Cap's QAs

Tarik has the list of players who were made qualifying offers by the Caps :

Steve Eminger
John Erskine
Tomas Fleischmann
Jamie Hunt
Milan Jurcina
Jakub Klepis
Brooks Laich
Brian Sutherby
Dave Steckel

Guys who make $660,000 or less get a 10-percent raise (salary maxes out at $1million). Guys who make more than $660,000 get a 5-percent raise.

Here are the guys who didn't get qualifying offers, and thus are being cut loose:

Kris Beech (no surprise)
Jiri Novotny (no surprise)
Matt Stefanishion
Joey Tenute
Jonas Johansson
Louis Robitaille
Maxime Daigneault

I am fine with cutting Kris Beech and Jiri Novotny loose. Beech hasnt proven himself at this level, despite plenty of opportunity to do so while playing on a line with Alex Semin. Novotny was one of those young guys that we took during a trade. Sometimes GMGM gets the steal they were looking for (Jurcina) and sometimes they dont. Novotny just didnt look like he was playing for a roster spot.

But Joey Tenute? Boy makes me squee. He punctured a lung during Hershey's playoffs, and was back a month later in the lineup. Every team needs a couple gritty players who put the team first and Tenute is one of them.

As for the Caps we kept, I am really glad to see Eminger on that list. I know he can be a hot mess on the ice, but he is really young and definitely in development. The Caps did a disservice to their young D-men last season when many of them were not paired consistently with vets. The Caps didnt have much of a choice in that decision, but I think Eminger deserves a chance to prove himself. I know, I know -- if he sucks, then his value as trade bait goes down. But, I am hoping to see him out there in September.

John Erskine? He is awesome. Dude scares small children, but still manages to look like he has a chihuahua named CoCo Chanel at home.

Seeing Tomas Fleischmann on that list was also very squee-worthy. I think Flash is going to be a solid, maybe even exceptional player for an NHL team. He's got moves, he can skate, and he's got curly red hair to match his jersey. Boy needs to gain a few pounds, but he can work on that.

Milan Jurcina is one of those gems that GMGM found and made the right trade for. We got him for a 4th round pick in 2008, and the Bruins can keep kicking themselves in the ass for that one. He eats minutes, lays crushing hits on guys, and you know he gives Shaone Morrisonn one of these on Valentines Day.

Jakub Klepis: glad we kept him, now he has got to show us what he has got...consistently. He kicked ass when we sent him back to Hershey, and we need him to show his skillz up here too.

Dave Steckel: He got a little bit of time with the Caps this season and from what I saw of him, he looked like he was fighting for a spot on the roster. Having seen him in Hershey, it seems like he is a big fish in a small pond down there and the reverse would be true in DC. I think he has definitely got potential, but isnt he a checking line forward with the Caps? And dont we have a glut of those? That said, I really like him and we'll see how it plays out at training camp.

Now, lets see who gets traded, what free agents get signed, and how many times GMGM can make us squee this summer.
(x posted on Cap Addiction)