Caps gain free-agent banger in Knuble
By: Brian McNally
Examiner Staff Writer
July 2, 2009
The Capitals know what they have been missing over playoff runs each of the last two springs. General manager George McPhee needed to find someone willing to crash the net and take the abuse from opposing defensemen that goes with it. A consistent, reliable presence up front could do wonders for a team that sees itself ready to take the final steps towards winning a Stanley Cup.
Enter forward Mike Knuble, who played the last four seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers and was available as a free agent when the NHL signing period began on Wednesday afternoon. The Caps quickly snapped up the rugged 36-year-old, who signed a two-year, $5.8 million contract.
“I’m happy with the way we’ve played,” McPhee said of his team. “But I also thought we needed a player that will go to the net ... and likes to make a living there. [Knuble] has done a good job in that regard.”
A 6-foot-3, 230-pound right wing, Knuble will likely play on the top line with two-time Hart Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin and center Nicklas Backstrom. Knuble, who will turn 37 on Saturday, has scored at least 21 goals in each of the last six seasons and won a Stanley Cup — against Washington - while with Detroit in 1998. He had 27 goals and 20 assists with the Flyers last year. Knuble, a Toronto native who played college hockey at Michigan, has been with four different teams over 13 NHL seasons, including the Boston Bruins. Negotiations with the Flyers broke down on Tuesday as Knuble sought an extra year on his contract.
“I know what to do for these guys,” said Knuble, who noted that he has played with star players like Joe Thornton in the past. “I win battles in the corners and do a lot of the dirty work to get them the puck.”
Also on Wednesday, the Caps lost their third free agent of the summer when forward Donald Brashear signed a contract with the New York Rangers. The fourth-line enforcer signed a $1.4 million contract — a number that McPhee said he just wouldn’t match. Washington earlier said goodbye to center Sergei Fedorov and right wing Viktor Kozlov, who both signed with teams in their native Russia.
Knuble fills one of those holes. Brashear’s spot is likely to be an internal fix — McPhee has said in the past that he could envision playing a season without a true enforcer to keep opposing players in line. But the Caps plan for now to go with Brooks Laich as the second-line center barring a trade later this summer. McPhee said on Wednesday that the Knuble signing will likely serve as his team’s biggest move in free agency.
“I’m not a solution,” Knuble said. “But I am a piece.”
