Fehr pleased the Caps sent him to Winnipeg
For Eric Fehr it was a day of mixed emotions. The only NHL team he has ever known deemed him expendable Friday afternoon, trading him for a fourth-round draft pick and a low-level prospect.
But while dealing with the initial shock every athlete experiences after a trade, Fehr had a pretty big reason to be excited, too: He was going home. The former Capitals winger is a native of Winkler, Manitoba, and he had just been dealt to the Winnipeg Jets, who left the NHL when Fehr was a boy only to return this spring for the first time since 1996. True North Sports & Entertainment bought the Atlanta Thrashers franchise in May and moved it to Manitoba, where it will begin play again this fall.
“It’s just so hard to believe that I’m going to be in Winnipeg,” Fehr said. “With the whole team coming back now, family and friends are so happy I’m going to come play in Winnipeg. … My world’s kind of been flipped upside down right now. It’s crazy and exciting. It’s going to be a pretty whirlwind summer.”
Caps general manager George McPhee said a surplus of wingers necessitated the move. Washington also needed to clear salary to sign restricted free agent defenseman Karl Alzner, and Fehr makes $2.2 million a year. But the reasons for the move mattered little to Fehr. Trades are part of the business, and almost every NHL player will face an unexpected departure at some point. If anything, Fehr should also see more ice time with the Jets, who needed another player with a track record as a goal scorer. That was an issue at times for Fehr in Washington.
Fehr, 25, was drafted by the Caps in 2003. He helped coach Bruce Boudreau win a Calder Cup for Hershey of the American Hockey League in 2005-06. His best season in Washington was a 21-goal, 18-assist campaign in 2009-10. In all, Fehr had 46 goals and 47 assists in 230 NHL games with Washington. He played parts of six seasons with the Caps, though injuries have kept him to a single-season high 69 games. Fehr had double shoulder surgery two summers ago and underwent another surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder. That injury occurred during a collision with teammate David Steckel in a Jan. 14 game with Vancouver.
“I doubt I’ll be ready for training camp. I think it’ll be a little bit longer,” Fehr said. “This is something I got to be real careful with. I got to make sure it heals proper and I don’t rush back because when I come back I want to be back for good and I want to play every game after that the rest of the year. So my goal is to make sure I’m 100 percent ready before I get back on the ice.”
For one year at least, Fehr and the Jets remain in the Southeast Division with the Caps. His first shot at his now former team? That comes on Nov. 17 in Winnipeg.
