Washington still considering whether to make trade
It has become an almost accepted notion with the NHL trade deadline looming Feb. 28: The Capitals will not go into the Stanley Cup playoffs without an upgrade at center on either their second or third line.
The players who currently occupy those spots — Mathieu Perreault, 23, and Marcus Johansson, 20 — still have time to dispute that theory, of course. Both have shown promise this season. Both also have been prone to bouts of ineffectiveness as they adjust to full-time roles in the NHL.
Perreault has six goals and six assists in 28 games. He didn’t start the season with the Caps, playing just three games as a recall from Hershey of the American Hockey League in October before the trade of forward Tomas Fleischmann opened a roster spot in early December. After his typical hot start — five goals in his first nine games during that second recall — Perreault managed just one point the entire month of January. But he has responded with a goal and three assists over the last four games. Is that production too little, too late? Or will the return of forward Alexander Semin (groin injury) to the second line give Perreault a chance to post bigger numbers during the final 27 games?
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Meanwhile, Johansson at times has looked like a legitimate No. 2 center of the future. He weaved his way all over the ice Sunday against Pittsburgh, time and again setting up his teammates for quality scoring chances. Johansson also scored on a pretty backhand shot for a short-handed goal.
“We see flashes of this every few games,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said after Sunday’s 3-0 win. “When he’s on, he’s really good. And he was on.”
But there are other nights when Johansson is invisible. It’s hard to find too much fault. Johansson was a first-round draft pick in 2009, 24th overall, but a year ago he was just a teenager playing in the Swedish Elite League, and the adjustment gap to the NHL is mammoth.
Johansson played just 51 and 49 games, including playoffs, each of the last two seasons in Sweden. He’ll have that many NHL games under his belt by the first week of March if he stays healthy. Also, neither Johansson nor Perreault has a single game of Stanley Cup playoff experience to his name. That’s another critical factor as the Caps decide whether to deal at the deadline or stand pat with their two young centers.
