In Ahead

Frederick, MD • United States • 2009 Years Old • Male

Where Are They Now? (The Recent Edition)

I was thinking back to the post-lockout Caps and all the journeymen that made a pit stop in Washington. I decided to check up on a few of these familiar names and share my findings. So here we go:
<ul>
<li>RICO FATA - The guy with the soul patch who was always flying around the ice with no particular destination in mind has moved on to Germany. Now in his second season playing in Mannheim, Fata is a teammate of another short-lived Cap, Colin Forbes, and a former draft pick of Washington, Robert Mueller. Fata, drafted by Calgary with the 6th overall pick in 1998, ranks 13th in scoring on his team with 6 goals and 10 assists in 40 games.</li>

<li>JEFF FRIESEN - What a disappointment this guy turned out to be! Friesen scored 40 goals in the two seasons prior to the lockout. Then Washington acquired him and he scored only 3 goals in 33 games. He was traded to Anaheim and subsequently ended up in Calgary. Between those two teams, he scored just 7 goals in 90 games. Friesen has yet to play anywhere this season, but he just signed a contract on January 14th to play for the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL, the minor league affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche.</li>

<li>JAMIE HEWARD - After being traded to the Los Angeles Kings at the deadline last year, Heward scored 2 goals and 6 assists in 19 games. Failing to receive an NHL contract, Heward opted to play in Russia. No stranger to overseas competition (Jamie played three seasons in Switzerland right before joining the Capitals,) Heward's hometown newspaper (the <i>Regina Leader-Post</i> reported that he was lured to Saint Petersburg of the Russian Super League via a $1 million contract offer. Now 36, he is second among defensemen on his team (a group that includes former NHL heavy hitter Darius Kasparaitis) in scoring with 2 goals and 15 points in 41 games.</li>

<li>BRYAN MUIR - Originally advertised as a power play quarterback to Caps fans, Muir managed to score 11 goals over two seasons for the Caps. At 34, he is currently the oldest player on the AHL's Toronto Marlies, the minor league affiliate of the Maple Leafs. He has scored a goal and 9 assists in 20 games this year, but has a very impressive +14 rating.</li>

<li>JIRI NOVOTNY - Novotny was acquired in last year's Dainius Zubrus trade. He was supposed to be defensively sound with an offensive upside, but showed neither in his brief stay in D.C.  He signed a two year deal with Columbus this past offseason where he has scored 7 goals and added 10 assists in 38 games.</li>

<li>BRIAN SUTHERBY - Sutherby was traded to Anaheim earlier this season, and has done nothing since. Receiving a second round pick in return may end up looking like a stroke of genius on George McPhee's part, though it is still somewhat early to make that assessment. Sutherby has appeared in 16 games without registering a single point. His ice time has been limited to about 5-10 minutes a game and he has been in and out of the lineup hobbled by a groin
strain. As much as I like and miss the guy, he really has done nothing since he left Washington.</li>

<li>BRIAN WILLSIE - Willsie will always be remembered as the guy that versed Alex Ovechkin in American culture. Ovie's rookie year roomie is in the final year of his two year deal with the Los Angeles Kings. His production has steadily declined since departing Washington having dropped from 41 points to 21 last year. Willsie has scored only 2 goals with 6 assists in 35 games this season while averaging over 11 minutes of ice time.</li>
</ul>
Gee, I wonder why we stunk all these years. At least we're headed in the right direction, and letting these guys move on was a good first step.

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