There has been much debate about whether the Capitals should sign center Mike Ribeiro to a long-term contract or if he should be traded at the trade deadline.  At 33 years old, Mike Ribeiro would be 38 at the end of a 5-year contract, which is his stated desire.  There is little debate about how good Ribeiro has been this season for the Capitals, sitting 17^th in NHL scoring with 35 points in 35 games.  He has been instrumental to the Capitals staying in the playoff chase; he truly has been the productive, veteran #2 center the Capitals have needed since Sergei Fedorov left in 2009, and players like him don’t come around too often, which means the Capitals should try to hold on to him. 

Most people don’t seem to be worried about the first 2-3 years of a potential Ribeiro contract and seem fairly confident that George McPhee’s initial contract offer of 3 years and $14 million was a fair deal and safe for the Capitals, even if a no-movement clause was included.  Ribeiro has averaged 20 goals and 65 points per year over the last 8 seasons on two different teams and has continued that high production on a third team. People are concerned that by the 4^th or 5^th year of such a contract that Ribeiro will not be performing at the same level he is now and won’t be worth the $5 million a season he is likely to be making.  The reason: most players experience a decline in performance when they reach their late 30s, if they are still playing at all, and such a big contract for a diminished player may hurt the Capitals' salary cap structure.  If people are sure that Ribeiro will be good for 3 years, why is it so harmful to give him a fourth and fifth year?  How far does his performance have to drop for a $5 million contract to not be worth it?  As long as Ribeiro does not have a no-movement clause after year 3, his contract isn’t nearly as risky as it may seem on the surface.  It also may be worth paying market value for three years for a couple of overpaid seasons, though McPhee can mitigate the risk and structure the contract to pay him less money after year 3. After all, Sergei Fedorov was pushing 40 when the Capitals acquired him, much like Igor Larionov and Ron Francis were elder statesmen when they met in the 2002 Stanley Cup Final.  It may be useful to see some recent examples of what players like Ribeiro have accomplished in their late 30s. 

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Fang Finger is a Nashville-based blogger for the website Fang Faction.

Martin Erat is a skilled forward just past the prime of his career. The Czech Republican native is a great skater and has an excellent shot, when he decides to release the puck. Often in his career, Erat has been known to be a pass first, shoot second forward, which didn’t help in the Predators’ situation, but could do so in the nation’s capital. Erat will be able to feed players like Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Troy Brouwer and Mike Ribeiro, who are capable of scoring a large amount of goals in a season.

The 31 year old is an excellent skater and has good puck control. Erat is not a very physical forward, but can get rough if necessary. This season, he has played in 36 games posting 21 points (4 goals, 17 assists). “Marty should go in there and make the playoffs [for the team],” said General Manager David Poile. “That deal does it for them.”

Not too many people can give a scouting report on Michael Latta, except if they live in Milwaukee where the Predators’ farm team is located. Most of Latta’s professional career has been played with the Admirals, but he is only a step away from being NHL ready.

Latta has a big body and will throw it around. He could be an effective fourth liner for the Capitals during the playoffs, if the time comes. He was drafted 72nd overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, while with the Guelph Storm in the OHL, where he was most successful putting up 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) in 68 games during the 2010-11 season.

His performance at the junior level promoted Latta to the Admirals, where he spent this season scoring 25 points (9 goals, 26 assists) in 67 games.

Wheeeeeeee! (@CapsGoalieLove)

The Washington Capitalse simply refused to die on Saturday night in Buffalo, New York, battling back from two two-goal deficits to beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in a shootout at First Niagara Center.  The Sabres took leads of 2-0 and 3-1, but could not put away Washington, who got goals from Alex Ovechkin, Troy Brouwer, and then Mike Green to draw even with only 39 seconds remaining regulation.  Despite pressing for much of overtime, the Caps could not get another goal to win the game in 65 minutes, so needed to rely on the sootout.  Matt Hendricks and Ovechkin made quick work of Jhonas Enroth in the skills competition to give the Caps the two points and raise their record to 16-17-1, two back of the final playoff spot in the East and five back of the  Southeast Division lead.  According to SportsClubStats, their chances at the playoffs are now 32.5%.

As good as their final 25 minutes were, the Caps could not have had a worse opening 20 minutes.  Coming off a very poor loss against the Islanders in midweek, the Caps were outplayed, outhustled, and outscored in the opening period by a decidedly bad Sabres team, making them climb uphill to get the two points.  As great as this win was, the Caps can’t fall behind like that against bad teams and be considered real contenders to win any hardware.  They have to play consistent games for 60 minutes if they want to make the playoffs, let along win anything if they get there.  Still, the battle-back was impressive.

Read on for more analysis.

The Isles took advantage of a slow start and mistakes to take two big points. (WP)

For the second time this season, the New York Islanders have denied the Washington Capitals in their quest to win four consecutive games.  The Caps lost to New York 3-2 on Tuesday night at Verizon Center, dropping a golden chance to keep pace with the teams in front of them in the standings.  After falling behind early in the first period on two straight goals from the slot, Washington battled back with markers from Mike Ribeiro and John Carlson to get on level terms.  A strong showing following those two markers was all for naught in the end, however, as a bad play at the end of a shift led the Islanders’ game winner with a little more than five minutes to go in regulation.  Making things worse was that both the Rangers and Jets won on Tuesday, putting the Capitals seven and four points out of the Southeast Division lead and eight spot in the Eastern Conference, respectively.  Now 15-17-1, the Caps’ chances to make the playoffs are 21.4%, according to SportsClubStats.

Mike Green, in no uncertain terms, cost the Capitals on or two points this evening with his bad play along the goal line late in the third period.  Brooks Laich tried to take blame for it after the game, saying that he put Green in a tough spot, but the reality is that Green tried to do too much with the puck; he should have just made his pass and gone on with his life.  Instead, Matt Moulson forced a turnover and John Tavares broke free of his man to get the Isles’ game winner.  Other than that, I thought Green played well, but the play in this instance is what matters, though this is not a regular occurrence for the Caps’ best offensive defenseman anymore.  Still, a very tough pill to swallow for Green and the team in general as they battle for the playoffs.

Read more about the game here.

What's the best course of action for this slick centerman? (Clydeorama)

With the April 3rd NHL trading deadline closing fast, the Washington Capitals’ management has a terribly big decision to make: what to do with 33 year-old center Mike Ribeiro.  Ribeiro, who was acquired at the draft for Cody Eakin and a second-round pick, has impressed during his first season with the Caps, putting up points at a steady pace and being omnipresent in Washington’s attacks as he enjoys a career year.  He’s a big piece of the team, and as such, the debate on what to do with Ribeiro has raged for most of the season.  Now, it’s time to make the decision.

First of all, it’s obvious this year that Ribeiro has been the Capitals’ best player in terms of consistent offensive production this season.  Let’s get that out of the way right now – he can skate, create, and pass well.  Coming in to Washington’s game on Tuesday with the Islanders, Ribeiro’s 34 points lead the Caps – he is three clear of captain Alex Ovechkin.  He has been a catalyst for the Capitals offensively and his brilliant passing on the power play has clearly been one of the engines, along with Oates’ great man advantage design to isolate Ovechkin, behind what is the NHL’s best unit while a man to the good.  He is tied for the league lead in power play points with Montreal’s Andrei Markov.  Trading him would undoubtedly make the team worse in the short-term, and would, in all likelihood, end the Capitals’ playoff hopes for 2013.

Read on to find out the positives of moving Ribeiro.

Nicklas Backstrom celebrates his power-play goal in the first period Sunday. (NYP)

Sunday night was another winning night for the Washington Capitals, who extended their streak of victories to three with a thrilling, dramatic, shootout win over the New York Rangers inside Madison Square Garden.  After taking a 2-0 lead in the first ten minutes of the game off of goals from Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin, the Rangers got goals from Aaron Asham on a break and then Derek Stepan on a 5vs3 power play to tie the game late in the first.  A scoreless final 45 minutes set the stage for the shootout, where Nicklas Backstrom won the game in the bottom of the fourth with a quick wrister past Lundqvist.  With the win, Washington improves to 15-16-1, five points out of the Southeast Division and two out of a playoff spot.  According to SportsClubStats, their chance of making the playoffs is now 34.7%.

What a roller coaster of a game.  A furious first period with both teams exchanging two-goal bursts was followed by a lot more end-to-end action, rushes up ice, and excitement between two desperate teams.  Though there were not a ton of shots in the game, both squads got chances in bunches and it was truly thrilling to watch these two teams leave it all on the ice during 65 minutes of fast-paced, electric hockey, especially in the third period and overtime.  The Capitals got the extra point, a huge extra point, in the shootout, further plugging the idea that they can make the playoffs.  Games like this are why hockey is the greatest game in the world; it was a spectacle.

Enjoy this, kids.  Is there much of it left? (WFP)

Friday night was another great night for the Washington Capitals as they humiliated the host Winnipeg Jets 6-1 on their home ice for a second consecutive win and a third in four games.  Alex Ovechkin scored another two goals, one of which on the power play, to pace the Caps as they played another complete game to slowly eke further forward in the Eastern Conference playoff race.  Mike Green, Jay Beagle, Troy Brouwer, and Brooks Laich also scored for Washington while Braden Holtby made 30 saves for another victory in the Washington cage.  With their win, the Caps are now 14-16-1 for 29 standings points and, according to SportsClubStats, their chances of making the playoffs are up over 25%.  Mercy.

The Jets came out hard and fast, desperate to get the sour taste of a Thursday night whitewashing out of their mouths by playing hard, physical hockey.  That drew two early power plays for the home team, but the Caps killed them off brilliantly, setting the tone for the whole game.  The Caps were dominated in possession in the first period but somehow found a way to be up 2-0 after 20 minutes because they took advantage of their chances and stifled the Jets’ power plays with great penalty killing.  They carried their momentum through for the entire game and earned a brilliant result for the second consecutive night.

On The Road Again-The Hershey Bears will become much acquainted with the inside of their bus over the next 5 weeks. To finish the regular season, Hershey faces 11 out of 14 games on the road. The highways of the Northeast United States will be their home as they rack up over 3,800 miles. Tonight they will face the Connecticut Whale who are tied with the Bears at 68 points in the Eastern Conference and hold the final playoff spot. Hershey holds a game in hand and sits in the 7^th spot in the Conference. Both teams have short win streaks headed into the tilt. Hershey will need to continue to get points if they plan to stay ahead of a number of teams close behind them in the playoff race. Saturday the Bears will play Manchester and then Sunday off to Worcester for a game. Manchester and Worcester are in desperate need of points in the playoff race as they sit just outside the bubble but within reach. The Bears need to play with urgency over the final 5 weeks or the teams fighting to make the playoffs could put the Bears in the rear view mirror.

Washington West-It seems former Hershey Bears/Washington Capitals Head Coach Bruce Boudreau is turning back the clocks somewhat with roster moves in Anaheim. Sheldon Souray, played for the Bears back during the 2010-2011 season and was signed this past summer by the Ducks after a year in Dallas. He has certainly been a rock for them so far on the blue line. Former Bear, Kyle Wilson was acquired on March 11 and assigned to Norfolk. He has 2 goals and 2 assists in his first 5 games with the Admirals. And just last week, former Bear/Capital Dave Steckel was acquired from Toronto. Dave Steckel is a big body that could help the Ducks on the penalty kill and on faceoffs. It seems Gabby and Woodsie like familiar faces around.

Bears Blue Liners go to Washington-This week Dmitry Orlov became the 12^th defensemen to suit up for the Washington Capitals this season. The list of Hershey Bear defensemen who have suited up in the red this year continues to grow: Tomas Kundratek, Steven Oleksy, Dmitry Orlov, Cameron Schilling. Tom Poti even played a game in Chocolatetown for a conditioning stint. Philipp Grubauer backstopped the Capitals for 2 games this season as well while Neuvirth was unavailable. The Washington playoff picture has a lot to do with Hershey’s expectations as they fight to stay in the playoff race and to play deep into June. All this movement to DC plus a trade last week that saw Bears defensemen Kevin Marshall traded to Toronto for Nicolas DesChamps. With the defense being the foundation of Oates’ system, Hershey is hoping for a healthy defensive corp in DC to help Hershey maintain their defensive stance.

Go Bears. 

The Washington Capitals made room on the active roster for the return of defenseman Mike Green by placing RW Joey Crabb on waivers today.  If Crabb is not claimed by another team by tomorrow at noon, he will report to the AHL's Hershey Bears. 

Crabb was signed last summer to a 1-year, 1-way $950,000 contract with the intent of having more offensive punch from the fourth line.  Crabb, 29, scored 11 goals and 26 points in Toronto last season, but has only scored 2 goals and 0 assists in 26 games with the Caps. 

For the smallish Crabb, being picked up by another NHL team is a good possibility.  He gives an honest effort every night in all 3 zones, he goes hard to the net, and he's willing to throw his weight around.  For teams in need of a depth checking winger, they could do a lot worse. 

Follow Andy Green on Twitter.

Alex Ovechkin had the best game of his season Thursday in a Caps win. (WFP)

The Washington Capitals got back in the win column on Thursday night, taking the first half of a back-to-back in Winnipeg by a final score of 4-0 at the MTS Centre.  Washington got off to a great start, totally dominating the opening 20 minutes of play and getting goals from Troy Brouwer and Marcus Johansson to take a 2-0 lead in to the first intermission.  The Caps would grind the rest of the game out, playing stout defense until the final six minutes of the game in which they scored twice to double their advantage and silence the usually rowdy MTS Centre crowd.

Alex Ovechkin paced the way with a goal and two assists while Nicklas Backstrom also collected a multiple-point night with a goal and an apple.  Braden Holtby made 19 saves for his fourth shutout of the season for DC, who raised their record to 13-16-1.  According to SportsClubStats, the Capitals, who are now seven back of first place in the Division and five back of the final playoff spot in the Conference, have a 15.7% chance to make the playoffs and a 6% chance to win the Southeast.  That’s a jump of almost 10% and 4%, respectively, than the beginning of the day.