By Katie Brown (@callyourbluff)
February 27, 2012. A day that will live on in the pantheon of the uneventful, at least for the Washington Capitals.
All day, hockey fans were glued to their TVs and computers, awaiting news of trades and roster shakeups. The excitement was palpable. Would Rick Nash ever escape from Columbus? Would Hamrlik or Knuble find new homes? Would Montreal trade the whole team?
The most important question on the minds of Capitals fans was what the team would look like at the end of the day (or 3 p.m.). George McPhee, ninja GM extraordinaire, no doubt had something fabulous up his finely-tailored sleeve. Or not.
At 3 p.m. on February 27, 2012, the trade deadline had passed, and the Washington Capitals had done…absolutely nothing. There weren’t even whispers of moves being made by the organization, and at 5 p.m., McPhee addressed the media regarding his decision to keep the current roster unchanged.
“We weren’t interested in moving anyone out of here and we didn’t. We would have added something to the team if we thought it would make us better, but it had to make us better. What transpired today, there wasn’t anything there that would have been the right thing for our club,” McPhee said.
In short, it’s not that McPhee didn’t try to make any moves, he just couldn’t find the right fit. McPhee didn’t make a move just for the sake of making a move. Anything he would have done would have been a band-aid for larger problems. Sure, McPhee didn’t solve any of the team’s problems, but he didn’t create any either. Earlier today, Pierre LeBrun, in his trade deadline wrap-up, praised McPhee, saying he “took a knee,” and made the right move by not making any moves.
McPhee noted that it was a tough year to be a buyer, with so many teams in playoff contention, most teams were looking to add instead of sell. “Everybody wanted to add and there was no one selling. Everyone wants action, everyone wants deals, but you get in there and you see nothing but feathers,” said McPhee.
Some think this move (or lack thereof) means McPhee has given up on the Capitals season. It is quite the opposite. McPhee showed immense confidence in the current team, and as scary as that might be, given the uncertainty of Backstrom’s return, that is a cause we all can get behind. McPhee said, “We can make the playoffs with this team and if [Backstrom] comes back, we can beat anybody in this conference.”
(In case you were wondering, no one wanted to adopt Rick Nash, he was too expensive. And no, Montreal did not trade the entire team, though maybe they should have given Plekanec to the Capitals, just in case.)
For a full list of trades, click here.
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