Posse81
October-1st-2003, 06:04 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25259-2003Sep30.html
Capitals Have Key Decisions to Make
Gordon, Semin, Sutherby, Yonkman, Others May Face Exposure to Waiver Draft
By Jason La Canfora
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 1, 2003; Page D07
The Washington Capitals took a step toward finalizing their roster yesterday by submitting their protected list for Friday's waiver draft, and General Manager George McPhee said he was not worried about losing any impact players.
The protected lists, which will be released today by the NHL, include 18 skaters and two goalies, and most young players with three years or less of professional experience are exempt.
Of the Capitals' 30-man roster, 27 are position players. Five -- Boyd Gordon, Alexander Semin, Brian Sutherby, Steve Eminger and Nolan Yonkman -- are exempt, leaving management to decide which four will be unprotected. Goalies Olaf Kolzig and Sebastien Charpentier were protected; the other goalie on the roster, Maxime Ouellet, is exempt.
Some NHL executives wondered whether Washington would opt to expose $11 million winger Jaromir Jagr to the waiver draft. The team shopped Jagr around the league in the summer and wants to trim its payroll, but the Capitals have protected Jagr, sources said, wanting to get something in return for him in a trade rather than dump his salary outright.
Teams had until 4 p.m. to submit their lists to the NHL, and a trading freeze began at 2 p.m. yesterday. The actual waiver draft will be held at noon on Friday via conference call, and the trading freeze will be lifted at the conclusion of the draft.
The waiver draft is held annually to allow weaker teams to add players to their rosters. It also allows young players who are not getting a regular chance to play the opportunity to change organizations and get a fresh start. The draft is held in reverse order of last season's finish, and only the 14 teams that missed the playoffs participate in the first round. The Capitals would not get a chance to select a player until the 18th pick in the second round, thus 32nd overall.
No team can lose more than three players in the draft and each time a team selects a player it must expose one more player from its protected list. Last October, Washington took defenseman Rick Berry from Pittsburgh in the waiver draft, and he is among the candidates to be exposed again this year.
Berry barely played in the second half of last season but would have to clear waivers to be sent to the minors. The Capitals have 10 defensemen in camp now and will carry seven or eight on their opening-night, 23-man roster. Coach Bruce Cassidy appears to favor other players on defense, and Berry is unsure of his status.
"Coach has been pretty loyal to the guys he's had before [Cassidy coached defensemen Jason Doig, Joel Kwiatkowski and John Gruden in the minors]," Berry said. "And that's something you've got to live with here. I just go out and do the best I can and I think I bring some elements here that other guys don't."
Like Berry, defenseman J.F. Fortin is on the fence, and he too would have to clear waivers to be returned to the minors for seasoning; even if Berry and Fortin are protected from the waiver draft, they would still have to be exposed to waivers should Washington want to send them down before Monday's deadline to declare its 23-man roster.
Centers Trent Whitfield and Darcy Verot are expected to be exposed to the waiver draft, as the Capitals have younger and more prized prospects at their position. Neither would likely be claimed, and the same could be said of Gruden, 33, who is likely to open the season in Washington and would not be very attractive to most teams because of his age. Enforcers Stephen Peat and Alex Henry must also clear waivers to be sent down -- the Capitals are undecided about carrying more than one tough guy at this point -- as would winger Matt Pettinger, who is a frontrunner to begin the season with the Capitals.
"A lot of it could come down to who do we want to risk losing the least," Cassidy said. "That could be the key question. We have some tough decisions to make and we have to determine who gives us the best mix."
Capitals Notes: Fortin, Yonkman and Charpentier are also back from injuries and cleared to play in tonight's exhibition game at MCI Center. Charpentier will back up Kolzig tonight and Yonkman and Fortin will each play in one of the next two games.
Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis will be online to answer questions about his team today at 1 p.m. at www.washingtonpost.com/liveonline.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company
Capitals Have Key Decisions to Make
Gordon, Semin, Sutherby, Yonkman, Others May Face Exposure to Waiver Draft
By Jason La Canfora
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 1, 2003; Page D07
The Washington Capitals took a step toward finalizing their roster yesterday by submitting their protected list for Friday's waiver draft, and General Manager George McPhee said he was not worried about losing any impact players.
The protected lists, which will be released today by the NHL, include 18 skaters and two goalies, and most young players with three years or less of professional experience are exempt.
Of the Capitals' 30-man roster, 27 are position players. Five -- Boyd Gordon, Alexander Semin, Brian Sutherby, Steve Eminger and Nolan Yonkman -- are exempt, leaving management to decide which four will be unprotected. Goalies Olaf Kolzig and Sebastien Charpentier were protected; the other goalie on the roster, Maxime Ouellet, is exempt.
Some NHL executives wondered whether Washington would opt to expose $11 million winger Jaromir Jagr to the waiver draft. The team shopped Jagr around the league in the summer and wants to trim its payroll, but the Capitals have protected Jagr, sources said, wanting to get something in return for him in a trade rather than dump his salary outright.
Teams had until 4 p.m. to submit their lists to the NHL, and a trading freeze began at 2 p.m. yesterday. The actual waiver draft will be held at noon on Friday via conference call, and the trading freeze will be lifted at the conclusion of the draft.
The waiver draft is held annually to allow weaker teams to add players to their rosters. It also allows young players who are not getting a regular chance to play the opportunity to change organizations and get a fresh start. The draft is held in reverse order of last season's finish, and only the 14 teams that missed the playoffs participate in the first round. The Capitals would not get a chance to select a player until the 18th pick in the second round, thus 32nd overall.
No team can lose more than three players in the draft and each time a team selects a player it must expose one more player from its protected list. Last October, Washington took defenseman Rick Berry from Pittsburgh in the waiver draft, and he is among the candidates to be exposed again this year.
Berry barely played in the second half of last season but would have to clear waivers to be sent to the minors. The Capitals have 10 defensemen in camp now and will carry seven or eight on their opening-night, 23-man roster. Coach Bruce Cassidy appears to favor other players on defense, and Berry is unsure of his status.
"Coach has been pretty loyal to the guys he's had before [Cassidy coached defensemen Jason Doig, Joel Kwiatkowski and John Gruden in the minors]," Berry said. "And that's something you've got to live with here. I just go out and do the best I can and I think I bring some elements here that other guys don't."
Like Berry, defenseman J.F. Fortin is on the fence, and he too would have to clear waivers to be returned to the minors for seasoning; even if Berry and Fortin are protected from the waiver draft, they would still have to be exposed to waivers should Washington want to send them down before Monday's deadline to declare its 23-man roster.
Centers Trent Whitfield and Darcy Verot are expected to be exposed to the waiver draft, as the Capitals have younger and more prized prospects at their position. Neither would likely be claimed, and the same could be said of Gruden, 33, who is likely to open the season in Washington and would not be very attractive to most teams because of his age. Enforcers Stephen Peat and Alex Henry must also clear waivers to be sent down -- the Capitals are undecided about carrying more than one tough guy at this point -- as would winger Matt Pettinger, who is a frontrunner to begin the season with the Capitals.
"A lot of it could come down to who do we want to risk losing the least," Cassidy said. "That could be the key question. We have some tough decisions to make and we have to determine who gives us the best mix."
Capitals Notes: Fortin, Yonkman and Charpentier are also back from injuries and cleared to play in tonight's exhibition game at MCI Center. Charpentier will back up Kolzig tonight and Yonkman and Fortin will each play in one of the next two games.
Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis will be online to answer questions about his team today at 1 p.m. at www.washingtonpost.com/liveonline.
© 2003 The Washington Post Company