Caps Finally Close the Door on a Terrible, Terrible Trade
It was time to accept the obvious.
And it's been obvious for a couple of years, now.
The Washington Capitals' what-were-they-thinking trade with Nashville has officially been put to rest. It can now rank up there as one of the worst personnel decisions in NHL history.
- The Caps didn't extend a qualifying offer to center Michael Latta;
- They dumped Martin Erat two years ago; while
- The Preds just signed Filip Forsberg a six-year, $36million extension.
Washington was scrambling for a wild card spot in April 2013 -- didn't happen -- and fell back on the old saw that maybe a veteran presence would put them over the top.
That was Erat, who went on to log two goals in 62 games as a Capital.
They tried to hedge their bets by getting a prospect tossed in, and somehow, they equated Latta with Forsberg.
It was incredulous then, and it's absurd in hindsight. Anyone who ever saw the talented Swede play could see he was a sure thing.
Running highlight packages full of goals don't necessarily do his skills and creativity justice, but this does:
Dude does his share of scoring, though:
Imagine this dude on a line with Alex Ovechkin.
The Caps still do.
Not to mention their fans.
Lesson learned.