So what exactly are the Caps getting in Columbus forward Jason Chimera? Well, an Alex Ovechkin antagonist, for one. Their November 1 scrap led to Ovechkin’s six-game shoulder injury. General manager George McPhee wasn’t too concerned about that. At all. He joked the two players could have a scrap of their own in practice if they wanted to settle it. Fair enough.
Chimera, 30, is younger than the 33-year-old Chris Clark. He’s a great skater – one of the best in the league – and can score goals at even strength. He has eight goals and nine assists already. Clark had four goals and 11 assists. Chimera totaled 17, 15 and 14 goals between 2005 and 2008. Only played 49 games last season and dropped to eight goals and 14 assists because of injury. So he’s younger, faster, bigger (6-2, 214 pounds) and at least a more consistent goal scorer than Clark, who to be fair was a 20-goal and 30-goal scorer at one time.
“Well, we just thought it was the right trade for us right now. We’ve had extra defensemen all year and that’s not a great situation to be in where you basically have nine defenseman,” McPhee said. “And so we felt like we could move a defenseman and then balance out our forward lines given that we’re going to play Brooks Laich more in the middle than we have. Clarkie’s been playing the outside, his off wing, and that this would fit pretty well in terms of team construction.
Chimera can be an instigator type – as we saw vs. Ovechkin in their Nov. 1 game at Verizon Center. Is he as good a two-way player as Clark? Probably not. Much like Matt Cooke – who helped Pittsburgh win the Stanley Cup last year and was a key part of Caps’ late playoff run two years ago – Chimera plays on the edge. That can hurt you sometimes, too, but is something McPhee obviously thinks Caps need. Chimera also is a true left wing – a necessity if Brooks Laich is at center full time now.
“We just had too many right wingers and not enough left wingers,” McPhee said. “And we had a defenseman we could move to make this all happen. As you know, trades are really tough to make in this league and we got one that helps both clubs. Columbus will get two quality guys with leadership and we get a winger that we need.”
Salary info: Clark was a $2.633 salary-cap hit for this year (pro-rated) and next. Then he’s an unrestricted free agent. Jurcina’s cap hit is $1.375 million and he’s an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. Chimera has two more years left with a $1.875 cap hit. More term for the Caps, less money up front. That also gives them a legitimate chance to make a big trade at the deadline if they want. McPhee was non-committal. But options are always, always a good thing.
