Tarik from the Washington Post is reporting the Washington Capitals have inked a 4 year deal, no money terms released yet, that lands the big Center many Caps fans have been waiting for to line up with Alex Ovechkin.  The Caps and Michael Nylander have agreed to terms.   The Washington Capitals have confirmed the signing.   Nylander played for the Capitals in 2002-03.

It’s a done deal. After nearly two full days of negotiations — and a premature report out of Edmonton — Michael Nylander, who was the Caps’ top free agent choice, is headed back to Washington. It’s a four year deal. I don’t know the money yet, but will get that to you as soon as I find out.

With the signing of Nylander, the signing yesterday of Victor Kozlov looks even better.  A starting line of Ovechkin, Nylander and Kozlov could be a punishing line that could rack up serious offense.  Nylander comes to the Caps from the New York Rangers.  Nylander put up 83 points last season (26 goals, 57 assists). 

Reportedly, Nylander was the number one target of the capitals, and that ebing the case, kudos to George McPhee for landing him.  A combination with Kozlov makes the first line pretty darn exciting.  Don’t forget what this also means to the capitals.  Nylander has had a very successful career and he will now mentor our young 19 year old future front line center, Nicklas Backstrom.  From a growth standpoint, this is even a bigger deal for the Capitals.  Good job Ted and GMGM on a great singing!

Welcome back Michael!

Our good friend over at Japer’s Rink reports that the reported deal that lands C Michael Nylander in Edmonton is indded not a done deal yet.

I just spoke with Allan Watt, the Oilers VP of Communications, and he confirmed that the Michael Nylander deal has not been signed.

The deal is done when [GM] Kevin Lowe tells me it’s done.

When asked what the impediments to an agreement were, Watt said, “It could be any number of things.” Including that Nylander was still listening to offers from other clubs.

Kudos to Japer.

Yo Ted … let us be one of those making an offer!

Dimitiri Young, signed to a minor league contract in the off-season, after being released for personal reasons, has put together an improbable year that led him to starter at first base and now being names to the National League All Star team as the only Nat gaining recognition, or even deserving recognition. And you have to like Young for who he is and what he has become.

“I’ve come full circle, and basically this made it official,” he said. “Let this be a lesson to people who deal with adversity. Never quit and keep fighting.”

Kudos to Dimitri, because his personal turnaround is and even greater achievement.

Young’s .340 batting average ranks third in the NL. His .392 on-base percentage and .502 slugging percentage are tops on a Washington roster that desperately has needed his production.

and his baseball numbers are pretty darn impressive as well!

On a team that has gioven rare excitement and who’s performance, both in ptuiching and offense has been dismal, Young has been the rare success story for the Nationals. Wander how long it will be until they dump Young for ‘more prospects’.

Congrats to Dimitri Young from DCPSR!

By now you know the Bullets drafted SG Nick Young of USC in the first round and Dominic McGuire of Fresno in the second round of the NBA draft. Both guys are a decent bet to make the team. Young will probably start in the seemingly-unlikely event of the Bullets not being able to come to a contract agreement with free agent Deshawn Stevenson. In my opinion, Young ought to be allowed to compete for the starting job no matter what, but the team, at the moment, appears to regard him as a backup for now. I don’t really understand that, but perhaps I’m giving Young more credit than he deserves. I understand he didn’t go in the lottery, but I think Young is easily a lottery talent and has an offensive game that is ready for the NBA. Stevenson had the best year of his career with the Bullets in 2006-07, but I think a superior talent like Young could really turn the Bullets offensive from dangerous to devastating.

Ivan Carter has done some thinking about the Bullets draft and reminds us that bringing along the kids is going to be a big job this year, since Young isn’t the only first round pick making his debut with the team.

[T]he Wizards will essentially will be working with two first rounders this summer: Nick Young and the man called “Pesh.” Nobody in the VC is saying that Oleksiy Pecherov is going to be an all star this season but the optimism surrounding the 7-foot-0, 245-pound gym rat is unmistakable. As for Young, Ernie Grunfeld was glowing when he sat down to discuss the pick about a half hour after it went down. The coaching staff likes Young as well.

And what’s the word on Dominic McGuire, the team’s second round pick?

[T]he word on second-round pick Dominic McGuire is that his defensive skills are impressive. He’s a 6-foot-8, 210-pounder can defend three spots (SG, SF and PF), run the floor and put it on the deck and get to the rim. He also ranked fifth in the nation in blocks (3.6 per game). Those attributes are needed off that bench, big time.

Okay, so that covers Young and McGuire. But what about the other rookie showing up this summer? What about OPec?

The kid has lived in that gym since he got here and that endears him to everybody. As Ernie said about his sweet J: “It goes in a lot.” Well said. That’s what I’ve seen. I’ve watched Pesh go through shooting drills several times now and his shot always seems to be “on.” (Note: I’ve seen him with no hands in the face. No shot clock. No pressure.) He’ll also hit you off-glass old school style from either wing and, he has a nasty little pump fake that turns into a hard dribble and a pull up J. Those go in as well.

My take: I can’t wait to get to Las Vegas for summer league because I haven’t seen enough of Pesh, Young or McGuire to truly form an opinion. How will Pesh look after another year under his belt? How does Nick Young’s shooting range and ability to create off the dribble transfer to a new level of competition? How about the kid’s defense and ability to pick up an offense? How about the little things we always tend to forgot such as screening, cutting, instincts with the rock in the open floor, etc? Those babies are more important than anything come playoff time….. As for McGuire, is he long enough to get a hand in the face of 6-10 and 6-11 power forwards with range and can he be a beast on those boards, thus earning a special place in Eddie Jordan’s heart? I do know this: Gilbert likes the selection of Young and that doesn’t hurt anything.

The issue many have highlighted as a critical area in need of improvement is defense. OPec [the only DC Pro Sports Report-approved nickname for Oleksiy Pecherov] and Young are unlikely to transform the team into a defensive stalwart. As for McGuire, he’s still only a rookie and won’t be able to help that much on defense if his offense — as expected — isn’t good enough to keep him on the court ahead of Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison. [Let’s face it, McGuire is a 2nd round pick. Just making the team will be a good showing for him.] So don’t expect a lot of defensive help from the new kids. What defensive improvement there is, if any, will have to come from the existing roster — unless Grunfeld can pull of a blockbuster trade, using some combination of Brendan Haywood, Etan Thomas, and Antonio Daniels. [For the record, I like Daniels and don’t want him traded unless it really brings in something sweet.] The bottom line is that Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler are actually going to have to make an effort on defense to get stops. Going for steals isn’t going to be enough. Forget about Jamison, he is what he is. It would also help if Haywood sticks around and works hard this upcoming season. The team is much better defensively when he’s on the court.

Maybe an important addition to the team is one that hasn’t happened yet and is likely to receive the least amount of notice. The Bullets have spoken to Tom Thibodeau, a defensive minded pro hoops coach who worked under Jeff Van Gundy when Ernie Grunfeld was the GM of the Knicks. Jamsion aside, the Bullets have enough length and athleticism to be a pretty good defensive team. The fact that they are not good and are, in fact, quite terrible at defense, is an indictment not only of the current coaching staff, but the players, as well. Perhaps Thibodeau, if he’s brought on board, will make a difference.

Ok, so the Capitals walk thus far with a power play quarterback in D Tom Poti and a pretty good puck handler that can be aggressive in C/RW Victor Kozlov. Free agency has just begun, but several top free agenst are gone, such as Daniel Briere (Flyers), Chris Drury (Rangers), Scott Gomez (Rangers) Kariya (St. Loius) and now reports are circling the web that Michael Nylander is about to sign with Edmonton. Alexie Yashin is still out there and the Caps reportedly have some interest there.

What does it all mean for the Caps? Where the big splash? Is this just another let down? Alot of questions will be answered over the next week. Gotta admit, this is not what I expected. Of the 4 centers above, I guess I was anticipating a bit of urgency from McPhee and Leonsis by adding a top line Center to aid the Ovechkin line. But then again, I don’t think Drury, Briere or Gomez are worth the $6 to $7 million per year, and to bring them to DC you would have likely had to add a half or full million on to that. Economically infeasible, especially in a town that has not fully committed to supporting hockey. Is the top line Center Kozlov or shall we expect another move, perhaps Yashin. We’ll soon see. Read the rest of this entry »

NBA teams can’t sign anyone to a contract until July 11, but the negotiations began at midnight on Sunday, as the offers and counter-offers began flying. For Bullets GM Ernie Grunfeld, the priority is on retaining the team’s free agents. According to The Washington Times, the Bullets have offered Deshawn Stevenson a 3-year contract worth $9 million and are preparing to react to a 4 or 5-year contract offer worth almost $4 million a year from the Cleveland Cavaliers to Andray “Bulletproof” Blatche.

Because Blatche is a restricted free agent, the Wizards are allowed to match any offer he receives. That gives the team more flexibility, and it is unlikely the Wizards will match an offer right away. Instead, they will let New Jersey’s offer sit there and see whether any other team is interested in Blatche before making a decision.

 

The Wizards will be over the salary cap next season, meaning they can use just their mid-level exception (starting at $4.5 million) to re-sign him. The salary cap, which was $53.1 million last season (7.3 percent more than the year before), is expected to be announced today. A similar jump would put the cap at about $57 million.

 

“We’re over the cap, that’s for sure,” Grunfeld said. “And we’re going to be over the cap, regardless of what comes out.”

 

The Wizards also have the veterans’ exception, and a source said yesterday the team is likely give it to Calvin Booth, an unrestricted free agent who spent the last two seasons with Washington….

The Wizards have seven players already signed to contracts, totaling more than $53 million. The team also has to sign last year’s top pick, Oleksiy Pecherov, and this year’s picks, first-rounder Nick Young and second-rounder Dominic McGuire, bringing the team to 10 signed players.

However, Ivan Carter of The Washington Post warns readers not to consider that $9 million contract offer to Deshawn a done deal:

Just got off the phone after making some calls. 1. Don’t pay to much attention to the report that the Wiz were set to offer DeShawn 3 years, $9 million today. That figure is just a starting point for negotiations I’m told. No way DeShawn takes that anyway. After the season he told me that he’d take less elsewhere again before taking something like the 3-year, $10 million offer he turned down from Orlando last summer. He’s looking for a five-year deal with a nice chunk of that mid-level. My guess is that the sides will find middle ground and he’ll get something for around $4 million in the first year. 2. As long as nobody offers Blatche a ridiculous deal, the Wiz will match and he’ll be here. 3. All is quiet regarding B Haywood trade talk. I hear that things will heat up later this summer after teams have explored all of their trade/free agent options. There’s a chance he could be back.

Firstly, I’m glad the Bullets intend to retain Calvin Booth. He’s not a starting center, but he’s still a valuable reserve who can give the team 10-12 minutes a night of decent basketball. He’ll rebound, block a shot or two and if he’s left unguarded at 14 feet, he can knock down that shot. With both Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas on the trading block, having a sober and savvy veteran like Booth around will be a good thing. Truth be told, he probably should have played more than he did last year. That doesn’t say anything good about Haywood or Thomas, but it does say something good about Booth.

Secondly — and I can’t stress this enough — hanging on to Bulletproof is an absolute must. No ifs ands or buts about it. If the team loses Blatche it loses a key component of their future. If he’d spent the last two years in college Bulletproof would have been a lottery pick in this year’s draft. He was under-used by Coach Eddie Jordan during the season and criminally under-used in the playoffs. I’m actually glad the kid is about to get a nice pay hike because, if he does and the Bullets keep him, Jordan will pretty much HAVE to play him. If that’s what it takes to get Bulletproof on the court, so be it.

Ernie — Bubbaluh — if you have to choose between Stevenson and Blatche, you keep the kid that’s 6′11″ tall. It is NOT OKAY to lose Andray Blatche. NOT. OKAY.

Thirdly, there is the mess at center, with Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas. Something will have to be done here. But what?

As for trades and the upcoming free agency period….if any Wiz move, it will be either Etan Thomas or Brendan Haywood. The worst kept secret in that organization is that one of them has to go. So far, Ernie hasn’t gotten anyone to bite on Etan and his nasty contract (three years at $6.37, $6.86, $7.35). As for Haywood, he is very movable but it’s hard for Ernie to get equal value in return…

I commend Grunfeld for not being in a hurry to trade Haywood. My view all along is that Brendan has value in this league and the Bullets should not be in a hurry to get rid of value — particularly if they are not receiving equal value in return. Haywood is a legitimate 7-footer who can start for a fair number of NBA teams and his contract is extremely cap-friendly. He’s a soft rebounder and something of a slacker, but the contract is sweet and you can’t coach height — either a player has it or he does not and Haywood has it. If a reasonable deal for Haywood presents itself, I’m sure Grunfeld won’t hesitate to pull the trigger. Otherwise, what’s the hurry? Ernie can still instruct his head coach and his once-and-possibly-future starting center to just work out their problems for the good of the team. The Bullets are under no obligation to trade Haywood simply because he and the coach don’t send each other Christmas cards.

Finally, it looks like the Jarvis Hayes era has ended for the Bullets. I say this with no malice, because everything I’ve read and seen indicates he’s a genuinely decent human being and he’s certainly never gotten into any trouble since turning pro, but I’m glad Hayes will be moving on. For all the talk about what a beautiful shot he put up, he didn’t hit many. Frankly, I’m not in love with a guy who chucks the most heartbreakingly lovely bricks in the NBA. Hayes was given plenty of chances here in Washington. I wish him better luck with injuries and his jumper elsewhere.

The Caps made their second move of free agency by inking forward Victor Kozlov to a 2 year deal worth $5 million. Kozlov adds some scoring to the Capitals front line. Last season, Kozlov scored 25 goals and 26 assists with the New York Rangers. Kozlov is likely slated for the Ovechkin line to compliment and provide quality passing to the young super scorer. Another big part of this signing is Kozlov’s decent performance in shootouts, and we all remember how bad the Caps were at the overtime shootouts.