Clearing Cap Space For Zherdev?

It has now been three days since the New York Rangers decided to walk on Nikolai Zherdev, who was awarded a 1-year $3.9 million contract via an arbitration hearing. I think most people agree that this was a good move. Zherdev didn't exactly wow the crowds of MSG as he did in Columbus the season before. To make matters worse, the slick skating winger scored a grand total of 0 goals during last year's postseason. To make matters even worse, he didn't register a single point and was a -13. So your probably expecting me to give a big thumbs down to this rumor. I am not ready to do that just yet.

Zherdev is an incredibly dynamic player and has shown signs of brilliance in his young NHL career. The question behind Zherdev is his heart. Is his head in the game as it should be? Zherdev looked a bit overwhelmed in my opinion playing on broadway. Let's face it, there is a big difference between Columbus and New York. Chris Drury, Wade Redden, and Scott Gomez can attest to this. All three of these players saw significant drop offs in their productivity once landing in broadway. The bottom line is that New York is a difficult city to play in and I am not ready to write a player off based on one bad season in NYC. Others have questioned Zherdev's ability to adjust to life in North America. I suppose this notion could be considered, however where were these questioners when Zherdev was in Columbus?

So what do the Caps have to do to land Zherdev? Simple, clear cap space. The obvious contract to get off the books would be Michael Nylander. Nylander is signed through 2011 with a cap hit of $4.8 million per year. Nylander's play has dropped of tremedously since Boudreau took the helm last year. Boudreau's style is run and gun. Nylander thrives in a puck possession style game. He just doesn't fit the style now being used in Washington. Nylander could be an asset to many NHL teams, but at the current price he will be tough to move.

The other bulbous contract on the books right now is our potential backup goaltender, Jose Theodore. Theodore will collect $4.5 million next year after which he will become a free agent. With the rise of Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth, one can expect Theodore's tenure in DC will come to an end after next season.

The Caps are currently over the cap by $1.7 million so clearing cap space is a premium obligation for GMGM. Assuming enough cap space is cleared to bring in Zherdev, would it be in the organization's best interest? The only worry I have is the implications this would cause next year when both Backstrom and Semin are restricted free agents. It is priority number one to have them locked up for the long term.

Zherdev is yet to prove that he was the worth the first round pick he was, but just imagine a second line consisting of Alex Semin, Brendan Morrison, and Nik Zherdev? That is frightening for just about any opposition.