‘Scott Hannan’
courtesy of ‘pointnshoot’
The tradewinds were swirling this weekend surrounding center Tomas Fleischmann, and today those rumors turned into hard facts as the Caps completed a trade with the Colorado Avalanche to bring strong defensive presence Scott Hannan to Washington. Hannan would’ve lead the Caps each of the last three seasons in blocked shots.
Hannan will join the Caps in St. Louis tonight and be available tomorrow morning. Asked about his initial reaction, Hannan said “I’m really excited to be joining a team in first place, and making a run for the Stanley Cup.” Hannan is part of a big picture problem for the Caps, building a stronger defense to match the already prolific offense. Hannan said this afternoon that he would be ready to play tomorrow, but that whether he’d play would be at the Caps discretion.
The Caps add an addition $1M or so in salary cap totals with the move to take Hannan, and the Avs defenseman could be an unrestricted free agent come next summer. The move will help coach Bruce Boudreau’s crowded offense by dishing Fleischmann to the Avs for a stronger defensive presence. Flash racked up a -4 for November, and scored his last goal for the Caps on November 3rd and only 10 points on the season.
According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, talks between the Avs and Caps regarding the trade have been on and off since August. It’s a trade that surprises pretty well no one, since it became apparent after the season started that the Caps were going to need to make a move with their overloaded offensive talent at some point. Time will tell if this is a trade worth remembering, but for now, we in Caps country welcome Scott Hannan to Washington!
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
Great move Caps! Flash was underperforming and expendable. Having a stopper like Hannan on the blue line can only make us stronger.
Great move for the avs! considering all players were healty Colorado probably has the best and youngest offense the league has seen in the past decade. The cup is not so far away anymore!