| 26 May 2009
Quite a few stories have surfaced about the Capitals over the past two days, two of them about players heading to the KHL. Here's a quick rundown of the news you can use:
Thanks to Tuvanhillbilly of Japers' Rink, it's confirmed that Viktor Kozlov will indeed return to Russia to play in the KHL. No surprise here, Kozlov is worth more in the KHL than he is in the NHL moneywise. The type of contract he can pull in the KHL will dwarf what the Capitals would be willing to offer, and unless Kozlov wanted to make a run at Lord Stanley on a bargain-bin price the best place for him is Russia.
Sergei Fedorov is still in talks with the Caps, but Tarik El-Bashir reports that the Capitals need to make a decision "soon." As we previously reported, Fedorov has a juicy two-year $3.8 million contact offer from KHL team Metallurg dangling in front of him. Reading between the lines, unless the Capitals are willing to offer a one-year contract in that region, Fedorov will be returning to Russia.
While most of the news has been doom-and-gloom concerning some of Ovie's best friends, the Caps haven't been total losers in the free agent market. The Caps acquired some depth at center for next season, signing rookie-camp standout Jake Hauswirth. From the media relations team...
"Hauswirth, 21, is a 6’5”, 210-pound native of Merrill, Wis., who has spent the last two seasons with the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL). He scored 28 goals and added 24 assists (52 points) in 58 games this season, tied for the team lead in goals and fourth in points. He led all Lancer forwards and was second on the team with a +16 plus/minus rating.
Hauswirth helped lead Omaha to the USHL championship as a rookie in 2007-08, recording 13 goals and 10 assists (23 points) in 57 games."
Not a bad signing, and with the Capitals likely to pick up at least one or two centers for the big club from Hershey, Hauswirth has a home in Hershey or South Carolina waiting. At 6'5, 210, he fits right in line with the physical makeup of the Caps, a notoriously large team, so Hershey fans have something other than another potential Calder Cup to be happy about.
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