Caps @ Canadiens 1-5-2007 Wrap Up

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post. Times.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire. Canadian Press Wire.

The Other Side:

The Gazette: chumps, tough crowd, PIPE DREAMS.

Final Thoughts:

If there was a point where it was no longer worth getting worked up over these incessant "Please get out of Washington and come play in our city where you will be appreciated A.O." columns it was hit with Friday's laughably bad article claiming he's canceled his contract. Folks, there's no point in worrying about A.O. bolting for another NHL team this summer because simply put, the Caps management isn't going to let that happen. A.O. could return home, but I don't think that's very likely because he wants to play in the NHL and Russia is not the NHL. IMHO, the question isn't how much are the Caps going to pay A.O., because you know the guy is going to get paid top dollar. The question is how long will the team and player commit to a contract. We laugh at Rick DiPietro's 20 year deal on Long Island but would a 10 or 12 year contract for A.O. be out of line? Look and laugh at these pipe dreams for what they are. Ignore and bash the fools who say that they Caps should or could or might want to consider trading A.O., even if "they're just throwing it out there" for the purposes of a conversation. And the next time you see Caps management and Caps bloggers bashing and complaining about the coverage of the Caps in the local media, remind them that it only adds fuels to these fires about Washington being a lousy hockey market. And for the writers of these articles, yes Washington may not be a hotbed of hockey, but at least this franchise has stayed out of bankruptcy.

42 down, 40 to go.