Fear not, fans of the puck - we are now a mere 10 days removed from the Washington Capitals rookie camp, which is set to start on September 12th. And while we await the organization's announcement of the practice schedules for both rookie camp and training camp, we've formulated a way to help count down the remaining days. Join us as we take a trip through the Caps' 36-year history by unveiling our choices for the most prolific sweater number by the tens. Digit selection will be based upon a myriad of attributes including skill, significance to the club, mystique, unusual quirks, and any other traits we deem fit.

As the hockey starved month of August comes to a close, Rock the Red gathered several members Capitals bloggers and colleagues for a round table to discuss the forth-coming season. Although many involved agreed on the same points, several answers varied more than Alex Semin's consistency.

Before we issue suggestions to make the jump to see what went down, we did want to thank everyone involved and mention we hope to put another together relatively soon.

Picture of Theodore with his donation check.

I reached out to the organization inquiring if the other Capitals' netminders (Semyon Varlamov, Michal Neuvirth) be taking over the charity in Theodore's expected absence, or if they were aware if he will be making donations based on his performance with his new squad. Although most of the details are still cloudy, the answer was lamentable: "The Caps won’t be doing Saves for Kids next season without Theodore." Much like Olie Kolzig's Great Saves program, another charity is extinguished as a by-product of free agency.

Continuing with our tradition of donating all profits from our store to philanthropy, we will be making donations to Mike Green's So Kids Can program benefiting youth-based non-profit organizations in the area. Much like Theodore, Green pledges are based on his performance ($100 for every goal he scores, $50 for each of his assists throughout the regular season), which is matched by Elliot Siegel of Elliot in the Morning, dollar for dollar. In it's inaugural season, Green was able to contribute roughly $30,000 to Pediatric Prosthetics, Inc. and was able to donate $63,879 to Children's National in it's second.

We're very excited about the new opportunity, so head over to the store and pick yourself up a new Caps shirt to kick off the season right. As always, feel free to email us a picture of you Rocking the Red so we can add it to our 'Extras' section!

[Ed. Note: Also be sure to check out which charity the readers of Japers' Rink decide to support this season as well.]

The Washington Capitals' 2009-10 season was filled with several outstanding moments, from unbelieveable come-from-behind victories to record setting performances. It's no secret that one of our favorite moments centered around netminder Jose Theodore in which he seemingly overcame his off-season loss and strapped on his pads to play some of the best hockey of his career.

Through Theodore's in-rink successes (including back-to-back 30+ win seasons with the Capitals) and off-ice accolades we couldn't help but rally in support of JT60. And while we weren't enthused with the news of his departure, we realize the separation would better benefit the Capitals' present quest for the Cup and overall future of the team.

Much like Olaf Kolzig and Brian Pothier before him, Theo's become one of the former Caps I will always continue to root for. He's yet to sign with an NHL team for the forth-coming season, and the reports of his interest growing in European squads leave me feeling for the backstop whose skills seemed out shined by his exorbitant $4.5M/year contract in a horrible goalie free agent market. I'm still holding out hope for Theodore in the NHL, and when his "worth" is re-evaluated to reflect Marty Turco's pants-dropping contract in Chicago there are several teams unbridled by the Salary Cap who would be able to afford an estimated $1.5-$2M for the Vezina and Hart Trophy winning netminder.

When I asked Osborn how we should kick-off our unveiling of Rock the Red's app for the Droid, he suggested "Is that an Android in your pocket? 'Cause I can see my Caps blog in your pants." Yes, really.

So if you're still reading, here's the details: on your smartest of phones, click on over to this link to be able to take RtR anywhere. If that doesn't seem to work for you, feel free to head over to this link where you will be sent an email to open on the device.

Spiffy, huh? In addition to your continual coverage of the Washington Capitals from us, you will also be able to access other great posts by our Bloguin partners on everything from Sports and Entertainment to Randall Simon's Sausages. And don't fear, loyal iPhone reader - our Apple-friendly app is currently in the process of being approved and should be available soon.

Enjoy, and be sure to let us know your thoughts!

Like a fine wine, Mike Knuble just gets better with age.  On a day when Knuble's former teammate Aaron Ward retired following his third knee surgery, Knuble is still going strong and looking forward to the upcoming season.

During the 2009-10 season, while Mike Knuble was 37 years old, he scored 29 goals and 53 points, finishing as one of the highest scoring unrestricted free agent signings of the summer of 2009, behind only Mikael Samuelsson.  Perhaps most impressive was that he posted the highest goals-per-game average of his career, 0.420, slightly higher than the .415 he posted in 2005-06 as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Not to be a slouch when it mattered most, Knuble also potted 2 goals, 4 assists, and 6 points in the Caps' 7 playoff games, his highest assists per game (.571) and points per game (.857) of his playoff career.  His .286 goals-per-game was his second highest rate of production, behind only 2008-09's 2 goals in 6 games with the Flyers. In contrast to Aaron Ward, who had myriad injury problems, Knuble is the picture of health.  Beyond a couple of claw-like fingers that have been broken, Knuble looks like he could play until he is 44.

Just a quick note on Aaron Ward and Mike Knuble, who were teammates for 7 seasons.   Both Ward and Knuble were drafted in 1991, Ward by the Winnipeg Jets and Knuble by the Detroit Red Wings.  They first became teammates at the University of Michigan from 1991-92 to 1992-93.  Ward left Michigan after a trade sent him to Detroit in 1993, and he split the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons between Detroit and the AHL's Adirondack Red Wings.  It was in the 1994-95 AHL playoffs that Ward and Knuble were re-united, and, aside from a quick NHL stint for Knuble, they spent the 1995-96 season in Adirondack together.  Ward made the show for good in 1996-97 and got his name engraved on the Stanley Cup while Knuble again split time between Detroit and Adirondack.  They played the full season together in 1997-98 and have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup together at the expense of the Washington Capitals.

There has been something nagging at me for about a decade now.  The Washington Capitals have usually had a very diverse roster comprised of the usual Canadians and Americans along with Swedes, Russians, Czechs, Slovaks, and even a Lithuanian and a Ukrainian.  The one nationality that is strongly represented in the NHL that Capitals General Manager George McPhee rarely includes are the Finns.  In this post, I will attempt to quantify his aversion and perhaps go back into his past to see what might have triggered this.  McPhee is widely known and respected as a passionate and loyal person as well as a excellent judge of character and talent, an opinion I share.  At this point, I'm not certain whether McPhee has a bias or if he just knows something we don't.

Is there a Finnish bias? Find out more after the jump!

I had a chance to read two thoughtful and well-researched articles this week on Mathieu Perreault from Russian Machine Never Breaks and On Frozen Blog.  I agree with OFB that Perreault is a no-brainer to start the year at #2 center.  I have to disagree with RMNB's ultimate assessment: I think they underestimated him.  I think Mathieu Perreault is the answer to the Washington Capitals' #2 center vacancy, and I think he will perform at least as well as any #2 center the Caps have had since Michael Nylander in 2002-03.

Perreault, who won't turn 23 until January, is an exceptionally quick and intelligent playmaker.  He is generously listed at 5'10 and 174 pounds, which likely contributed to him being drafted in the 6th round in 2006.  He has a strong junior hockey pedigree, posting huge numbers in the both the QMJHL regular season and playoffs and was 2007 league MVP.

His rookie pro season came in 2008-09 in the AHL and was better than solid: 11 goals and 50 points in 77 games for the Calder Cup winning Herhsey Bears, plus another 8 points in the playoffs.  Last season, he ratcheted up his production to the same 50 points (16 goals) in only 56 games plus another 7 goals and 19 points in 21 playoff games as he won another Cup.  His biggest moment of the postseason was scoring the game-tying goal with 1:13 left and then scoring the overtime series-winning goal to send the Bears to the Conference Final.  As OFB put it, he has a top-six skill set.

Perreault also earned his first NHL action, displaying the excellent playmaking ability that got him drafted and posted the best numbers among the ten Bears call-ups with 4 goals, 5 assists, and 9 points.  Only John Carlson played more than Perreault's 21 games or had better than his +4 plus/minus rating.  He appeared to wear down during an extended 18-game recall in the autumn.  This is typical of young players (see:  Tavares, John), and the physical ability to keep up with older and better conditioned players takes time to develop (see:  Fleischmann, Tomas).

What will keep Perreault in the NHL is something unexpected:  he has shown he has no qualms about going to the net.  Three of his four goals were scored within 3 feet of the cage (Goal 1, Goal 3, Goal 4) and his other came from between the circles against Martin Brodeur (Goal 2).  He also scores when it matters:  his first career goal tied the game in the third period, his second gave the Caps an early 2-0 lead, his third pulled the Caps to within a goal (4-3) in the third on the powerplay, and his fourth was a third period go-ahead goal.

Reading More is Fundimental. Do it here

Looks like the person in charge of commissioning the plaque for the Prince of Wales Trophy, the NHL's award to the Eastern Conference playoff champions, had the same high hopes for the Caps that everyone in DC did. Or at least the same editorial prowess of the Washington Post Express staff. Check out this picture taken at the Chicago Blackhawks' 2-day fan convention, distinctly showing the Capitals on the trophy in error.

So was the misprint to spite Philadelphia? Or is it channeling its inner Magic 8 ball, and foreshadowing next season's outcome?

[Editor's Note: All of the haters can suck it. This is no hoax]