — September 16, 2009 @ 12:16 am
It is the coolest site, keep so!
Comment by tramadol picture — September 16, 2009 @ 2:14 am
Beautiful site!
Comment by order adipex without doctor approval — September 16, 2009 @ 4:15 am
Great site. Keep doing.
Comment by low cost cialis — September 16, 2009 @ 6:13 am
I want to say – thank you for this!
Comment by who sells adipex — September 16, 2009 @ 10:09 am
Incredible site!
Comment by is ephedra in phentermine — September 16, 2009 @ 12:07 pm
Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive!
Comment by tramadol dog dose — September 16, 2009 @ 2:05 pm
Great. Now i can say thank you!
Comment by phentermine no presciption — September 16, 2009 @ 4:02 pm
I want to say – thank you for this!
Comment by buy cheap phentermine s — September 16, 2009 @ 5:59 pm
Incredible site!
Comment by effects of tramadol — September 16, 2009 @ 7:56 pm
Perfect site, i like it!
Comment by tramadol pet medication — September 16, 2009 @ 11:50 pm
Great site. Keep doing.
Comment by adipex pharmacy online pills — September 17, 2009 @ 1:47 am
Great work, webmaster, nice design!
Comment by withdrawal xanax — September 17, 2009 @ 3:44 am
I want to say – thank you for this!
Comment by online meds cialis — September 17, 2009 @ 5:40 am
Great site. Good info.
Comment by tramadol earnestly online — September 17, 2009 @ 7:39 am
Great work, webmaster, nice design!
Comment by cheapest online pharmacy phentermine — September 17, 2009 @ 9:36 am
Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive!
Comment by order phentermine no rx — September 17, 2009 @ 11:32 am
Great site. Good info.
Comment by phentermine effective — September 17, 2009 @ 1:29 pm
Great. Now i can say thank you!
Comment by cheap tramadol online — September 17, 2009 @ 3:25 pm
Great site. Keep doing.
Comment by adipex p phentermine — September 17, 2009 @ 5:21 pm
Excellent site. It was pleasant to me.
Comment by buy tramadol pay cash on delivery — September 17, 2009 @ 11:11 pm
Perfect work!
Comment by cheapest online cialis — September 18, 2009 @ 1:08 am
It is the coolest site, keep so!
Comment by order phentermine online without rx — September 18, 2009 @ 3:05 am
Excellent site. It was pleasant to me.
Comment by adipex no rx online — September 18, 2009 @ 5:03 am
Incredible site!
Comment by does tramadol show up on a drug screen — November 25, 2009 @ 1:13 am