Teammates sad to see No. 39 go as new players arrive
The cameras, microphones and recorders swarmed around the new Capitals at Kettler Iceplex on Tuesday morning. First they centered on Jason Arnott, the imposing veteran forward with a Stanley Cup ring. Then they surrounded Dennis Wideman, the beaming defenseman just happy to be back on a contending team. They were both acquired by Washington before the NHL’s trade deadline on Monday and had just finished their first morning skate.
But at the far end of the locker room on the left side was an empty stall, tucked next to the back exit where the players come and go after practice. Until Monday it belonged to David Steckel, whose six-year career with the Caps came to an abrupt end when the center was traded to the New Jersey Devils for Arnott. By Wednesday the nameplate above the stall already had been switched to Andrew Gordon, a 25-year-old rookie who plays for Hershey of the American Hockey League. That’s the price of admission for any professional athlete. Devote yourself to a team and you’ll be well compensated. But your life can also change in an instant.
For Steckel that reckoning came Monday. There are the usual rushed goodbyes to teammates and friends in that scenario — if you see them at all before heading to the airport — and then a new city, a new uniform, new teammates and coaches. Washington’s Bruce Boudreau had coached Steckel for seven years dating to 2004 when both were in the Los Angeles’ Kings’ organization with the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs. Boudreau said he met with Steckel at the rink Monday night and they spoke about that shared past and his future in New Jersey.
“He’s been on my team every year of my pro career,” said Caps forward Eric Fehr, who caught Steckel by phone Tuesday. “Great guy and we’re good friends. It was really tough to see him go.”
| Caps notes |
| » Todd Ford was the lone goalie at Caps practice on Wednesday. Semyon Varlamov (lower-body injury) is still hurt, and Michal Neuvirth was given the day off. |
| » Defenseman Mike Green remained in his hometown of Calgary for his grandmother’s funeral. He will meet the Caps in Florida on Friday but is not expected to play on the road trip. |
| » The lone forwards to miss practice Wednesday were Jay Beagle (upper-body injury) and Alexander Semin, who was granted “a maintenance day” by coach Bruce Boudreau. |
For four seasons Steckel sat in that back corner next to teammates Brooks Laich and Matt Bradley. He and Laich won a Calder Cup championship together under Boudreau in Hershey in 2006. It was Laich’s initial shot that Steckel deflected home in overtime of Game 6 during the classic 2009 Stanley Cup playoff series against Pittsburgh. The last four years he and Bradley often played together on the same line. It was Bradley who earned the secondary assist on Steckel’s famous goal at Mellon Arena.
“When you get traded like that there’s a lot of other things to worry about,” said Laich, who instead traded texts with Steckel. “You’re on the phone and everybody’s calling you. Your world’s just been turned upside down so you really don’t feel like talking a whole lot.”
