The Promise That Could Be Potsy
If we were to view the Caps as a three-legged barstool that's a little bit wobbly right about now, consensus might be that the weak leg is the team's blueline. A fair number of fans on line in the past week expressed disappointment with the team's failure to upgrade the position at the trade deadline. But could help still arrive? It's possible. From my vantage, Milan Jurcina's best hockey this season came while paired with Karl Alzner. Alzner boasts a +23 rating in the American League today, best among rookies there and fourth-best in the league overall. He could still be recalled from Hershey, and that could be a callup that improves two blueline positions at once.
But a former no.1 defender -- Brian Pothier -- is also skating on the farm, on a conditioning assignment. In his very first game last Saturday he skated just under 13 minutes and performed "very well" according to some folks in the organization who saw him.
What if the Caps were somehow able to get both of them up to D.C. later this month, and have both perform well? That could represent a fairly significant overhaul of an inconsistent blueline corps, no?
Pothier is very much a forgotten man among a lot of Caps' fans. But Coach Boudreau hasn't forgotten about him; if Pothier is able to skate with the Bears symptom-free over a couple of weeks the head coach wants him back in D.C. and potentially back in the Caps' lineup. We should, too.
We all should all be rooting for Potsy's healthy return to hockey. It would represent not only a remarkable turnaround in his medical misfortune -- he missed nearly 15 months of his career, in its prime, to a concussion from a seemingly innocuous collision -- but potentially he could provide a real puck-moving jolt to the Caps' lineup.
Pothier in no way addresses the Capitals' conspicuous absence of physicality on the blueline. That needs remedying (and to that end, the sooner the season of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux ends, the better). But when he was signed as a free agent after the 2005-06 season, Pothier instantly became the Caps' most capable blueliner. It was a role that asked too much of him. Still, his mobility, puck moving acumen, and hockey sense were top notch. By the spring of 2007 Brian Pothier was skating 30 minutes a night for Mike Sullivan and Team USA at the IIHF World Championships in Moscow. His future with the strenthening Caps looked quite bright.
Then came the hit from Boston's Milan Lucic, who concusses folks just from looking at them. Estimates have it that Pothier's suffered as many as five concussions in his hockey career. Meeting Lucic for no. 5 was bad business indeed.
But a rested and repaired Brian Pothier in the spring of 2009, tasked not with a no. 1 defender's role but rather perhaps a no. 3's, represents real promise for a somewhat beleaguered Capitals' blueline. For instance: he wasn't known for taking a bevy of penalties.
But no matter what success Pothier enjoys in Hershey this month, getting Alzner and him up to Washington this spring may be too difficult a task for the team's cap-ologists.
Because Pothier's on a long-term injury designation during his conditioning stint in Hershey things are a little unique -- instead of a typical 14-day conditioning assignment Pothier's is measured in games, and can extend to 5 games, according to the Caps. Afterwards, assuming he's symptom-free, Pothier will be recalled, but may not have to be taken off long-term IR immediately (although that is most likely).
In mid-March, the Caps don't have the cap space to activate Pothier and recall Alzner. That could change deeper in the season, particularly if another Capitals' player went down, but for now it looks as if Alzner's the odd man out.
But Brian Pothier by himself could be a significant addition to the team's blueline. He's a battle-tested vet, and he inked in D.C. at a time when few free agents wanted to. His comeback this season is already heartening, but his skilled game could write a special chapter in an already strong Caps' season.
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