Forward returns to his Canadian roots Any time an NHL teams travels to western Canada, there will be a handful of players making a homecoming. Troy Brouwer and Karl Alzner do so later this week when the Capitals play the Vancouver Canucks. Both are from British Columbia.
But forward Jason Chimera starts his homecoming a few days earlier. The Edmonton, Alberta, native will eat a few home-cooked meals at his parents’ house before Washington faces the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night. The Caps held a practice at Kettler Iceplex on Tuesday and then flew to Alberta in the afternoon, hoping an early arrival would help them deal with the switch to the Mountain time zone.
Chimera, 32, hasn’t played in his hometown since Oct. 22, 2009. Back then he was a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He scored a goal playing in front of family and friends. But returning with a more recognizable team this time around, Chimera’s finding tickets a little more in demand.
“Columbus wasn’t a big draw. Now with Washington it’s a bigger draw,” Chimera joked. “No freebies on the road. Got to pay for it all. It’s going to be an expensive day, but it’s a good day.”
The Caps rarely play in Edmonton and the last time they did — Dec. 19, 2009 — was just a week before they traded for Chimera. Last year, the two teams met in Washington. But Chimera knows Rexall Place, the arena long known as Northlands Coliseum, as well as anyone.
As a kid, he sometimes got to play on the same ice as those legendary, five-time Stanley Cup winning Oilers teams led by Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and a host of Hall of Famers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Chimera and his mite teammates would entertain the sellout crowds with quick games during intermission.
So it was a dream come true when Chimera was selected by Edmonton in the fifth round of the 1997 draft. He spent a few more years playing junior hockey, another year in the American Hockey League and then made his NHL debut at home Dec. 9, 2000. That was his only appearance for the Oilers that season. The next year he made it into three games. After a breakthrough 2002-03 (14 goals, nine assists) his production dropped (four goals, eight assists), and after the NHL lockout ended in 2005 he was traded to Columbus.
“It was good to move on because I wasn’t really getting a good shot [in Edmonton]. Went to Columbus and became a better player,” Chimera said. “It worked out perfect. … I don’t regret anything looking back. It was a stepping stone. There’s a lot of pressure playing in your hometown. Lot of distractions outside the rink. So it’s nice to kind of get out on your own.”
So far this season, Chimera has been a steady presence on Washington’s third line with Brooks Laich and Joel Ward. The left wing has four goals — tied for the team lead with Marcus Johansson — in seven games and a plus-four rating.
