Best Transfer Notice I've Seen This Summer

From European Hockey.net,

Posted 29/8/2008: Ted Suihkonen (F)
From played Summer Hockey League in Alaska to Kallinge-Ronneby IF
Added By: Davide Tuniz, Status: Confirmed

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Capitals Milestones to Watch for in 2008-2009

The Olympics are finally over and now it’s time to focus on the important things in life. First and foremost being the Washington Capitals. Well, maybe that’s a bit over the top but I am ready for this season to get underway, now! For the Capitals this year is filled with expectations and the players are expected to step up their game to the next level. The Caps are returning most of the roster from the end of last season. The three members not returning are Olie Kolzig and trade deadline acquisitions Matt Cooke and Cristobal Huet. Kolzig’s departure is bittersweet as he was the former face of the franchise and the Cap’s #1 all-time goalie by far.

Kolzig’s departure signifies a changing of the guard in Washington. In addition to holding nearly every Capitals goalie record, he was 8^th on the Capitals games played list with 711 games played. Now the active leader in games played as a Capital falls to none other than Alex Ovechkin, the new face of the franchise. Ovechkin has played 245 games for the Caps in three seasons and is ranked at 58^th on the Cap’s list. Others moving up the list are Shaone Morrisonn with 237 games played and Brooks Laich with 232.

Ovechkin is also tearing up the rest of the Capitals All-time lists as well. He is currently 10^th on the Goals Scored list and with 163. This season he could become the 4^th player in team history to score 200 goals. While Peter Bondra, 472 goals, and Mike Gartner, 397 goals, are a ways off, Mike Ridley’s 218 goals could be within reach this season. Fellow countrymen Alexander Semin has 74 goals with the Caps and should be the 23^rd Capital to reach the 100 goals milestone. Ovechkin is also moving up the Assist and Points lists as well. There is a chance he could reach 200 assists and 400 points this season. He currently stands at 147 assists and 310 points. Michael Nylander and Nicklas Backstrom are poised to break 100 assists with the Caps this season. Nylander has 67 with the club and Backstrom had 55 in his first year. In addition to these two, Brooks Laich (77 pts) and Mike Green (71 pts) are on track to join the Capitals 100-point club this season.

Some other team milestones are within reach for the Caps as well. Donald Brashear, Shaone Morrisonn, and Chris Clark are bearing down on the 300 penalty minute mark. Brashear is the closest with 275. Ovechkin needs 6 game-winning goals to reach 30. With another 400+ shots on goal season Ovechkin will surpass 1,600. Clark needs 3 shorthanded goals to reach 10. So let’s hurry up and get this season started and see what these guys can do.

Here is a list of last season’s Capital Milestones:

Player	Milestone	Stat	Date
OVECHKIN, ALEXANDER	200	PTS	6-Oct
OVECHKIN, ALEXANDER	100	G	12-Oct
GREEN, MIKE	100	GM	24-Oct
OVECHKIN, ALEXANDER	900	SOG	8-Nov
PETTINGER, MATT	300	GM	23-Nov
CLARK, CHRIS	100	PTS	23-Nov
CLARK, CHRIS	200	PIM	23-Nov
BRASHEAR, DONALD	100	GM	24-Nov
NYLANDER, MICHAEL	100	GM	30-Nov
NYLANDER, MICHAEL	200	SOG	1-Dec
POTHIER, BRIAN	100	GM	7-Dec
SEMIN, ALEXANDER	100	PTS	8-Dec
BRASHEAR, DONALD	200	PIM	12-Dec
OVECHKIN, ALEXANDER	1000	SOG	14-Dec
OVECHKIN, ALEXANDER	200	GM	26-Dec
BRADLEY, MATT	200	SOG	27-Dec
MORRISONN, SHAONE	200	GM	29-Dec
SEMIN, ALEXANDER	400	SOG	13-Jan
LAICH, BROOKS	300	SOG	15-Jan
GORDON, BOYD	200	SOG	23-Jan
LAICH, BROOKS	200	GM	24-Jan
EMINGER, STEVE	200	GM	24-Jan
GREEN, MIKE	200	SOG	29-Jan
OVECHKIN, ALEXANDER	1100	SOG	31-Jan
PETTINGER, MATT	500	SOG	2-Feb
OVECHKIN, ALEXANDER	20	GWG	5-Feb
KOLZIG, OLAF	700	GM	10-Feb
FLEISCHMANN, TOMAS	100	GM	20-Feb
OVECHKIN, ALEXANDER	1200	SOG	12-Mar
SCHULTZ, JEFF	100	GM	14-Mar
BRADLEY, MATT	200	GM	18-Mar
OVECHKIN, ALEXANDER	300	PTS	18-Mar
SEMIN, ALEXANDER	500	SOG	21-Mar
JURCINA, MILAN	100	GM	25-Mar
GORDON, BOYD	200	GM	27-Mar
KOZLOV, VICTOR	200	SOG	29-Mar
GREEN, MIKE	300	SOG	1-Apr

Capitals Extend David Steckel

Per WashingtonCaps.com, David Steckel and the Washington Capitals have agreed to a contract extension for the 2009-10 season. According to Capitals Insider the deal is worth $725,000.

3 Seasons of Ovechkin

Alex Ovechkin has now completed 3 full seasons in the NHL. He has scored 163 goals in those 3 seasons. He is currently tied for 506th on the NHL's All-Time Goals Scored List. So I ran a little analysis on where Alex stacks up against the top twenty players on that list. There were only two players among them who scored more goals in their first 3 full seasons.

Mike Bossy scored 173 goals and Wayne Gretzky scored 198. Gretzky scored an NHL record 92 goals in his third season. Behind Alex on the list is Joe Nieuwendyk with 147 goals followed by Mario Lemieux and Brett Hull who scored 145 goals each. That's some pretty good company if you ask me. Here's the list:

Player	Season 1	Season 2	Season 3	Total	NHL All-Time Rank
Alex Ovechkin	52	46	65	163	506
Wayne Gretzky	51	55	92	198	1
Gordie Howe	7	16	12	35	2
Brett Hull	32	41	72	145	3
Marcel Dionne	28	40	24	92	4
Phil Esposito	23	27	21	71	5
Mike Gartner	36	48	35	119	6
Mark Messier	12	23	50	85	7
Steve Yzerman	39	30	14	83	8
Mario Lemiex	43	48	54	145	9
Luc Robitaille	45	53	46	144	10
Brenden Shanahan	7	22	30	59	11
Jaromir Jagr	27	32	34	93	12
Dave Andreychuk	38	31	36	105	13
Joe Sakic	23	39	48	110	14
Bobby Hull	13	18	39	70	15
Dino Ciccarelli	55	37	38	130	16
Jari Kurri	32	32	45	109	17
Mike Bossy	53	69	51	173	18
Joe Nieuwendyk	51	51	45	147	19
Guy Lafleur	29	28	21	78	20