Slight Overstatement of the Day

Fox News reports that the Capitals added defensive depth today by signing Danny Richmond to a two way contract to play with the Hershey Bears.

While technically true, I tend to think of depth as the players who are likely to end up playing ten or twelve games with a team down the stretch, and making significant contributions in that time. As some tiny site designed to help fantasy hockey players with their drafts puts it, Richmond "is likely to spend the entire season playing with AHL Hershey."

Now, it's exciting that the Bears have a talented, twenty-six year old defenseman to play with. If he does well, it would certainly be nice to see Richmond get another shot at the NHL, where he has played 49 games and registered three assists; one with Carolina and two with Chicago in 06-07 and 07-08, where he must have learned a thing or two from playing with a younger version of the 2010 Stanley Cup Champions.

Does that resume qualify Richmond to climb up the depth chart past Mike Green, Dennis Wideman, Karl Alzner, John Carlson, Jeff Schultz, John Erskine, Tom Poti, Sean Collins, Maxim Orlov or Patrick McNeil? Well, Poti or even Green could be on injured reserve all season, so we'll have to wait and see how Richmond plays in training camp.

With a couple of injuries, he may only have to be a better fit for a game or two than Collins and Orlov. Now that half the South-East division is heavily loaded up on former Chicago players, Richmond's personal knowledge of divisional opponents could make him an asset. Of course, Troy Brouwer brings the same knowledge, so maybe this is just a sign that the Caps, too, liked the Blackhawks' style.

No matter why he's here, it sure is exciting to see a team add a twenty-six year old defenseman who already has more than half a season of NHL experience, spread over three years. Most defensemen don't make it out of the minors until their mid to late twenties, because the position is so strategically complex. Richmond possesses a rare mix of youth and experience at the position. However, he didn't crack the Maple Leafs lineup last year even after they traded away Tomas Kaberle, so I'll season my optimism with a spoonful of caution.