Decision
The salary arbitration case for Capitals defenseman Shaone Morrisonn has been decided. The arbitrator has ruled that the 25-year-old blueliner will receive a one-year contract for $1.975 million for the upcoming 2008-09 NHL season.
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Dump and Chase 
July 26, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Glad to have him back for next year.
July 26, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Mike,
With him being signed, we should know now everything, right? The only wild cards being Pothier and LTIR, and possibily Clark?
Is there a definitive list of our players under contract?
July 26, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I think 1.975 is a tab bit to much for Morrisonn, but if you look at Green’s stats when Morrisonn was hurt you’ll realize that Green didn’t produce as much without Morrisonn.
Also with Pothier on LTIR I think we’ll be under the cap, but I’ll have to double check that.
@ Anthony, these all the players under contract for next season,
Ovechkin- 9.538,462
Nylander- 4.875
Semin- 4.6
Fedorov- 4
Clark- 2.63
Kozlov- 2.5
Backstrom- 2.4
Laich- 2.06
Brashear- 1.2
Bradley- 1
Fehr- .735
Fleischman- .725
Gordon- .725
Steckel- .512
Laing- .475
Green- 5.25
Poti- 3.5
Pothier- 2.5-He’s on LTIR.
Morrisonn- 1.975
Alzner- 1.675
Jurcina- .881
Erskine- .537
Theodore- 4.5
Johnson- .812
Total number- 59.592
So that’s about 2.9 million over the cap, but Pothier is on LTIR, so they can exceed the cap by 2.5 million(pothier’s cap hit). So before the start of the season .4 million needs to be cut. Laing’s cap hit is .475 he’ll probably be sent to Hershey and the Caps will be .075 under the cap. I hope my math is right.
There’s more players who are under contract, like Giroux, but they are minor league players. I included Lepisto and Alzner because there is good chance they will make the team. Guys like Bouchard, Godfrey, and Varlamov are all under contract but they will most likely start the season in Hershey and they won’t count agaisnt the Cap. Also some of the players like Laing, and Erksine could end up in Hershey.
July 26, 2008 at 4:39 pm
^^^ I forgot about Clymer’s buyout. His cap hit is .275. So we’ll be .2 million over the cap, so somebody is going to be moved or sent down.
July 26, 2008 at 5:47 pm
[…] of the Capitals’ offseason was answered today, when an arbitrator awarded Shaone Morrisonn a one-year, $1.975 million dollar contract. The deal itself is more than fair for both Morrisonn and the Capitals, but it does create a salary […]
July 26, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Well, I was wrong.
July 27, 2008 at 8:35 am
Dont’ forget about Schultz.
July 27, 2008 at 11:53 am
I think the consensus has become that the team is $956,101 over the cap at the moment.
July 27, 2008 at 4:51 pm
I see two likely, possible scenarios:
1) Alzner doesn’t make the team or is only up part of the year.
2) Alzner makes the team, you trade Kozlov for an experienced defenseman in the $2-$2.5M range and then you trade Jurcina for a draft pick. After the way Jurcina played in the playoffs, I wouldn’t be surprised if Boudreau doesn’t want him back.
Less likely is Clark misses enough time for the LTIR to make up the overage, but that would be about 30 games.
Right now the team has 14 forwards. Fehr from what has been written would need to clear waivers to be sent to Hershey. Steckel I believe can be sent down, but he’s too good really to be sent down. Assuming Clark is healthy, he could be #1 RW, Laich #2 and Fehr #3. There are lots of possibilities. Kozlov’s 54 points last year had him #25 in the NHL for RWs – not very impressive. I would like to think either Clark, Laich or Fehr could produce 54 pts on the 1st line. Either way, we have forwards but are short on experienced defensemen. I think the team needs a guy like we used to have in Bob Rouse. Anyway you look at it, there needs to be at least one more move.
July 27, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Why would you trade part of the first line again? There is more to a player than his point total.
I don’t see any trades such as what you are talking about, Tom.
Besides, despite what everyone thinks, the only thing that matters is what the official NHL spreadsheet says we are at, as far as cap space goes.
July 28, 2008 at 6:42 am
Anthony: The cap figures are posted here and on the other site and the team is some $900K over. You either have to leave Alzner in the minors or trade out a higher priced player (assuming Clark is healthy). The above numbers from Tyler are “official NHL.” A trade will be made because it must be made, not because I say so. Kozlov just happens to be a likely candidate because he makes $2.5M and is gone anyway after this coming season.
July 28, 2008 at 6:48 am
Anthony: Here are cap numbers:
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/cap-central/team.php?team=WAS
You need to add Schultz and subtract Pothier, and you can see the team is roughly $950K over with Alzner included.
July 28, 2008 at 7:53 am
What basis are you using to make this decision? Your poli sci degree or your defense experience?
July 28, 2008 at 10:15 am
The Caps need to move someone from the defense, and reduce the number of players there. They still have eight players ready to go at the NHL level:
Poti, Jurcina, Erskine, Green, Morrisonn, Alzner, Lepisto, Schultz. Obviously this would indicate Pothier is done (sad, but alas, it is going to happen.) Right now the following D-men are not movable, or the Caps wouldn’t want to move them: Green, Poti, Alzner, Morrisonn, Lepisto. The first two have long term contracts to be here, and the last three are young defensemen with lots of upside. Schultz may end up on this list as well if he plays like he should in the first part.
That leaves Erskine and Jurcina. I suspect Jurcina would fetch more on the open market, but since this would be a salary dump (primarily) the Caps would be looking for draft choices.
I suspect they are shopping Jurcina now that they know what Morrisonn’s number is (they couldn’t shop him in case they had to walk away from Mo, but thankfully they don’t).
It will all get sorted out.
July 28, 2008 at 10:31 am
I agree Mike L.
One of those, again likely Jurcina, and maybe one of the Gordon, Fleishmann type group.
July 28, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Anthony: Nice of you to keep track of my resume. Are you a recruiter?
I was just using common sense. Of course, if I don’t have any, I’d probably be the last to know.
If they trade Jurcina or Erskine and also Flash or Gordon, they are under the cap but short on players. They almost have to move a forward or scratch two all year, unless there’s an injury. As for defensemen, there are 7. Eliminate Ersk or Jurcina and you have 6. Since there’s an injury half the games, you’d need to have Lepisto back and forth as replacement and you’d use then half the cap space you thought you’d save.
You don’t need to believe me. Go ask JSchon or Sombrero Guy and they will tell you the same thing. The facts are the facts.
July 28, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Why are they the facts?
Three people agreeing does not mean that they are the “facts”. You might be right but simply because three people say they are the facts, does not mean they are the facts.
It doesn’t matter if every caps fan and Mike Vogel, and Tarik and Corey all agree on the moves the club needs to make, unless your George Mcphee it doesn’t mean squat. I’m definetly a big fan of the old saying “something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it”.
Generally, with Chris Clark not being 100% I’m not sure you can trade Kozlov, besides his being on the top line. Although with our depth this year its not likely to be needed, he is still a center and thats a valuable thing to have. One of my big variables is the health of Fehr. He missed so much of last year he is still a question mark, if he proves to be more ready to step into a bigger role, than that is something.
The top 5 of the top 6, as I see it are:
Ovechkin
Semin
Backstrom
Nylander
Kozlov
Then you have to me, the next group:
Fedorov
Laich
Fehr
Clark (If on the team at all)
Bradley
Steckel
Brashear
With the rest being:
Fleishmann
Gordon
Laing
So lets say you trade Kozlov. Who are your right wings for the top two lines?
July 28, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Anthony: I have posted many times that Clark could move to #1 RW, where he scored 30 goals with OV and Zubie two years ago. Laich played #2 RW in the playoffs and no reason he can’t continue. Fehr needs to step up and become #3 RW because there’s no other place for him (Bradley is #4). If Clark is not healthy, then it’s another thing entirely as you say. Fehr needs to %#@* or get off the pot as they say and start producing. The team has 14 forwards on the roster. If Clark is healthy, they will very likely carry 13 (with Laing then as 14th, to be called up as needed for less cap hit). Someone must go, and jettisoning a lower paid guy doesn’t fix the cap. It’s almost as if Kozlov is left standing when the music stops due to 2.5M reasons.
July 28, 2008 at 2:49 pm
If clark was 100%, rock solid, and Fehr was proven NHL talent, ala Laich, then yes, I’d agree with you that he has the potential to be traded.
At this point though, neither thing is true. I think Fehr will get there but its not a sure thing. The problem is that if Clark is hurt long term or Fehr is hurt again or doesn’t produce and we get rid of Kozlov, the musical chairs analogy might be the post season and the caps might be the one without a seat.
Eventually of course we won’t have Kozlov. I just don’t think it will be this year, not yet.
July 28, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Anthony: Nothing at all wrong with agreeing to disagree. This is a democracy after all (I was using the political science degree there, btw).
The defense industry experience failed me as I was way off on the Morrisonn arbitration figure. Mike was dead on when he said, “Between $1.5 and 2.0M.” Good thing the gov’t needs more guns than butter or I’d be up the creek.
July 28, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Its just words like “Facts” that bother me. Unless you are secretly George Mcphee, or I missed an article on the main website, its an opinion, not a fact.
July 28, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Anthony: The only “facts” we’re talking about are the actual salaries. It is a “fact” that the 14 forwards under contract and surmised to make the club:
Ovechkin- 9.538,462
Nylander- 4.875
Semin- 4.6
Fedorov- 4
Clark- 2.63
Kozlov- 2.5
Backstrom- 2.4
Laich- 2.06
Brashear- 1.2
Bradley- 1
Fehr- .735
Fleischman- .725
Gordon- .725
Steckel- .512 (37.5)
Plus the seven defensemen and two goalies:
Poti- 3.5
Green – 5.25
Pothier- 2.5-He’s on LTIR (no count)
Morrisonn- 1.975
Alzner- 1.675
Jurcina- .881
Schultz – .750
Erskine- .537 (14.6)
Theodore- 4.5
Johnson- .812 (5.3) (57.4) plus Clymer (57.65)
Puts the Caps $950K or so over. That’s an indisputable fact, no matter how much you like it or don’t. Now, what to do about that is a matter of opinion. It’s also a “fact,” which you may not like, but the Caps absolutely, positively can’t start the season unless they fix it, one way or another. It’s an opinion that some people say you can “get rid of Gordon,” but a fact that subtracting his salary doesn’t quite get you there. Clearly the team can try to play as much as possible with 13 forwards and 7 d-men (I think per CBA you can have 23 max and 22 min total players – with 2 goalies that leaves 20 or 21 skaters). With 14 forwards, that is the likely spot to reduce – not a fact, but you’re not going to carry two extra forwards and zero extra d-men. Since none of the obvious potential cuts (Fehr, Gordon, Steckel, Flash) get your there, it’s only logical to assume that some higher paid player must get swapped out for a lower paid player.
I’m really not trying to be argumentative. We’re all Caps fans here. I’m trying to list all the possible moves to fix the cap and what’s my opinion for what’s best for the team. Any solution you offer must be arithmatically correct in that it fits within the cap.
August 20, 2008 at 8:46 pm
KOZLOV=MONEY in the shoot out