Former Capitals head coach Adam Oates surfaced on Monday morning on St. Louis sports talk radio to provide expert insight into what the Caps’ offseason moves mean for the team.
By Nathan Burchfiel 8 years ago
San Jose’s bigasses/60 just got even bigger. NBCSN’s Anson Carter reports that former Washington Capitals winger Joel Ward has signed with the Sharks. Ward did not get the four years his agent wanted; instead he’ll settle for three. The contract is worth $9.825 million, and the $3.275 yearly salary is a $275k raise from last season.
WAVE GOODBYE TO THOSE CLUTCH GOALS AND THAT BIG BEAUTIFUL BUTT.
CSN Washington’s Jill Sorenson reported this afternoon that Joel Ward is one of the most popular free agents on the market, according to Joel Ward’s agent Peter Cooney.
Photo: Jared Silber
Brace yourself. This news may make you feel super sad. According to The Washington Post’s Alex Prewitt, 34-year-old winger Joel Ward appears likely to test the free agent market on July 1st.
When George McPhee signed Joel Ward to a four-year, $12-million deal, many thought it was an exorbitant contract based on a playoff performance he’d never live up to. But then, he sorta did.
By Peter Hassett 8 years ago
Photo credit: Susan Walsh
In the summer of 2011, the Washington Capitals gave Joel Ward a four-year, $12 million contract. The deal was largely based on Ward’s play over 12 games when Ward scored 13 points during Nashville’s run to the second round under Barry Trotz. In the regular season that year, Ward had scored just 10 goals. He was 31-years-old. Some of George McPhee‘s gambles didn’t work out, but this one did.
By Chris Gordon 8 years ago
Photo credit: Nick Wass
Braden Holtby is that good. He has been the best goalie of the playoffs, posting a .951 save percentage through 11 games. But on Sunday night, the New York Rangers offense finally broke through. They jumped out to a 4-1 lead before the Capitals almost pulled off an unbelievable comeback. For the first time this postseason, we saw Holtby crack. Washington’s faith in him, however, is unshaken. They were not interested in talking about Henrik Lundqvist, who turned aside 42 shots in Washington’s one-goal defeat.
“Our goalie’s better,” Evgeny Kuznetsov, defiant in his postgame media scrum, said. “I don’t know what you want to listen from my mouth, but our goalie’s better.”
By Chris Gordon 8 years ago
The Kuznetscream.
The Caps at one point during the third period were down 4-1. Then Evgeny Kuznetsov and Joel Ward scored and made it a game! First, the 22-year-old rookie scored his fifth goal of the playoffs off a broken play in front of the net. He now leads the Caps in goals.
The Washington Capitals may have just been jobbed out of a big goal.
Set up just outside of the crease, Caps forward Joel Ward screened Henrik Lundqvist as Matt Niskanen unleashed a bomb from the point. Then: craziness.
The shot, which was going wide, deflects off a Rangers stick towards the net. Derek Stepan shoves Ward, Ward collides with Lundqvist, and the puck bounces into the net.
Official Kevin Pollock immediately waves the goal off for incidental contact.
Ward smiling after Derek Stepan tries punching him.
The Washington Capitals won game one at Madison Square Garden in surprisingly easy fashion– though it took a last-second goal to win. The first twenty minutes of game two have been way different.
But I’m an optimist, so let’s focus on the awesome things that happened in the first period first.
