It's fun to write about sports. In this internet age, anybody can publish an essay about sports. You can say anything you want to. You can say that your favorite team is better than another team. You can say that your favorite team would be better if they gave more opportunities to your favorite player. People will read anything.
This is why you have a responsibility to think your thoughts through before you publish them. It's okay to write multiple drafts. It's alright to change your thesis. Until the public sees it, there's no shame in completely switching up the direction of your article when you realize that you've written something completely absurd.
But when you publish seven pages on whether the Caps should get rid of Jeff Schultz or Alexander Semin in order to make room for the free agent signing of a thirty-eight year old John Madden, well, you've got only yourself to blame.
John Madden is a consistent fourth line center who has been part of three championship teams. Last year he scored ten goals while missing the playoffs with the Minnesota Wild.
Schultz has led all NHL defensemen in plus/minus, the stat that measures whether a player helps his team outscore the opposition during the time he is on the ice. Schultz is the biggest player on the Capitals and is just entering his prime. On a third defensive pairing with Dennis Wideman, Schultz is certainly an asset who will help the Capitals in the playoffs.
Semin is a great player. He is entirely unreplaceable with any currently available free agent. Ten years ago, yes, you'd rather have Alexei Kovalev than a teenage Semin, but right now, you wouldn't want to trade him without getting an equivalent offensive player.
The Lightning get a lot of credit for being tough and having "role players" who contribute, but back when Barry Melrose was their general manager, it was often pointed out that he was putting together an all-star team for 2001. The Lightning didn't beat the Caps because they had a bunch of scrappy ne'er do-wells and a strong game plan. The Lightning won because they got secondary scoring from guys like Ryan Malone and Simon Gagne who used to provide primary scoring on better teams.
The Caps have already overhauled their supporting cast. They've already brought in Troy Brouwer to bring a perspective on how the Chicago Blackhawks won their most recent Stanley Cup. They've tried bringing in Jason Arnott to tell their youngsters tales of the New Jersey Devils' championship strategies, and that didn't get them far. They've brought in a veteran defensive center to anchor their checking line in Jeff Halpern. What else Can Madden offer Washington?
If John Madden wants to join the Caps as a thirty-eight year old, he's not going to get a million dollars because he doesn't bring anything unique. He's welcome to ride shotgun on one more title run, but he's not going to force the Caps to trade away a former first round pick who has panned out roughly as expected in either Schultz or Semin.
Madden's skillful role playing could certainly find a spot in the Caps' lineup come playoff time, and a combination of Madden and Halpern could win as many faceoffs and kill more penalties than the Caps' recent combination of Gordon and Steckel. But the Caps don't need to give up a chunk of the future of their blueline to get it. Madden just has to want to contend badly enough to take what's left at the edges of Washington's salary structure. It worked for Tomas Vokoun.
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